It was only a few years ago that Chris Johnson found himself “not loving” bass fishing, a passion he’d enjoyed since his boyhood days in northwest Arkansas.
That changed when he won the Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier at the Arkansas River presented by Lowrance back in April. But as Johnson, 54, pointed out, the rekindling of his fire for fishing had more to do with the life changes he made leading up to that victory rather than the win itself.
“I had to learn to just go have fun again,” Johnson said. “I had to fish hard, sure, but I had to go do the things I know how to do well. When I started doing that again, I started making better decisions.”
Seems simple enough, but it was a revelation for Johnson that ultimately helped him win the qualifier and secure a berth in the Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Championship presented by Lowrance when it’s held Nov. 6-8 on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees. Johnson’s still riding a wave of confidence, too, heading into the Nation Championship on the nearly 42,000-acre fishery in the Sooner State.
Approximately 500 anglers are expected to compete across angler and co-angler fields for a cash purse of more than $300,000. The winning angler will collect $30,000, an invitation to compete in the 2025 Bassmaster Elite Series and a Nation’s Best boat and truck combo to use for the year.
The Top 3 anglers at Grand also will earn berths into the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic to be held March 21-23 on Lake Ray Roberts in Fort Worth, Texas. In addition, the second- and third-place anglers will receive paid entry into the Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers field for 2025, circumventing the need to qualify via one of the two new divisions the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens presented by SEVIIN will debut in the 2025 season.
It’s enough to make the calmest of heads swim, but Johnson said he’s ready for the challenge. He started fishing at Grand Lake regularly when he began fishing competitively more than 30 years ago.
“I feel great about it, maybe a little too great,” he said, laughing. “I’m not an arrogant guy, but winning on the Arkansas River (out of Muskogee, Okla.) earlier this year really has my confidence high. I’m trusting myself and my instincts and it’s paying off.
“That’s one reason I haven’t pre-fished Grand for the championship. If I see the water is low or things might be a little off — I just don’t want to get caught up in that stuff. We can be hard on ourselves as anglers, beat ourselves up. I’m just gonna leave all that alone and go do my thing.”
The region has been extremely dry this year — so much so that B.A.S.S. officials noted a burn ban has been in effect for the Grove, Okla., area. That could mean that Grand is a couple of feet below pool during the tournament. How that affects the catch is unknown, but most anglers suggest finding a largemouth bite in shallow water will be key to victory. Additional changes, such as a pre-tournament cold front or finding even minimal current, would likely help competitors’ causes, too.
“I’ve always thought Grand fishes like a mix between a reservoir and a river,” Johnson said. “The fish are just about always shallow and on structure. I’ll look for current, but we’ve had such little rain it likely won’t be a factor. It’ll just be a big lake — a shallow-water fishery. And that’s fine by me.”
Both individual B.A.S.S. Nation anglers and club members from each state were allowed to enter any of four national qualifying events held in 2024 (on Alabama’s Lake Eufaula, the Arkansas River at Muskogee, Okla., the Mississippi River at La Crosse, Wis., and New York’s Lake Champlain).
The Top 20 finishers in each tournament advanced to the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship at Grand Lake. Additionally, club anglers qualified directly from their state tournaments.
This marks the second time Johnson qualified for the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship (he finished fourth on the Ouachita River in the 2021 title tournament, just missing a spot into the 2022 Bassmaster Classic).
Will Davis Jr., of Sylacauga, Ala., has won the past two B.A.S.S. Nation Championships (on Alabama’s Pickwick Lake in 2022 and South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell in 2023). Now an Elite Series pro with a win at that level to his credit, Davis will compete on Grand Lake looking for a three-peat in the Nation Championship.
Daily takeoffs will be held at Wolf Creek Park at 6:30 a.m. CT and weigh-ins will be at the same location at 2:30 p.m. The Grove Convention and Tourism Bureau is hosting the event.