Fantasy Fishing: You should have picked Jason Christie

CHARLES COUNTY, Md. — The Bassmaster Elite at Potomac River presented by Econo Lodge lived up to its legendary grass-fishing reputation. While the fishery isn’t known for producing exceptionally large limits of bass on a regular basis, there are plenty of big fish in there.

The tournament’s victor Justin Lucas put together just under 73 pounds over the four-day event, which included a 20-plus-pound Day 1 bag, and two 19-pound days. But, Oklahoma’s Jason Christie caught the heaviest one-day limit of the tournament that weighed 23-1 — an infrequent occurrence on the Potomac.

Christie said on stage that he was very surprised he did so well after such a tough practice, but after Day 1 he was in ninth place, held down the fourth spot for Days 2 and 3, then after weighing the heaviest limit of bass on the final day, he finished in second place behind Justin Lucas by more than 4 pounds.

Christie earned a 40-point bonus after weighing the event’s heaviest one-day limit on the final day of competition, and that made him the best selection at the Potomac River.

“If I had one more day to fish, I might have won this thing,” he said in an interview following the final weigh-in. “I learned so much during the last two days of the tournament that I think I could go out and catch 20 pounds again tomorrow. But, that’s tournament fishing. I’m beyond pleased with my finish considering how tough this fishery can be.”

If you didn’t pick Jason Christie, you should have.

There weren’t any perfect teams selected for this event, but the best overall player was “ThomasCanady”

“ThomasCanady’s” picks:

Bucket A: Jason Christie, 335 points

B: Bill Lowen, 285

C: Fred Roumbanis, 257

D: Fletcher Shryock, 235

E: Luke Clausen, 248

Total: 1,360

The current No. 1 ranked Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing player following the Potomac event is “camo21” with a total of 9,007 points.

“camo21’s” picks for Potomac:

 Bucket A: Greg Hackney, 251 points

B: Aaron Martens, 225

C: Brent Chapman, 139

D: Jeff Kriet, 215

E: Luke Clausen, 248

Total 1,078

Potomac’s perfect team:

Bucket A: Jason Christie, 335 points

B: Brent Ehrler, 290

C: Cliff Pirch, 294

D: Fletcher Shryock, 235

E: Luke Clausen, 248

Total: 1,402

BUCKET A: CHRISTIE

Why wasn’t Lucas the best overall pick for this week’s Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing players? Well, he wasn’t a bad choice, that’s for sure.

Christie was the best Fantasy pick after finishing in second place earning his ownership 295 points, plus a 40-point bonus for the heaviest limit of the tournament totaling 335 points. Surprisingly, Christie only garnered 0.3 percent of player ownership. Again, you should have picked him.

Second-best choice: Justin Lucas won the whole shebang providing his 2.6-percent ownership with 320 points. If you picked the young Alabama angler, you did well.

Worst choice: As weird as it is to say this, the worst selection in Bucket A was fishing superstar Kevin VanDam who earned his 7-percent ownership only 99 points. Weighing zero fish on Day 1 will do that to you, though.

BUCKET B: EHRLER

California native Brent Ehrler fished very well at the Potomac, and earned his 3-percent ownership 290 points after a solid third-place finish.

Second-best choice: Bill Lowen was the second most productive angler in Bucket B earning his 2.5-percent ownership 285 points. You rarely loose picking Lowen.

Worst choice: Another shocker is seeing Randy Howell as the lowest producing angler in this bucket. Very uncharacteristic for the 2014 Bassmaster Classic champ, but hey, it happens to the best of them. Howell finished in 102nd place earning only 71 points.

BUCKET C: PIRCH

Cliff Pirch of Payson, Ariz., enjoyed an excellent finish and a much-needed boost in Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year points, which included weighing the event’s biggest bass; a chunky 6-11 largemouth. He finished the Potomac River in 12th place, and earned his 0.7-percent ownership 294 points. Pirch is currently holding down 42nd place in the AOY race.

Second-best choice: Andy Montgomery finished in fifth place earning his 3.3-percent ownership 280 points.

Worst choice: Clent Davis finished in 105th place, earning only 65 points.

BUCKET D: SHRYOCK

Fletcher Shryock of New Philadelphia, Ohio, had a great tournament finishing in 20th place. The solid showing boosted the young pro’s AOY points and his confidence while kicking out 235 points to his 10.3-perecnt ownership.

Second-best choice: Bryan Snowden was the second best choice in Bucket D after placing 24th and earning his ownership 227 points.

Worst choice: Ken Iyobe finished in 104th place and only produced 67 points.

BUCKET E: CLAUSEN

Luke Clausen was the obvious favorite in Bucket D. The Washington State angler finished 14th earning his ownership 248 points.

Second-best choice: Mark Davis finished in 16th place earning 243 points.

Worst choice: Jay Brainard finished in 107th place earning only 61 points.