Jason Christie and Greg Hackney have much in common. They’ve both had stellar pro bass fishing careers topping $2 million in B.A.S.S. earnings. They’re both 51 years old. And they’ve both had uncharacteristically uneven performances on the 2025 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series. Christie entered this final tournament of the season 67th in Progressive Angler of the Year points; Hackney was 78th.
The conclusion of Day 1 at the Pro-Guide Bassmaster Elite at the Mississippi River found them both inside the Top 10 – Christie is 7th with 17 pounds, 6 ounces, Hackney is 8th with 17-4. Yes, that added enticement of an automatic berth in the Bassmaster Classic for the winner of this tournament has given both some extra pep in their step. More importantly, it’s a chance to close a tough season on a positive note, even without a first-place trophy and a Classic berth.
“I just wanna end the year on a good note because I’ve had such a crappy year,” Hackney said. “I’ve had enough of that taste in my mouth. I don’t want to spend all winter thinking about it.”
Especially here, it’s important to start the tournament on a high note, according to Christie, who finished 14th in August 2022, the last time the Elite Series came to the Mississippi River at La Crosse, Wis.
“The last time we were here I made a bad decision on where to go,” he said. “I just made a bad decision the first day and got behind. You can’t get behind up here. I mean you can’t get 4 or 5 pounds behind. It’s almost impossible to make it up.”
Christie was in 49th place with 11-14 after Day 1 in 2022 before moving up to 14th the next two days and missing the Top 10/Day 4 cut by exactly 1 pound.
The Oklahoma angler said he practiced for this one just like he would for a Bassmaster Classic with the idea of win or else. His record in the Classic includes a win in 2022 at Lake Hartwell, second place in 2016 at Tulsa and third place in 2018 at Hartwell.
“That’s how I practiced for this event, like practicing for the Classic, winner take all,” Christie said. “I looked for the glory hole the whole time. I never found it in practice. I got lucky and stumbled across a couple today. But I’m learning more each day, and that’s usually when I do good is when I figure it out during the tournament, not during practice.
“We still have three days of fishing left so anything can happen. I just know that I’m 15 bites away. I was 20, now I’m 15 bites away. There’s thousands of winning fish out there, and I just need 15 to be the right ones to bite my stuff and get them in. Even if I don’t win, I just want to end the season on a positive note.”
Hackney’s thinking is much along the same line. This season has left him perplexed.
“Oh my gosh, it is the worst,” he said. “I’ve never finished below 44th (in AOY points). The worst year I’ve ever had was 44th.”
As noted earlier, Hackney entered this 2025 finale in 78th place in the AOY standings.
“Some of it was decision-making, but, man, I’ve just had a bad year at catching fish that bit,” Hackney said. “This is the worst year I’ve ever had for losing fish. I catch one this morning and then I lose the next four, and they were all good ones. I was like, ‘There’s no way. This is every tournament.’ And then I turned it around and caught everything that bit me after those four. But I’ve just had a really (bad) year for that.
“I had to make an adjustment, and I did that today. That was kind of the deal, I made a little adjustment and then I was able to catch the rest of them. But I don’t know, man, this whole year just don’t make any sense.”
For both Hackney and Christie, qualifying in the Top 10 after three days and fishing on Championship Sunday on the Mississippi River would put a positive spin on an otherwise uncharacteristic season. And to win it? That would wash away a flood of 2025 bad memories.