How Jason Christie spun up the Santee NPFL win

Pre-spawn, no FFS, a big-fish lake – I’m sure all the NPFL guys were drooling before this one, Jason included. Looked like it was setting up great for some guys, but would it stay that way? Answer was yes, at least up-lake where Jason was fishing. Here’s how it went for him.

Going in and practice

> “…driving up there, all I had in mind was grass. I just felt like that was the best way to find schools of fish. That was my plan.

> “…really only a day and a half of practice coming off of Okeechobee. …I was extremely tired and did go out on the lake [for that half a day], but…it just wasn’t worth anything.

> “…I started on the lower lake and got some bites, but what didn’t excited me was the water temperature. It’d been cold and the water temp was in the mid-50s. I was scared those fish would leave even if I did find them during the tournament…they would be going to the bank to spawn.

> “The next day I went to the upper lake and the water was actually a little bit colder – it surprised me. I got a few bites and thought it’d be best with only a day of practice not to make a long run and to stay in the colder water. Because…I felt like those fish would last throughout the event.

> “There were also some talks about canceling the first day [day 1 did get postponed – meaning those colder-water fish should stay put longer if that happened].

> “On the lower lake I was doing some other things – a lipless, bladed jig, swim-jig. When I moved to the upper lake, the water color changed and I don’t think I ever made a cast in that full day of practice with anything other than a spinnerbait. I wanted to flip a jig, but I didn’t feel like I could cover [enough] water….

> “I got a few bites in an area and that was my decision. 1 day of practice, stay in the upper lake and just fish. I’d figure it out as the tournament went.”

Tournament

> “It wasn’t like they were biting fast and furious. I had to cover water…. I never threw anything but a spinnerbait, ever.

> “The first day I did have a couple stretches in practice where I had multiple bites so obviously I started in those areas. I think I caught a couple. Mid-morning I was kinda out of stuff I’d fished so I just started running stuff.

> “I remember at 11:55 I just had 1 fish. I knew the afternoon would be the most productive…but I felt like I had to have 3 by noon. At 11:55 I caught my second fish, 5 minutes later I lost a 10-lber and by 1:00 I had my weight.

> “I left that area and went looking for some other stuff to gain confidence…for day 2. Really day 1 was just about a sweet stretch in the middle of the day.

> “Day 2 I started on the productive stretch – it was a struggle. Day 1 I had about a dozen bites, day 2 was a struggle. I think it had to do with the direction of the wind and how hard it was blowing. Those fish just really never got set up.

> “I had 12-13 lbs with less than an hour to go, then I catch a 6- or 7-lber and it puts me up at 19. 19 lbs is not a struggle anywhere else, but on Santee that’s a struggle.

> “I learned a lot that day…you’re probably not gonna be able to repeat anything…have to mix in some new stuff on the 3rd day.

> “Going into the third day on Santee, my thinking was I had to catch 25 to have a chance to win. I knew it was possible because the first day I had 38-39 lbs on.

> “I started on my productive stretch…caught a couple 5-lbers and finished out a limit really quick. Then it was like had been all w eek – 2-3 hours without a bite.

> “About noon…it’s time for me to just fish new stuff. I literally put the trolling motor down and took off down the bank. I was about to [move] and caught a 4.5-lb female off a tree. Then the next tree I caught a 3-lb female.

> “I kept on going, 1/4 or 1/2 mile…hadn’t had a bite. So I go back [to those trees], make the same cast and catch an 8-lber. …I have like 25 lbs and I figured at least with that I should hold my position. I needed a couple of big bites.

> “I had about an hour left and wanted to hang around those trees to see if another female would come up. I made the decision that it was best to keep fishing new stuff. I ran to somewhere I hadn’t been that looked good, the wind was right, and I caught a 9-lber in the last 30 minutes to cull a 2-2.5 lber.

> “It was just one of those events fishing what was in front of me. I did repeat some stuff but that was rarely productive.

> “I think 1 day pf practice is the reason of I won. If I had multiple areas, I would’ve spent the whole day hunting…instead of just fishing. My trolling motor was in the water 99% of the day, just covering water.”

His areas

> “The first day I caught ’em really shallow…the 3rd day I caught them deep (4-6′). It all had to do with spawning areas. In my opinion, Santee is nothing but a spawning area.

> “If I wasn’t fishing a spawning area, I wanted a spawning area in sight. My thinking is they were coming up, and I wanted to be there when they got there. A lot of the big fish I caught were snow white. I really felt like they hadn’t been there 10 minutes when my spinnerbait come by.”

Baits

> 1/2-oz BOOYAH Covert Series Single Colorado Spinnerbait (chart/white/blue and when it was cloudy chart/blue with a red head) with a white trailer.

> 22-lb Sunline Power 2C FC Fluoro – “That’s the color-banded fluoro and was extremely important because of the water color. In pracitce I still had [Sunline] Shooter on but couldn’t see my line. It blended in with the water color. Some of the bites in the morning would be subtle, and with Power 2C I could see it [and] could walk my bait through the trees.

> Seeing spinnerbait bites with that line: “In the mornings…some were in the 20s [air temp] and some of the bites would be so subtle. They would engulf the bait so it was subtle. It was hard to feel it – your hands are cold, the wind is blowing, it’s hard to feel those baits. Also casting into those trees you can see it better. It helps in a lot of ways.

> “Whenever I tie it on, I cut [that line] right at the top of the orange so I have 3.5′ of clear above my bait.”

> 6′ 10″ Falcon Cara Head Turner Rod, SPRO Jason Christie Elite MG Reel (5.6:1).

> “That [gear ratio] was as important as the bait. [Other than his super-shallow day 1 bite] they wanted the bait out of sight. When the tournament’s on the line, $100K, and you’re not getting a lot of bites, the tendency is to move quicker. I needed to force myself to keep that bait down there. The slower retrieve [ratio of that reel] helped with that.

> “Also those fish on Santee are the meanest…and they’re big. That 5.6 gives me the most power…like a low-geared truck. The high speeds give you a lot of speed but you lose power. A 5.6, it’s just like winding a big crankbait…it doesn’t work you to death because you have more power to crank that plug. It’s the same way with the fish – it gives you more power, more leverage.”

Electronics

He is all Garmin:

> “I don’t want to get into details because we will have another tournament there, but I feel like the last day I put some pieces together. …being able to recognize subtleties on the map, and also with not having LiveScope on the front I chose to use side view – I have that on my trolling motor. I was able to see a lot of the structure out there – rocks, which trees have roots and which are slick. So it absolutely did play.

> “The mapping, especially with 1 day of practice and thousands of trees that all look the same – you have to be able to use the mapping to figure out where you’ve gotten bites and what you want to look for next.”

Shoutouts

> “I’m fishing good right now and I feel like it’s back to like it has been in the past, where I just get to a point where I have 100% confidence in everything – reels, line, baits, rods, boat, motor, the Leash on the engine. There’s absolutely no way I would run around Santee without a Leash on. Not gonna happen.

> “Confidence is everything. My wife taking care of the house…I don’t have to worry about anything. I’ve been gone 5 weeks fishing, and all I thought about was fishing.

> “I feel like it’s good right now. We all know how bass fishing is – you can be humbled overnight. But the last month of fishing was all based on confidence.”