Another great Classic! Tied after 2 days! 🤯 Won by 5 oz!! 🤯🤯 Outstanding. Loved it and I know you did too.
In this'n is Jason Christie's baits 'n pattern, a little Q&A with him, and ALL the rest of the baits/patterns from the Classic. Back to regular Blasters on Thursdee – thanks for readin'!
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How Jason Christie won the Hartwell Classic
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Yep Jason got 'er done! Before gettin' into that, check this:
- He's fished 8 Classics.
- He's finished in the top 7 at those Classics 4 times, including this win.
- 2 of those were a 2nd and a 3rd, and the 3rd was at Harwell (2018).
- 50% of the time in the top 7 including 1 win = 🔨🔨
So was this win "redemption" or inevitable? I'm goin' with the latter. Here's how his win went down:
Going in and practice
> "All I knew is I didn't want to do the same things I'd done in the past. ...practice I would get around some of that dirty water and start running the same things, and every time I'd get around it I'd start seeing a lot of boats – our guys, locals. There was a lot less traffic in the clearer stuff.
> "Even before practice started, I was thinking – I've had a lot of success here over the years fishing dirty water, but I know these guys watch the shows and see the articles and stuff.... I didn't feel like it'd go down in the dirty water.
> "The 1st day of practice I had a really big bag fishing the clear water, and that kind of – I wasn't dialed in but it reaffirmed it. I really didn't fish a lot of real dirty stuff til the 2nd day – I ran to an area I fished a little bit in 2011, I pulled a spinnerbait out of the box and I cathc a 6-lber.
> "Most times you're like, Oh cool, here we go, this is the comfort zone. I just didn't feel it. I made 5-6 casts after that fish and was like, 'This is not going to happen. This fish is trying to lure you in.' So I put the spinnerbait back in the box and went back to the clear water.
> "There wasn't enough dirty water to go around, and some areas were 4-5 miles apart...and maybe 2-3 boats would be in there [after making that run]. It just wasn't gonna go down that way was my gut feeling. Luckily I put that spinnerbait up. If I made another cast with it and caught a 5-lber, I probably don't win the event."
Tournament
> "...boat 5 – I had a drain that was a mile from takeoff. I knew I was going to catch some fish in the drain but didn't know how big they were. I felt like I needed to get off to a quick start as far as catching fish, to get in the groove. And I knew my dock pattern was better in the afternoon than the morning.
> "I start in there and luckily I catch a big one. I caught a lot in there, then ran the dock pattern the rest of the day. It was really the same thing each day.
> "I learned more and more about that ditch each day. The 2nd day I weighed 3 of my 5 from the same cast in that ditch. And I saw a lot more – I was super fired up to go there the 3rd day because I knew where they live, where they feed and how they set up.
> "The 3rd day was crazy – I catch one right when I get to that cast, and I get on LiveScope and they're gone. I went from seeing 200-300 fish swimming around to 10, and the bad part is they were singles. They're really hard to catch when they're singles – there's no competitiveness between them.
> "I don't know if they pulled water the night before because leaves and sticks were floating in the center of these drains and it hadn't been that way. ...still bait, just not the amount....
> "I ran as many docks as I possibly could the rest of the afternoon. It was really hard fishing. I'd go an hour or hour and a half without a bite, then hit a couple docks and catch 2-3 fish. I'm not sure if the fish just moved up or I hit a stretch that hadn't been fished that day...make as many high-percentage flips as I could."
The ditch, the docks and the baits
> "The ditch was deep. I'd start fishing in about 35 and most of the big ones came between 30' and 35'. It had a pretty long and slow taper. You would go 50 yards and it would change 2'. This ditch had 2 channel swings in it, and that's where the bulk of them would set up. The straightaway was their feeding zone.
> "Really it just looked like the other 5,000 ditches on the lake. What set it apart is it was loaded with bait.
> "...these fish would just get up there and feed. If I didn't see one on LiveScope, I would just cast to a dock and caught several doing that.
> "When I cast it [to a fish on LiveScope] I didn't want to put it on their level. If a fish was in 30', I wanted it to come across 3-4' above it to make it react. Every fish is different – some were in 20' and would meet the bait halfway [down]. Some I had to make 2 casts to because the 1st cast didn't trigger them. Those fish see a lot of baits, and that time of year they're not really crazy about eating.
> "Even seeing them on LiveScope and being super quiet, I only caught 1 out of 5 or 10.
