Jason Christie Wins 2022 Bassmaster Classic

A 6-pound largemouth that Jason Christie caught on the second day of official practice gave him a big clue as to what he needed to do to finally win the Bassmaster Classic. He had to avoid the type of water that it came from and put away the lure that enticed it.

Seriously.

The fish, a big-time bruiser by Lake Hartwell, was a total fluke in Christie's estimation. Keying on it was not going to carry him to possession of the trophy and the $300,000 winner's check. It had bitten a spinnerbait in dirty water and he determined that was a program that simply wouldn't hold up for the three competition days on the South Carolina venue.

"That was the best decision I made all week," said the Oklahoman who finally claimed the Classic title after a couple of gut-wrenching near-misses when he'd carried the lead into the final round. "I was running that dirtier water, which is typically what I like to fish, but I had a gut feeling that it wasn't going to work; there'd be too many people doing it and there wasn't enough of it to go around.

"I went right back to the clearer water."

Drain, Docks were the Deal

Christie posted a daily average of exactly 18 pounds to hold off runner-up Kyle Welcher by 5 ounces. He caught approximately half of his fish from a single ditch near the launch in Greenville, S.C. and the other half from boat docks.

He was the last angler to weigh in on the final day and wasn't confident that his total would surpass the 53-11 posted by Welcher, a third-year Elite Series competitor from Alabama who came into the event having finished 80th or lower in each of the last four tournaments dating back to last season.

However, his 17-09 haul was indeed sufficient.

"I was thinking I had about 16 1/2 pounds, but I'd culled a couple of times really late and just threw them in the box," he said. "After Stetson (Blaylock) weighed in (a tournament-best 20-09 stringer for a 53-05 total), I knew he was going to be hard to beat, then Kyle goes up and beats him. I thought I might have 17, but I didn't know if I had enough to beat (Welcher). I felt the bag when I pulled it out of the livewell and I knew it was going to be really close.

"Those numbers coming up, 17 and then 9, I'll never forget seeing that."

He said he was still recuperating from the whole ordeal a couple of days later.

"It was exhausting, especially the last day, and I feel like I fished my guts out. Then the weigh-in and the after-party and all of that; it was busy, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

"Seeing the excitement of my family and my sponsors is what sticks with me the most. So many people came up to me with tears in their eyes and were just super excited that I'd won. It was like they'd rode that ride with me the times I'd led and lost, and they felt it. I could really see the sincerity in their eyes and that's what makes it special.

"Not that it's over," he concluded, "all I want is No. 2. I want to do it again."

He said the victory will absolutely change the way he fishes for the remainder of the Elite Series season. Never a dedicated points-chaser to begin with, he'll now have no fear of taking chances with next year's Classic berth in the bag.

"I don't have to worry about points at all and I can just go fishing and have a good time," he said.

Error-Free Fishing

Christie said the event played out for him sans any major hitches; he never lost a fish that would've helped his cause despite several that came precariously close to wrapping his line around dock cables and other manmade obstacles.

The biggest fish in the drain came from the 30-foot depth range, although he caught some from water as shallow as 10 feet. They could be sitting on the bottom, suspended at mid-depths or cruising around within a few feet of the surface.

The LiveScope (forward-facing sonar) feature on his Garmin electronics was critical in that scenario.

"You're just not going to catch those fish swimming around out there without it," he said.

He used a prototype Yum minnow in a shad-imitating color to get them to bite. It was attached to a 3/16-ounce jighead tied to an 8-foot, 8-pound Sunline Super FC Sniper fluorocarbon leader. His main line was 16-pound Sunline SX1 braid spooled on a Lew's Custom Pro 3000 spinning reel, which was secured to a 7-foot medium-action Falcon Cara rod.

A 5/8-ounce War Eagle Jiu Jitsu Jig (green pumpkin/orange) with a Yum Craw Chunk trailer (green pumpkin/purple flake) was his primary offering around the shallow docks. He used his signature series 7'4" heavy-action Falcon Cara flipping stick, a Lew's Custom SP casting reel and 20-pound Sunline Shooter fluorocarbon.

"I went there with the utmost confidence in the deep pattern because it's what I've done at home on Lake Tenkiller forever at this time of year," he said. "I wanted it to be cold and I wanted to fish the deep deal, but when we got there we had a warming trend going straight up and you knew the fish were going to start heading to the banks (in preparation for the spawn).

"I would've been perfectly fine using the spinning rod all day, every day."

John Johnson. "Disregarding Big Bite Was Key For Christie" 9 March 2022, majorleaguefishing.com/tips/bradley-roys-three-must-have-baits-for-winter-success. Accessed 9 March 2022.