TULSA, Okla. — It’s more about what could happen Sunday, not what has happened the past two days on Grand Lake O’ The Cherokees.
That’s why Jason Christie said, “I’m a little bit scared,” even though his lead over his closest competitor increased from 3 lbs., 11 oz., Friday to 5-11 Saturday in the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro.
“The surprise is that Grand Lake isn’t showing out,” said Christie, who lives in nearby Park Hill, Okla. “If I catch 15 pounds (Sunday), the door is wide open. There’s guys up here that I guarantee you caught 25 pounds (one day) during practice.”
He was referring to the Bassmaster “murderers’ row” that was seated alongside him at the post-weigh-in press conference Saturday night: 2nd place, Todd Faircloth, 5-11 back of Christie’s 37-9 two-day total; 3rd, Edwin Evers, 6-5 behind Christie; 4th, Bill Lowen, down 7-1; and 5th, the 2015 BASS Angler of the Year, Aaron Martens, 7-4 out of first place.
What worries Christie is the Grand Lake potential he’s all too familiar with.
“I’ve come in here with 25 pounds before and got third place,” Christie said. “Several times.”
All the anglers were happy to hear that a weather change is forecast Sunday. Instead of the bright skies and slight breeze the last two days, it’s supposed to blow 15 to 25 mph out of the south Sunday under partly cloudy to cloudy skies.
“Every day I’ve smashed ‘em here it’s always been white-capping,” Martens said.
A tournament that started surprisingly tough on Friday got tougher Saturday. All the numbers for the 55-man field went down:
– number of bass weighed dropped from 184 to 156;
– average weight of those bass declined from 2.90 lbs. to 2.83;
– number of 5-bass limits fell from 21 to 12;
– big bag decreased from Christie’s 20-14 to Evers’ 17-8;
– big bass dropped from Marty Robinson’s 7-0 to Lowen’s 5-8.
Since Christie managed to increase his Day One lead under such conditions, logic would tell you Christie should wish for more of the same. But he’d like to see Grand Lake show its potential during the Classic. And, most of all, he’d like to catch a few more bass.
“Eight bites and I caught my biggest fish in the last 30 minutes again,” said Christie, emphasizing the fact that he’s had little margin for error.
This might be the best or, at least, the most recent example of what Grand Lake is capable of producing. On March 14 last year, Zack Birge caught a 5-bass limit weighing 29-1 to win a Walmart Bass Fishing League tournament at Grand.
“I had three or four fish on that would have put me over 30 pounds that day,” said Birge, who was working the Expo Saturday.
Christie stayed true to his one-lure, one-pattern plan for the second straight day, as he said he would. It’s a testament to both his mental strength and a lesson learned the hard way in the last Classic on Grand in 2013. It had to be tempting to try something else during the course of getting only eight bites in eight hours Saturday.
And he admitted he’s tempted to try some new water Sunday.
“But every time I’ve done that in my career, it hasn’t worked out,” Christie said.
Martens has noticed “a huge difference in water quality” over the past two days. The mud is beginning to gradually settle out in Grand Lake, and it has warmed dramatically under the bright sunshine and slight breeze. Bass fishing is close to breaking out on a big way on Grand Lake.
“We might have been a week early on this tournament,” Martens said. “Or three or four days early. Or it might start (Sunday).”
Wouldn’t that be a Grand way to end this Classic?