> "The bait is a prototype YUM Forward Facing Sonar Minnow...been working on it for a while. It all boils down to LiveScope. ...in the beginning [of Live sonar] you'd have 5-6 rods up there. If a fish is in 6', you'd grab a Rogue. If it's in 20, you'd have to throw a swimbait. I just wanted something on the front that would reach all of those fish. It seems like when you see one [on LiveScope] you only have so much time to catch it.
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Why he fished a jig when almost no one else did:
> "I tried doing the wacky worm thing...thought about all these other guys doing the same thing...I wanted something different and a jig is high-percentage.
> "The 1st day of practice they were everywhere [on docks], but as the tournament went on they really got positioned on the back side. Over cables, behind docks...not real comfotable throwing something back there [light].
> "I wasn't seeing them [even with electronics], I was just fishing. I did [LiveScope docks] in practice, but those fish moved to the back. It was all about going fast. The last day I was running and going crazy. I'd pull up to a dock, put the trolling motor down, make 2-3 flips, pull up the trolling motor and hit the next dock.
> "...as shallow as possible...could see bottom...the shallower, the better. If there was wind on it, even better. The 3rd day it didn't matter if it was in a pocket or on a point, it just needed to be shallow.
> "Every day was different...2nd day I caught them swimming it, the 3rd day all of them were on the bottom."
> [Why he chose the War Eagle Jiu Jitsu Jig:] "It's the head, the hook, the colors. 5/8 is a big jig to be fishing in a foot of water, but with the water that clear I didn't want it to fall slow so they'd get a good look at it. I wanted a reaction.
> "Most fish were sitting under the foam [dock float] so I'd put it right next to it – right in their face.
> "I was down to my last jig [in "orange craw"]. I had 1 left when we loaded up Sunday.... The last fish I caught, probably the one I won the Classic on was gp/chart ["gp neon"]. I started with 8...."
Electronics
> "Garmin played a huge role in 2 ways. One is LiveScope – you can't catch those fish out there that way unless you have it. But maybe a bigger role...ran outta docks early the 2nd day. The docks are labeled on the mapping, and I needed a dock sitting on a high spot. I was able to look at the mapping to put those 2 variables together – a dock on a high spot or shallower than the rest of them. I could run to it and get bit."
Shout-out
> "Bass fishing is not a solo sport, it's a team sport. Without all of the sponsors...they all play a huge role in the event, and I'm fortunate enough in my career that I can use what I want to use. They have as much of role in this win as I do."
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5 Qs with the tin boat champ! 🏆
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Couple serious ones, couple fun ones:
1. Mentally what was different about this one?
> "I don't know. I know the last day those same 3rd-day Classic demons showed up. For about 30 seconds I thought about it, but it didn't stay in my head very long. I thought, 'I just gotta catch 5' and it went away. It was my 2nd bite of the day.... The 3rd day was definitely different mentally."
[How cool and collected does he look here on day 3:]
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2. Did it end up helping that you'd been close before?
> "Without a doubt – just experience. Managing the crowd, knowing it wouldn't be a Classic without there being some drama on the last day. I didn't know where that drama was going to come from, but pulling into that ditch and all the fish were gone...have to expect that, gonna be thrown some curveballs on the last day.
> "I just needed to catch one out of it and I caught the big one. Something told me I needed to leave and start running the other pattern."
3. When did you start to feel like maybe it was your time?
> "I think the 2nd day, kind of. I pulled in and caught a 4.5-lber I'd lost the 1st day. I didn't think, Oh gosh you're gonna win, I thought things were starting to happen where I'm gonna have a chance.
> "All the guys that win know that feeling. My jig started skipping better – it started landing on a dime rather than a dollar bill. I started feeling like I was gonna have a chance, and that's all you can ask for – a chance."
4. If you've been perfecting that LiveScope technique for 5 years and won a Classic on it, wouldn't you want to try to keep it secret for a little longer??
> "Well yeah. I'd like to keep it. But we don't have that choice fishing with a live camera in the back.
> "People don't realize we spend a lot of time trying to get some sort of competitive advantage, and literally overnight everyone knows about it."
5. Is it true you were sanctioned by the OK Bassin' Association for choosin' NOT to fish dirty water with a spinnerbait? 😁
> "They're probably gonna kick me out. They'll probably have the highway patrol come over and say, 'You're no longer welcome' after winning the Classic on a spinning rod. It is what it is."
[HAHAHA love it!]
Bonus Q
6. Believe this was the first time a Classic was won outta a tin boat since the 1970s so gotta ask: Would you rather wear coveralls or a patch vest or have a flasher on the boat?
