Of all the gin joints in all the world, Jason Christie and Seth Feider had to find the same one.
If either one had the one backwater they’ve settled into to himself, the outcome of this tournament might be a fait accompli. Instead, we may get a mano a mano stadium-style showdown in the spirit of Cataouatche or Beeswax Creek.
Just a couple of differences: First, the winner may be a lock or two away; and second, there’s currently one of those pesky sub-30-year-olds preventing them from holding the top two spots.
As John Garrett (6th, 40-3) said hopefully but truthfully, “Everybody in the Top 10 has a chance to win this tournament.” The difference between first and 10th is less than 6 pounds. There’s a chance that someone else will have a big day and vault into the lead, especially if Feider and Christie end up splitting the baby.
This has already been a whirlwind of a tournament, with nothing but praise for the fishery and the style of fishing we’re seeing. It’s upset a few expectations, as presumed scopers like Wesley Gore (2nd, 44-5), Tucker Smith (7th, 40-3), Trey McKinney (15th, 38-12) and Kyoya Fujita (14th, 38-13) have excelled, but this is a feel-good deal – even after bouncing off thousands of stumps.
Here’s my distillation of Day 3, the quotes that stood out, and what I’m looking for as we near the end at the Tenn-Tom:
Mariano Rivera of the Tombigbee – Jason Christie (1st, 45-9) is one of the greatest closers of the modern era, with eight Bassmaster wins to his credit. The second most-recent victory was on the Sabine in 2022, a venue that many expected to be comparable to this one. In that event, he was second to Brock Mosley on Day 1, then claimed the lead on Day 2 and never relinquished it. But that tournament was very different to this one. He caught 6-12 on Day 3 and 8-4 on Day 4, but his lead stayed effectively the same (it went from 1-01 to 15 ounces to 1-6). This week, he started the tournament in 37th (5-9 back), then rose to fifth yesterday (5-8 back) before claiming the lead today on the strength of a second consecutive 16-10 limit.
Sunshine State Similarity – Christie’s wins have come on a wide range of waters, from the Sabine to Hartwell to St. Clair, but his last three Elite Top 10s prior to this week have all come in Florida: the Harris Chain and the St. Johns in 2024, then Okeechobee last year.
Feider’s Follies – Seth Feider (3rd, 42-14) has won the AOY title and has competed in seven Bassmaster Classics, but oddly he has never won a regular season Elite Series event. His two B.A.S.S. wins were the small field AOY championships of 2016 and 2019, held on Mille Lacs and St. Clair, respectively. He has three Elite runner-up finishes, two on Champlain and one in La Crosse.
A Metal Surprise – Zero aluminum boats in the Top 10. Lee Livesay (11th, 39-11) and his Xpress had enough weight but missed fishing on Sunday by a tiebreaker. It is indeed a bad day to be a Busch Light, which also comes in aluminum.
Menendez is Back – Mark Menendez (5th, 40-7) almost didn’t make it back to the Elite Series this year, but another angler’s retirement made him the last man in. This is his first Elite Top 10 since Santee Cooper in 2023. His last win came at Dardanelle in 2009. His first win came at Pickwick-Wilson in 1998, which was before fellow Sunday competitors Wesley Gore and Tucker Smith were born.
The Name Game – Yesterday I wrote that the most prominent person outside of bass world named Pake is Pake McEntire (born Del Stanley McEntire), an American country music artist, rodeo performer, and older brother of Reba McEntire. Through social media, I later got confirmation from Pake South’s mother Melissa: “Pake’s name actually did come from Pake McEntire. I was listening to a country music station when I was pregnant, and I heard them talking about Reba McEntire’s brother, Pake. I instantly liked it, and it was unique enough that I probably wouldn’t encounter it every year in my classroom like many tired, recycled names. Easy to spell. Fits perfectly with ‘lake’ for Pake at the Lake.”
Cliff Pace (44th, 32-2) compared the Tenn-Tom to a Rattlesnake – “You mess with it long enough and it’s going to bite you.” After catching 13-13 and 12-5 the first two days, the Mississippi pro struggled to catch four bass for 6 pounds today.
