April 11, 2021

Jason Christie Earns Sixth Bassmaster Win At Sabine River Elite

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ORANGE, Texas — Sticking with a bold plan, but making key adjustments was the winning formula for Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla., whose four-day total of 43 pounds, 15 ounces topped the Dovetail Games Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River sponsored by Bassmaster Fishing 2022 – the official video game of B.A.S.S.

Claiming his sixth Bassmaster victory, Christie posted his best effort on Day 1 with a second-place limit of 15-1. He took over the top spot on Friday by adding 13-14 and held that position on Day 3 with a limit of 6-12. He closed the deal with a Championship Sunday limit that weighed 8-4.

After entering the final round with a 15-ounce lead over Day 1 leader Brock Mosley, Christie edged Mosley by a margin of 1-6.

For four days, Christie committed the majority of his time to a narrow creek about two hours upriver from takeoff. Locating the spot in practice, Christie recognized its mix of shallow wood and cut banks as prime bass habitat, while the distant run discouraged all but one competitor from fishing the area.

“There’s a lot of backwaters downriver from this area, but then there’s like a 20-mile stretch where there’s nothing until you get to this spot,” Christie said. “The first two days of the event it was super treacherous to run; there were logs, sandbars, stuff like that. That’s what kept people from going up there.”

After two strong days of skillfully picking apart the visible cover, Christie returned to his spot on Day 3 to find it 6 to 7 feet deeper. Increased water releases from Toledo Bend Dam swelled the upper Sabine and inundated his creek.

“Before the water came up, there were isolated targets and it wasn’t hard,” Christie said. “But once it came up, it was almost impossible. That’s why today I ran as far up that thing as I could.

“The further you get, the banks get higher and there wasn’t as much back flow coming from the river. That was my goal today — to get to where I could keep the fish between the bank and me.”

Knowing his best option was covering water quickly, Christie relied on a 1/2-ounce chartreuse/white/blue Booyah Covert spinnerbait with tandem nickel and gold Colorado blades. This bait equally appealed to the creek’s largemouth and spotted bass.

“With the largemouth, you had to lay it on the bank; it’s almost like their backs would be out of the water,” Christie said. “The spotted bass would be in the current around the eddies.”

While Christie’s 21-foot XPress aluminum boat was ideal for the shallow habitat he fished, fuel management was essential for ensuring he could make the return trip. After a strong Day 1 performance, he had to allow for the weight of a cameraperson and gear.

Removing approximately 150 pounds of tackle and 14 of his usual 20 rods helped, but Christie noted that the higher water of Days 3 and 4 slightly reduced his fuel consumption by allowing him to safely run a straighter course through the Sabine’s many turns.

Carefully calculating his fuel plan and running time, Christie allowed himself a generous return window each day. Reaching the takeoff area with approximately an hour to spare, he flipped shallow targets with a black/blue flake YUM Spine Craw.

On Sunday, that strategy allowed him to make two small culls that contributed to his winning margin.

Hailing from Collinsville, Miss., Mosley tallied a four-day total of 42-9. After taking the Day 1 lead with 15-10 — the event’s heaviest bag — Mosley held the second-place spot for the tournament’s remainder with weights of 12-4, 6-14 and 7-13.

The first three days, Mosley ran 110 miles west to fish Clear Creek on the east side of metro Houston. There, he did most of his work with a 1/2-ounce chartreuse/white Z-Man JackHammer ChatterBait with a white Yamamoto Zako trailer.

Mosley, who also placed second at the previous Elite on Pickwick Lake, switched his strategy and stayed closed to takeoff where he allowed himself maximum fishing time. Starting his day with a reaction bite inspired hope for a big outcome, but the opportunities never materialized.

“I caught my first fish on a spinnerbait and then I thought it was game-on, but I never got another bite on it,” he said. “I ended up catching my limit by flipping a Yamamoto Flappin Hog, then I picked up a frog and went to Adams Bayou. I had the bites, they just never connected.

“At 2:40, I came back up by takeoff and threw the ChatterBait. I had a big one pull off and that kind of stings. I fished as hard as I could; I have no regrets.”

Taku Ito of Chiba, Japan, finished third with 40-12. Turning in a solid performance that accelerated in the second half, Ito caught limits of 9-2, 8-5, 12-4 and 11-1. As he explained, the tough fishing of his Japanese home waters prepared him to capitalize on the late-day downturns, during which he excelled.

“Most anglers are good at catching feeding fish on ChatterBaits, flipping, spinnerbait; but I don’t like shallow fishing, I don’t like power fishing, I don’t like cover — I like finesse fishing,” Ito said. “The afternoon is tough. The current stops, it’s sunny — that’s good for me.”