> "Vest, I guess. None of them make sense really."
Lol that's 100% Jason right there folks and he's right! 😆
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Baits of the Classic: 2nd-25th
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Here's how they caught 'em at this one! Note: These are the MAIN baits and techniques for each guy, not everything they used/did. Any mistakes or other screw-ups are mine, apologies if so: Everyone's runnin' fast at these deals! Places 26th-55th are in the full 1st-55th baits rundown on the BB site.
First gotta shout out some stuff that stood out to me:
1. Senko, Senko, Senko – that's what almost everyone who fished a stickworm used.
2. Gerald Swindle was burning that new smallish-body Rapala DT8 through bait to trigger suspended fish. That's an unusual deal.
3. Seems like Buddy Gross can make that SPRO Aruku Shad work anywhere.
4. Chris Zaldain once again was off the beaten path, fished a tube.
5. Chad Pipkens found pre-spawn fish on sand edges. Only guy who mentioned that.
6. John Cox was snapping a lipless crank (Berkley Warpig) up from the bottom on shallow points, like 3'. Still fishin' shallow – love it!
7. KJ Queen was fishing a not-yet-out Queen Tackle Live Sonar Jighead. Along with one of the baits Jason fished, that's 2 new baits mentioned in this deal specifically designed for forward-facing sonar. Expect a bunch more in the next few years.
Gonna post a vid soon – asked a bunch of the Classic guys whether they liked Live vs 360 and a few other 'lectronics questions. Spoiler alert: If you're a tourney angler, be savin' yer pennies!
Here we go:
2. Kyle Welcher
> Swimbaits were suspended bass off of flats. Jerkbait was over brushpiles.
3. Stetson Blaylock
> Caught some on pre-spawn docks but most came off LiveScope just hanging off of pre-spawn points around the main lake. 6-12'.
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4. Justin Hamner
> Rockpiles in 20-40'.
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5. Chris Johnston
6. Luke Palmer
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7. Taku Ito
> Brushpiles in 25'.
8. Taylor Smith
> Over a cane pile in 20' – fish were chasing bait on top.
9. Bryan New
> Shallow docks, less than 3'. Best ones were by a drain.
> Used BaitFuel on all baits except the swimbait.
10. David Mullins
11. Lee Livesay
> Rock in 4-8'.
12. Patrick Walters
> 5-20' mostly just around bait.
13. Joey Nania
> "I call it the Nedmiki because Z-man started the Ned craze and when I first started doing it I just put the same plastic on a Ned head and it worked really well. Then they came out with the finesse EyeZ and it makes the bait swim really well on the retrieve as well as fall really good."
> "I was fishing a shoal that dropped from 5' to 30' and the fish were right on the drop. Some would eat it as it was sinking, and a lot of them I would let it sink down and then burn it up and they would smoke it on the burn. I was looking at most of the fish I caught using LiveScope."
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14. Matt Arey
> Docks in 5-12' and ditches/drains in 20-30'.
15. Steve Kennedy
> Senko (watermelon) rigged wacky.
> Under docks, less than 5'.
16. Caleb Sumrall
17. Hank Cherry
18. Nick LeBrun
> Bank cover, 5' or less.
19. Scott Martin
20. Buddy Gross
> Fished hard spots surrounded by soft bottoms in 12'.
21. Brock Mosley
> Fished flats in less than 1'.
22. Brandon Card
> Shallow docks and deep brush (mid-20s feet).
23. Wes Logan
> Brushpiles in 15-25'.
24. Gerald Swindle
> Rapala DT8 (green gizzard), 7' 4" 13 Fishing Gerald Swindle signature Cranking Rod (glass, rod will be out around ICAST), 13 Fishing signature reel (5.6, also not out yet), 10-lb Sunline Shooter fluoro. In 40' water, fish were suspended in 10' – he was burning it through them: "It's small and fast enough" to get them to react.
> 6" Megabass Magdraft (white, unweighted), 7' 6" MH 13 Fishing Gerald Swindle signature rod, 13 Fishing signature reel (6.8), 20-lb Sunline Shooter. Rocks in 6'.
25. Greg Hackney
> Docks in 5-10' with the jig, flat pockets in 5-10' with the Red Eye Shad.
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Jay Kumar's BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best and funniest (sometimes worst) stuff in bassin', picked by me – Jay Kumar. I started BassFan.com, co-hosted Loudmouth Bass with Zona, was a B.A.S.S. senior writer and a bunch more in bassin'. The Blaster is the #2 daily read on any given day in the wide world o' bass so thanks for readin'!
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