Giving Back – Whenever he makes an Elite cut, Bill Lowen (43rd, 32-5) donates a Bassmaster membership to a youngster in the crowd. Today, instead of a one-year membership, he gave the lucky kid a lifetime membership in honor of Joby Smith. “Bassmaster magazine gave me my love and my dream to stand on this stage one day like my hero Denny Brauer,” he said.
Ike (8th, 39-13) – “I was a little slow and a little stubborn yesterday.” He vowed early this morning to fish more “wide-open” and once again put on a show on camera. Like Christie, he had the same weight yesterday as he did today – in Ike’s case 11-10 – but it was enough to hold onto a spot in the top ten.
Ike Again – “Fishermen lie but the fish never lie.”
Ike’s Eighties Reference – “You have to start solving a side before you can solve the whole Rubik’s Cube,” he said from the water. Later onstage he said, “That thing always pissed me off because I could never figure it out.” Today he made just enough precise turns to squeeze inside the cut in 8th, by a mere two ounces. It’s his first Elite Top 10 since Seminole in February 2023.
Randy Howell (25th, 36-10) – “It was a good tournament until today.” That reminds me of the lyric from Bob Dylan’s song Mississippi: “Only one thing I did wrong/Stayed in Mississippi a day too long.”
Not Another Second – Trey McKinney has notably finished second in two consecutive AOY races and two consecutive Classics. He’s started the year strong, finishing ninth at Guntersville, where FFS was prohibited, and 20th at Martin, where it was allowed. He squeaked into the 50 cut this week with 22-7 and then made a charge up to 15th today on the strength of a 16-5 limit today. That’s 35 critical points toward AOY, and further proof that he can catch ‘em with or without the box.
Barely Missed It – “I said 39 pounds would make it. I hope I was right,” Justin Atkins said onstage. It was not. He missed fishing on Sunday by 11 ounces, one of six who missed it by less than a pound.
Just a Bit Inside – The difference between 10th place and fifth place is 12 ounces.
Hunter Shryock (13th, 38-14) — “I’m from Ohio so I’m used to tough fishing. This is not tough fishing. This is fun fishing.”
Shryock Studied – Shryock loves to flip, and likely would’ve done so anyway, but he ended up flipping a tube this week after studying the 2004 Mark Davis E50 win here, in which he ran away with it by flipping a tube.
Carl Jocumsen (36th, 34-4) – “This place reminds me of Australia. Everything is trying to bite you or eat you or kill you on the bank.”
Christie on Repeat – When Jason Christie won at the Sabine River in 2022, all his fish came on a 1/2-oz Booyah Covert Series Spinnerbait with a chartreuse/blue/white skirt and nickel/gold Colorado blades. He paired it with a Yum Swim’n Dinger in watermelon pearl. His winning weight over four days was 43-15 (a mark he’s exceeded by 1-10 this week in three days). Although he weighed in one fish flipping today and one on a swim jig, he’s still doing damage with a Booyah Spinnerbait – ½ ounce, same skirt, but with a single blade and a new Yum trailer that he designed and introduced at the recent Bassmaster Classic.
Teens Today – While the bite toughened up, there were still ten bags of 13 pounds or more on Day 3, topped by Jason Christie’s second straight 16-10 limit. Trey McKinney was the only other angler to top 16 pounds today. Seth Feider is the only angler who has caught 13 pounds plus every day, which means that their shared area has produced at least five teen-class bags, plus Christie’s 12-5 on Day One. Lee Livesay came close, but missed the mark by an ounce yesterday. That cost him, as he had enough weight to land in 10th, but lost a tiebreaker for the spot to Cole Sands (10th, 39-11).
Caddyshack – On a week when Bill Murray’s son earned his first NCAA basketball head coaching job, it would somehow be fitting if Seth Feider were to win, just so I could write the headline, “Big Hitter the Llama.”
Wesley Gore’s Swimming Lizard – “This thing is a bad dude on those cold front days.”
Through Three Days – Kevin Short won an Open here in August of 2003 with 39-4. Today that weight would have an angler in 12th place. Paul Elias won the October 2004 Open here with 34-3. Today, that weight would have an angler in 37th.
K-Pink References Onstage – One from Justin Atkins.
History Lesson – Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto is reputed to have crossed the Tombigbee River in his search for El Dorado.
Three days, three different leaders. Lots of stumps left to hit and lead changes to watch.
Back at it tomorrow for Day 4 from Columbus.