Targeting the shady areas of a broken bridge near takeoff, Ito caught his bass on Nories Sankaku-T-San (a T-shaped soft-plastic bait) rigged on a 2/0 Ryugi Infini hook with a 3/16- to 1/4-ounce nail weight. His final-round limit included a 3-pounder at 12:20 p.m. and a 3-14 at 2:40.

Marc Frazier of Newnan, Ga., won the Phoenix Boats Big Bass award for his 6-6.

Seth Feider of New Market, Minn., leads the Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 341 points, followed by Patrick Walters of Summerville, S.C., with 333, Drew Cook of Cairo, Ga., with 317. Christie with 303 and Mosley with 302.

Bryan New of Belmont, N.C., leads the Rookie of the Year standings with 261 points.

Christie took home $3,000 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program, and Mosley earned $2,000 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

As part of the Yamaha Power Pay program, Christie also earned $4,000 for winning while Ito claimed an additional $1,500 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

The tournament was hosted by the Greater Orange Chamber of Commerce.

With a three-day total of 35 pounds, 11 ounces, Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla., is leading after Day 3 of the 2021 Dovetail Games Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River sponsored by Bassmaster Fishing 2022 – the official video game of B.A.S.S. 

                                                                                                                                                   Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.

April 10, 2021

Despite High Water, Christie Maintains Lead At Bassmaster Elite On Sabine River

ORANGE, Texas — Jason Christie had more gas than he needed and more water than he wanted, but the Park Hill, Okla., angler’s three-day total of 35 pounds, 11 ounces allowed him to maintain his lead on Day 3 of the Dovetail Games Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River sponsored by Bassmaster Fishing 2022 – the official video game of B.A.S.S.

Christie placed second on Day 1 with 15-1 and took over the top spot Friday by adding 13-14. On Saturday, the Sabine was in a stingier mood and Christie found only a small limit of 6-12. He holds a 15-ounce lead over Day 1 leader Brock Mosley.

Returning to the same narrow backwater about two hours upriver, Christie found that increased water releases from Toledo Bend Dam had raised the water level in his region about 6 to 7 feet.

With the extra weight of a cameraperson and gear in his boat Friday and Saturday, Christie has been carefully monitoring fuel consumption. On Saturday, the high water facilitated his run but it inundated his playing fiel

“Once I got about 15 miles from where I was going, the (river) water was up in the trees,” Christie said. “The good thing was I could run a little straighter line and I had more gas left, but it doesn’t help when you don’t catch a lot of fish.

“I went from 40 to 50 bites a day to seven. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, but at least I got (a limit) today.”

Christie is a shallow-water specialist who surgically picks apart visible targets like the laydowns, cypress knees and cut banks abounding in his backwater spot. On Saturday, the extra water covered much of those features and scattered the bass into the surrounding forest.

Despite his flipping prowess, Christie relied on a 1/2-ounce chartreuse/white/blue Booyah Covert spinnerbait with tandem nickel and gold Colorado blades to catch a limit of spotted bass, including one about 2 1/4 pounds.

“There’s not that many (quality fish) in there and when you quadruple the amount of water, it just spreads them out,” he said. “I’m sure some people might say, ‘Pick up a flipping stick and go to work,’ but with only four hours to fish, I don’t have time to stop and flip.”

After losing a good fish early and struggling to find additional opportunities, Christie pushed farther into the creek. Days 1 and 2, he fished a half mile in. On Saturday, he went about twice as far.

Same as the first two days, Christie allowed himself sufficient time to make the downstream run to weigh-in. Arriving with time to spare, he flipped a few spots close to the ramp with a YUM Spine Craw and culled out his smallest spot with a largemouth.

Despite the changing conditions, Christie’s confident the area he’s fished for three days offers his best opportunity to win.

“I’ve just kept myself in the only place I feel like there’s a big concentration of fish,” he said. “If the water’s still high, I have a couple of places that I tried to get into in practice and I should be able to get into.

“I can’t stay (close to takeoff) and fish. I can’t do it; that’s not me. I gotta go with what got me here.”

Hailing from Collinsville, Miss., Mosley ran 110 miles West to fish Clear Creek near the metro Houston area. He’s made that run each day, but Saturday yielded a small limit of 6-14 to go with his previous weights of 15-10 and 12-4. His three-day total is 34-12.

Mosley started with his game plan of fishing a 1/2-ounce chartreuse/white Z-Man JackHammer ChatterBait with a white Yamamoto Zako trailer along seawalls, docks and shoreline wood. On Saturday, he also reached deeper into the area’s backwaters.

“The last couple of days, I haven’t been able to move around because I’ve been spending some of my day playing defense and keeping (competitors) off the spots where I’ve been catching my better fish,” Mosley said. “Today, I was able to move around a little bit.

