Chris Johnston is getting that itch again.
Johnston, of Peterborough, Ont., is back on the water for the first time in months. This week, the professional angler put his new Ranger 520R boat through its paces in Florida but also pitched baits to largemouth bass preparing for the start of the 2026 Elite Series season.
“I had to put time on the motor at low RPMs and make sure my electronics were dialed in and I’d rather do that in warmer climate,” Johnston said. “But I also had to sharpen the skills because I hadn’t caught a bass since the end of September so I wanted to knock the rust off.
“I’ve got the bug to go fishing.”
Johnston headed to Chicago on Friday to appear at the Chicagoland Fishing Expo. He’ll return home afterwards before travelling to Alabama for practice on Guntersville Lake before the Elite Series opener Feb. 5.
Johnston clinched a second straight overall title last August at La Crosse, Wisc. He not only became the first Canadian to register consecutive crowns but joined Hall of Famers Kevin VanDam, Roland Martin and the late Guido Hibdon as the only ones to win back-to-back championships.
Afterward, Johnston’s priorities shifted to family and hunting, another favourite outdoor pursuit. Johnston fished some — he and older brother Cory Johnston earned the $50,000 top prize at the CISA Kingston Open on Aug. 31 — but figures his last time out was in early October.
“I do enjoy my break,” Johnston said. “But now I want to go fishing and I’m thinking about (third straight crown) more and more.
“There’s always (bull’s eye on his back) regardless and that doesn’t bother me, in fact it just makes you work harder to be honest. There are people who want to dethrone me and I’m sure there are many Americans who want to make sure the AOY (angler of the year) trophy stays in the U.S. but I’ll do everything in my power to bring it north one more time.”
Johnston has long been achieving milestones in pro bass fishing. He was the first Canadian to win both on the Fishing League Worldwide (2018 on Florida’s Harris Chain of Lakes) and Elite Series (2020, St. Lawrence River).
One title to escape Johnston’s grasp has been the US$1-million Bassmaster Classic. He has competed in pro bass fishing’s marquee event six times, having registered three top-10 finishes (fifth in 2022, eighth in 2021 and ’25).
This year’s Classic will be held on the Tennessee River in Knoxville, Tenn., from March 13-15. Johnston was 31st when the ’23 tournament was held there as Jeff Gustafson of Kenora, Ont., earned the wire-to-wire victory to become the first Canadian to capture that title.
“That’s one thing on my bucket list that I have to check off,” Johnston said. “I’ve been there (Tennessee River) three, four times so I think I have a good feel for it.
“It’s a tournament where I don’t care if I finish 40th or second, I want to win. You just have to swing for the fence, there’s no playing it safe.”
This season features nine tournaments across six American states with competitors chasing both largemouth and smallmouth bass. Joining the Johnstons and Gustafson in 2026 will again be Cooper Gallant of Bowmanville, Ont., and Evan Kung of Pickering, Ont.
This marks Gallant’s fourth Elite Series campaign while Kung returns for his second.
The schedule will be held on predominantly largemouth fisheries although each will encompass differing conditions and weather. Canadians have traditionally performed well in smallmouth events given they have more experience chasing that species.
However, there’s just one pure smallmouth event this year — the season-ending tournament Aug. 27-30 in Clayton, N.Y., on the St. Lawrence River. The week before, anglers will pursue both species on Lake Champlain at Plattsburgh, N.Y.
This year, the use of forward-facing sonar (FFS) will be limited to five tournaments, along with the Classic. The technology won’t be allowed in the season opener.
Johnston is good with both the FFS rules and ’26 schedule.
“I think (FFS rules) will benefit me because I like to catch them both ways,” he said. “And I’ll be honest, I love catching both largemouth and smallmouth.
“I love smallmouth fishing with light tackle, it’s fun, but after catching then for two, three weeks straight I want to go back catching largemouth because that’s what I grew up doing. I think it’s going to be a well-rounded schedule and whoever wins AOY will have to catch them many different ways.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 22, 2026.
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press
