Cory Johnston Wins Bassmaster Elite on St. Lawrence

Gee fished his fourth - and third consecutive of the season - Championship Sunday using a familiar lure that got him to the finals each time. The Tennessean focused his efforts on a point with scattered boulders and breaks. The lure choice was a 1/4-ounce tungsten round jig head, rigged with a 5-inch Yamamoto Shad Shape Floater.

McKinney used the same lure as a search and find bait, and to catch his smallmouth once discovered. That choice was a Strike King 3X Z-Too Soft Jerkbait, rigged on a 3/8-ounce tungsten jig head.

Johnston used drop shots to capitalize on his strike zone. A primary rig was a minnow bait rigged on a 6.2-gram Gamakatsu Horizon Head LG with a 3/0 hook. Johnston made a drop shot with a SPRO CJ Smasher, rigged on a No. 2 Gamakatsu G-Finesse Drop Shot Hook, with a 3/8-ounce weight.

Lee fished consistently all week using the same rig. Lee made a drop shot with a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm, rigged on a No. 1 Berkley Fusion19 Drop Shot Hook, with 3/8- or 1/2-ounce tungsten weights.

LeHew kept it simple with a finesse setup. His key lures were the Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flatnose Minnow and the Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm. He rigged both on a No. 1 Berkley Fusion19 Drop Shot Hook, with a 3/8-ounce weight.

Benton picked a combination of drop-shot rigs for finessing smallmouth. He added spinnerbait skirt material to both soft plastic lures for strike appeal. For Drew, a key bait was the SPRO Sakura Worm, rigged on a No. 2 Gamakatsu G-Finesse Worm Light Wire Hook, with a 1/2-ounce drop-shot weight. Benton also used a SPRO CJ Smasher on a No. 2 Gamakatsu G-Finesse Drop Shot Hook, with a 1/2-ounce weight.

Walters continued his success from Lake Champlain, reaching again for a swimbait, Ned rig and drop shot to cover his favored strike zone. Walters used the new 4-inch Zoom Winged Fluke on a 3/8-ounce VMC HSBJ Hybrid Swimbait Jig. He made the Ned rig with a 1/4-ounce VMC NRJ Ned Rig Jig, with a Zoom Micro Ultra Vibe Speed Craw. Walters created the drop shot with a 3-inch Zoom Shimmer Shad, rigged on a No. 6 VMC RedLine Series Finesse Neko Hook, with a 1/2-ounce VMC Tungsten Weight.

Sumrall kept his focus on the St. Lawrence River, where he used a drop-shot rig. He made it with a 4-inch Missile Baits Magic Worm, rigged on a No. 1 Gamakatsu G-Finesse Drop Shot Hook, with a 3/8-ounce SPRO Tungsten Drop Shot Sinker.

Jocumsen used a drop shot for finnicky fish and a jig for targeting quality smallmouth. He used a 1/2-ounce finesse jig with the new X Zone Scented Stealth Finesse Series Stealth Creature for a trailer. He made a drop-shot rig with an X Zone Scented Stealth Finesse Series Stealth Minnow, rigged on a No. 2 VMC RedLine Series Drop Shot Hook, with a 3/8-ounce VMC Tungsten Weight. Using the same size hook and weight, he made another drop shot with an X Zone Stealth Finesse Series Invader.