“I don’t think my areas are necessarily going dry, but today it seemed like the tide stayed up and I never really felt like the water was moving really strong. I had a lot of bites, but they were just slapping it; they weren’t eating it like they were the last two days.”

Chris Johnston of Peterborough, Canada, is in third with 32-3. After weighing bags of 9-4 and 12-4, he added 10-11 Saturday.

Johnston, who became the first Canadian to win an Elite event with his 2020 victory at the St. Lawrence River, targeted shallow backwaters in the Neches River. He varied his presentations based on tide stage.

“I caught quite a few fish on an unweighted black floating worm when the water was low,” Johnston said. “That seems to be the way I can get a limit. I hadn’t caught any big fish on it all week, but today, I caught a 3 1/4-pounder on it.

“When the water gets back into the (vegetation), that’s when I flip. I caught my biggest fish (3 1/2) flipping a Strike King Rage Bug with a 3/8-ounce Woo Tungsten weight.”

Marc Frazier of Newnan, Ga., is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 6-6 largemouth.

Seth Feider of New Market, Minn., leads the Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 343 points, followed by Patrick Walters of Summerville, S.C., with 333 and Drew Cook of Cairo, Ga., with 312.

Bryan New of Belmont, N.C., leads the Rookie of the Year standings with 261 points.

The remaining 10 anglers will take off at 6:45 a.m. CT Sunday from the City of Orange Boat Ramp. The weigh-in will be held at the ramp at 3 p.m.

Live coverage of the event can be streamed on Bassmaster.com and the FOX Sports digital platforms. FS1 will also broadcast the action live with the leaders beginning at 7 a.m. CT.

The tournament is being hosted by the Greater Orange Chamber of Commerce.

2021 Dovetail Games Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River is sponsored by Bassmaster Fishing 2022 – the official video game of B.A.S.S.  4/8-4/11
Sabine River, Orange  TX.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 3

   Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$

1.  Jason Christie         Park Hill, OK           15  35-11  100
Day 1: 5   15-01     Day 2: 5   13-14     Day 3: 5   06-12
2.  Brock Mosley           Collinsville, MS        15  34-12   99
Day 1: 5   15-10     Day 2: 5   12-04     Day 3: 5   06-14
3.  Chris Johnston         Otonabee Ontario CANADA 15  32-03   98
Day 1: 5   09-04     Day 2: 5   12-04     Day 3: 5   10-11
4.  Seth Feider            New Market, MN          15  30-12   97
Day 1: 5   09-13     Day 2: 5   10-13     Day 3: 5   10-02
5.  Caleb Sumrall          New Iberia, LA          15  30-10   96
Day 1: 5   09-11     Day 2: 5   09-09     Day 3: 5   11-06
6.  Taku Ito               Chiba JAPAN             15  29-11   95   $1,000.00
Day 1: 5   09-02     Day 2: 5   08-05     Day 3: 5   12-04
7.  Kyle Welcher           Opelika, AL             15  29-09   94
Day 1: 5   10-02     Day 2: 5   07-11     Day 3: 5   11-12
8.  Lee Livesay            Longview, TX            15  29-06   93
Day 1: 5   12-08     Day 2: 5   08-10     Day 3: 5   08-04
9.  KJ Queen               Catawba, NC             15  29-02   92   $1,000.00
Day 1: 5   11-05     Day 2: 5   09-12     Day 3: 5   08-01
10. Drew Cook              Cairo, GA               15  29-00   91
Day 1: 5   09-15     Day 2: 5   07-07     Day 3: 5   11-10
11. Matt Robertson         Kuttawa, KY             15  28-08   90  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   10-11     Day 2: 5   09-00     Day 3: 5   08-13
12. Caleb Kuphall          Mukwonago, WI           15  27-15   89  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   13-00     Day 2: 5   09-03     Day 3: 5   05-12
13. Randy Sullivan         Breckenridge, TX        15  27-10   88  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   08-03     Day 2: 5   07-12     Day 3: 5   11-11
14. Yusuke Miyazaki        Forney, TX              15  27-03   87  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   08-10     Day 2: 5   08-05     Day 3: 5   10-04
15. Brandon Cobb           Greenwood, SC           15  26-12   86  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   11-14     Day 2: 5   06-14     Day 3: 5   08-00
16. John Cox               Debary, FL              15  26-07   85  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   09-04     Day 2: 5   11-05     Day 3: 5   05-14
17. Tyler Rivet            Raceland, LA            15  25-14   84  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   10-09     Day 2: 5   07-14     Day 3: 5   07-07
18. Hank Cherry Jr         Lincolnton, NC          15  25-12   83  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   10-09     Day 2: 5   07-11     Day 3: 5   07-08
19. Mark Menendez          Paducah, KY             15  25-08   82  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   05-12     Day 2: 5   09-04     Day 3: 5   10-08
20. Brett Preuett          Monroe, LA              15  25-07   81  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   08-07     Day 2: 5   09-13     Day 3: 5   07-03
21. Quentin Cappo          Prairieville, LA        15  25-02   80  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   06-10     Day 2: 5   08-08     Day 3: 5   10-00
22. Pat Schlapper          Eleva, WI               15  25-02   79  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   07-13     Day 2: 5   07-11     Day 3: 5   09-10
23. Ray Hanselman Jr       Del Rio, TX             15  25-01   78  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   07-09     Day 2: 5   10-00     Day 3: 5   07-08
24. Luke Palmer            Coalgate, OK            15  24-15   77  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   09-01     Day 2: 5   10-07     Day 3: 5   05-07
25. Harvey Horne           Bella Vista, AR         15  24-12   76  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   07-05     Day 2: 5   08-10     Day 3: 5   08-13
26. Marc Frazier           Newnan, GA              12  24-06   75  $11,000.00
Day 1: 5   12-02     Day 2: 2   02-15     Day 3: 5   09-05
27. Hunter Shryock         Ooltewah, TN            15  24-01   74  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   06-13     Day 2: 5   08-02     Day 3: 5   09-02
28. John Crews Jr          Salem, VA               15  24-00   73  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   09-02     Day 2: 5   08-00     Day 3: 5   06-14
29. Bob Downey             Hudson, WI              15  23-10   72  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   10-01     Day 2: 5   07-03     Day 3: 5   06-06
30. Clark Wendlandt        Leander, TX             15  22-14   71  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   07-14     Day 2: 5   06-14     Day 3: 5   08-02
31. Steve Kennedy          Auburn, AL              15  22-10   70  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   06-13     Day 2: 5   08-05     Day 3: 5   07-08
32. Patrick Walters        Summerville, SC         15  22-07   69  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   08-09     Day 2: 5   06-09     Day 3: 5   07-05
33. Justin Atkins          Florence, AL            15  22-04   68  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   09-11     Day 2: 5   06-01     Day 3: 5   06-08
34. Gerald Swindle         Guntersville, AL        15  21-05   67  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   06-11     Day 2: 5   08-05     Day 3: 5   06-05
35. Brad Whatley           Bivins, TX              15  20-13   66  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   05-14     Day 2: 5   09-01     Day 3: 5   05-14
36. Matt Arey              Shelby, NC              15  20-13   65  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   07-08     Day 2: 5   07-11     Day 3: 5   05-10
37. Scott Martin           Clewiston, FL           14  19-14   64  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   07-04     Day 2: 5   08-15     Day 3: 4   03-11
38. Robbie Latuso          Gonzales, LA            11  19-13   63  $10,000.00
Day 1: 2   05-10     Day 2: 5   09-03     Day 3: 4   05-00
39. Matt Herren            Ashville, AL            13  19-08   62  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   09-03     Day 2: 5   06-02     Day 3: 3   04-03
40. Brandon Card           Salisbury, NC           10  19-06   61  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   07-11     Day 2: 5   11-11     Day 3: 0   00-00
41. Jake Whitaker          Fairview, NC            12  19-02   60  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   07-09     Day 2: 5   07-12     Day 3: 2   03-13
42. Bill Lowen             Brookville, IN          13  18-02   59  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   07-02     Day 2: 5   07-13     Day 3: 3   03-03
43. Paul Mueller           Naugatuck, CT           12  18-01   58  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   04-02     Day 2: 5   10-11     Day 3: 2   03-04
44. Stetson Blaylock       Benton, AR              11  17-10   57  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   10-03     Day 2: 4   04-07     Day 3: 2   03-00
45. Skylar Hamilton        Dandridge, TN           12  17-10   56  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   10-00     Day 2: 5   05-08     Day 3: 2   02-02
46. Brian Snowden          Reeds Spring, MO        11  17-06   55  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   08-12     Day 2: 5   07-12     Day 3: 1   00-14
47. Koby Kreiger           Alva, FL                11  16-14   54  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   07-10     Day 2: 5   07-03     Day 3: 1   02-01
48. Destin DeMarion        Grove City, PA          11  16-06   53  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   06-02     Day 2: 5   08-13     Day 3: 1   01-07
49. Drew Benton            Blakely, GA             10  14-11   52  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   07-04     Day 2: 5   07-07     Day 3: 0   00-00
———————————————————————–

PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Day
1   Marc Frazier             Newnan, GA          06-06      $1,000.00
2   KJ Queen                 Catawba, NC         04-06      $1,000.00
3   Taku Ito                 Chiba JAPAN         04-10      $1,000.00

———————————————————————–
Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
1        71       420       679-12
2        73       440       680-14
3        36       205       333-11
———————————-
180      1065      1694-05