Franklin County will be represented at the 2024 Bassmaster Junior National Championship. 

Ben Johnston, a rising freshman at Frontier Regional, and Sam Bucala, a rising freshman at Greenfield High School, placed first in a Massachusetts qualifier and will be heading to Chickamauga Lake in Dayton, Tenn. next week to represent the Bay State in the Bassmaster Junior National Championship. 

It is the second straight year Johnston has qualified, having competed in Oklahoma last summer, while it’s the first national tournament for Bucala. The tournament gets underway July 26 and ends the following day. 

“We’re really excited,” Johnston said. “We’re leaving [Saturday] so we’re getting everything together now. Not a lot of kids have the chance to go down south and go bass fishing for Team Massachusetts. It’s crazy when you think about it that way. We’re the best in Massachusetts and get to represent down there.” 

Johnston teamed up with Bucala, his friend, to compete this year. The pair have been busy practicing, traveling around to all different lakes to test different scenarios on the water. 

It’s just the first year Bucala has fished competitively, but he said he’s enjoyed it so far. 

“It’s been fun and different,” Bucala said. “It’s different than just going to ponds and screwing around. I like it.”

Johnston and Bucala qualified after having the top overall score after three regional qualifiers. 

The pair traveled to Whitehall Reservoir in Hopkinton for their first qualifier and placed third in a tough field. After, they competed at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester and took second, which put them in first place in overall points heading into the final qualifier at Lake Cochituate in Natick. There, they placed second to seal up a combined first place overall and earn a spot at nationals. 

Now after proving themselves against the best in the Commonwealth, Johnston and Bucala will compete against the best in the country. There will be 130 boats at nationals, with the competition ramping up. Don’t expect the local pair to back down, however. 

“Massachusetts isn’t a huge bass fishing state,” Johnston said. “The competition you have here is nowhere close to the level of competition at nationals. It’s the best of the best down there. We don’t have as much competition up here in Massachusetts but we belong just as much as any other state. We have the skills to compete.”

What’s the week ahead look like for Johnston and Bucala? After arriving in Tennessee, they’ll use Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to practice on Chickamauga Lake where they’ll try to learn as much about it as possible about where the fish are located and what they’re eating. Competitors are allowed on the lake from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. each day. Thursday is the banquet before the championship gets underway Friday. 

How does the tournament work? Johnston and Bucala will take off 6 a.m. and they have until 2 p.m. to catch the five biggest bass they can. After, the five largest are weighed. The same happens on Saturday, and the winner will be the boat with the heaviest total. Last year, Johnston placed fourth in his division. 

“Last year when I went I was trying to do well but I wasn’t thinking I’d do well,” Johnston said. “This year we’re hoping to get top 20. It’s going to be hard but it’s not impossible.” 

Now with experience at larger tournaments, Johnston said he is trying to pass that knowledge to Bucala of what it will be like with so many boats on the water at once.

“I just want to do well, learn some stuff and have fun,” Bucala said. “Ben has been telling me to just slow down out there. I’ve learned a lot of stuff from him and he’s showing me how to do stuff and where to go to catch them. It’s gotten easier and I know what to throw and where to throw now.” 

Fishing in Tennessee if far different from fishing in Massachusetts. While impossible to replicate the exact conditions, Johnston and Bucala have made it a point to get to as many different locations in the area to practice different skills that may prove to be vital at nationals.

“We’ve been practicing a lot and going out to learn new techniques,” Johnston said. “The water temperature isn’t as hot here so the fish are more active compared to Tennessee, where it’s warmer. It’s harder to catch them there so you have to adapt to do well.”

With fish seemingly more difficult to catch down south, Johnston and Bucala have been practicing at lakes that don’t have as many fish to prepare for the elements they’ll face. 

“You really have to find schools of fish down there, hone in on them and be patient,” Johnston said. “You have to slow down a lot. We’re going to lakes where there aren’t as many fish so we can adapt to that and catch them in different ways. If we go to Tennessee and they’re eating little baits in 20 feet of water, we’ve been there before and know how to catch them.” 

All that practice should pay dividend at Chickamauga Lake.