It will be a case of déjà vu for Bob Izumi on Friday when he begins the Canadian International Sport Fishing (CISA) Kingston Open.
The affable former TV host and longtime tournament angler headlines an elite field that will chase the $50,000 winner's prize in the three-day event. Izumi, 67, said this reminds him of when heralded Americans would come north to compete.
"In the late '80s through the '90s, Kingston had the Canadian Open," said Izumi. "Legendary American anglers like Guido and Dion Hibdon, Denny Brauer, Al and James Lindner, Bernie Schultz and many full-time U.S. pros who'd come up and fish the tournament.
"This is reminiscent of that because we have that calibre of angler, in a different era, of course, here now, so it's pretty cool. It was so cool to have those guys I knew coming up to fish it."
Izumi -- who'll compete with his son, Darrin -- tops an Open field that also includes Canadian Elite Series veterans Chris and Cory Johnston, Cooper Gallant, of Bowmanville, Ont., and Evan Kung of Pickering, Ont. American Elite Series competitors Jacob Powroznik and Matt Robertson will also team up.
Chris Johnston, of Peterborough, Ont., just completed the '25 Elite Series season with a second straight overall title after finishing 19th last weekend on the Mississippi River at La Crosse, Wisc. Cory Johnston, of Cavan, Ont., was third in that event and 11th overall.
Last month, Chris Johnston won a Major League Fishing tournament on the St. Lawrence River in Massena, N.Y. At the same time, Cory Johnston and their father, Lynn, captured the BaitFuel Fishing Tour's Thousand Island Open in Kingston.
In 2020, Chris Johnston became the first Canadian to win an Elite Series tournament (also on the St. Lawrence River). Then last year, Cory Johnston captured two events -- including the season-ending tournament on the St. Lawrence River.
Cory Johnston's first Bassmaster victory was at the 2021 Northern Open at St. Lawrence River/1000 Islands. Kung and Ryan Clark, of Whitby, Ont., won last year's Thousand Island Open.
Approximately 66 teams are scheduled to open the event Friday, with the top 20 per cent (roughly first 13-14 boats) qualifying for Sunday's final.
Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence provide a quality smallmouth bass fishery. Izumi estimates teams will need their five-fish limits to weigh between 22 and 23 pounds in each of the first two days to compete Sunday.
"When you have a stacked group of anglers like this, you must set the numbers pretty high," Izumi said. "To make a cheque in a tournament like this, you've got to be catching a 4 1/2- to 4 3/4-pound average for five fish daily, and those are pretty big fish.
"Every team in this tournament has had those days, though."
Weather, and most notably wind, will be key factors. So, too, Izumi said, will be hitting multiple areas.
"You must be very open-minded in these multi-day tournaments because it's not like you go to the same spot three days in a row generally and win a tournament here," he said. "You've got to mix it up and fish many different spots and areas."
And have some fishing luck, but do not be totally reliant upon it.
"Here's the type of luck I'm talking about," Izumi said. "Luck of catching one, two or three big fish over the duration of the tournament and when I say big, I mean high fives to mid-sixes.
"If you catch three of those in your mix of other big fish (4 1/2-five pounders), now you're doing something and that's a bit of luck. But the guy who catches five five-pound fish daily, that's not luck, that's 100 per cent know-how."
And while professional anglers are more experienced and knowledgeable than the average fisherman, Izumi said even pros lose fish.
"You can be a phenomenal angler but still have those bad days," Izumi said. "You don't catch every fish you hook.
"One, two or three lost fish in a multi-day tournament like this could add another pound or two to your total weight and that would make a huge difference. That's being unlucky, but it happens … and comes with the territory."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 28, 2025.
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press
