Early today on “Mercer in the Morning,” Cole Sands called his elders in the Tenn-Tom Top 10 “the heroes of junk fishing.”
When it comes to carrying a little extra junk in the trunk, neither Fred Sanford nor Kim Kardashian has anything on Jason Christie.
To quote Columbus, Mississippi native Red Barber, Christie was “sitting in the catbird seat” heading into today, but he couldn’t rest on those laurels. Instead, one of the greatest junk fishermen and greatest closers of the modern era of bass fishing just kept on picking up cans all day and eventually redeemed them for a cool hundred grand.
I watched more fishing this week than I have in a long time. Unlike many tournaments, this one had no clear-cut favorite in advance, but in hindsight it would be easy to believe that a Christie win was preordained.
With the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in our rearview mirror, here are my thoughts on Christie’s performance and his career, along with a few other things we saw and heard this week:
Things Christie has now accomplished (fishing edition) – Nine Bassmaster wins, including five Elites, three Opens and a Classic, across seven states. The only body of water where he’s won twice is St. Clair. The only other state where he’s won twice is Arkansas (Bull Shoals and Dardanelle).
Things Christie has not accomplished (fishing edition) – He’s yet to win the Elite Series AOY award. He doesn’t have an Elite Series win in Oklahoma yet (but it could be just a few weeks away). He doesn’t have a Century Belt. His closest mark was 88-8 when he won at St. Clair in 2017.
Things Christie has not accomplished (marginally related to fishing category) — He’s never done a breakdancing routine on his boat, at least not on camera.
Wesley Gore – “Today I had some of the right bites and they just didn’t commit.”
Frog Choker – We may have seen the same Top 10 and same eventual winner anyway, but Friday night’s weather change may have been the determining factor in this tournament. The first two days’ footage was loaded with epic frog bites in addition to the chatterbaits, spinnerbaits and swim jigs that ended up delivering continued success. When the cold weather rolled in, it seems to have decimated most of the topwater mojo and with it killed several anglers’ chances of a Sunday appearance. Of course, that’s nothing new in multi-day tournaments – the anglers who adjust best win most – but the role of weather changes has been a continuing trend this year. First, Guntersville featured atypically low temperatures and even some frozen water. Then at the Classic a hellacious rain in between the end of practice and the tournament killed most of the shallow water favorites’ bites.
Dakota Ebare – “Last year about this time I was in a really bad place on and off the water.”
Geritol Division Feeds the Narrative – We’ve had two non-FFS events this season and they’ve both been won by 50-something anglers: Hank Cherry and Jason Christie. In addition to Christie, today’s top ten included Mike Iaconelli and Mark Menendez, the latter of whom has aged out of the 50+ division into the true senior circuit.
Menendez Fishing Tip – When fish are merely bumping a swim jig, replace it with a Texas-rigged Strike King Space Monkey and reel it like a spinnerbait.
Never Give Up – It seems only fitting with Mike Iaconelli fishing today, but all of our field fished until the very last moment and it paid off for several of them. Jordan Lee caught a bass with 10 seconds left to go on a massive piece of driftwood just by the docks, as friends, family and fishing fans cheered. Dakota Ebare caught a fish outside the lock as he prepared to lock up and return to weigh-in. Upon returning to the marina, he found himself with several extra minutes and caught additional keepers.
Song Playing on the Second Stage When Ebare Caught His Final Fish – “Don’t Stop Believin’”
Lee’s Final Charge – The bass that Lee caught by the ramp weighed 3-5 and filled out his limit. Without it he would have finished 10th instead of seventh.
John Garrett – The leader in the AOY race had no regrets about knocking Jordan Lee out of the Yeti Hot Seat: “Jordan has taken my money since I was this tall,” he said, motioning pretty low. “So it feels good to take a little bit of his.” Neither of them were yet born when Gordon Gekko popularized the phrase “Greed is good.”
Four on the Floor – This week’s fourth place finish was not the best Elite result of John Garrett’s career. After all, he’d already won on the Harris Chain. However, he seems to have a special affinity for number four. He’s been fourth in two other Elites, a Redfish Cup, two Opens and two collegiate events.
The Career is Still Young – Dakota Ebare notched his best Elite finish this week. He was second. Previously his best Elite result was 10th at Guntersville earlier this year. So did Wesley Gore, who finished fifth, bettering the trio of seventh place finishes he’s had – two at Fork, one at Wheeler.
Bests and Worsts – Through three days, these 10 anglers combined for only two daily catches below 10 pounds. Today they brought five of them to the scales. No angler had his best catch of the four days today, although there were two teen-class sacks from Garrett and Ebare. Six of the top ten had their worst weights of the tournament today.
Mark Menendez – “Gray hair is a great thing because it gives you patience.”
Moving Up and Down – John Garrett gained the most places today, moving from sixth to third. Wesley Gore and Mark Menendez fell the most: three and five places, respectively.
Wesley Gore – “I’m an old man at heart.”
Sooch’s New Nickname for Seth Feider – “Push Broom” (possibly one word instead of two, will seek clarification). Either way, it’s top ten facial hair in Elite history, with a list including Paul Elias and Shaw Grigsby. Joe Sancho is still getting write-in votes.
John Garrett – “I’ve looked up to Jordan Lee my whole life.” Garrett is 30. Lee is 34.
Maybe it Was Meant to Be – Christie is proud of his Choctaw heritage. Most scholars trace the word “Tombigbee” to the Choctaw language, with it roughly translating to “box maker” or “coffin maker.” Going up against Jason Christie on Day 4 when he has a lead? You might as well prepare to be buried.
Most Unexpected Shout Outs at a Bassmaster Elite Series Tournament – Mid-1980s New Jersey math teacher Mrs. Malloy and Afrika Bambaataa (in the same sentence).
There were plenty of highlights on the water for me, but the best one came backstage. As Dave Mercer started to tout Jason Christie’s accomplishments in anticipation of him weighing in, Christie launched himself up the stairs. He had to be told to step back, as Mercer was still reading the voluminous list.
Even after all he’s done, he’s still excited to be here. More importantly, even with nine wins he knows that they don’t come frequently or easily. Anyone could be the last one.
Goodbye Columbus.
