By KELLY BOSTIAN Outdoors Writer on Aug 10, 2012, at 7:50 PM Updated on 8/10 at 7:50 PM
THE OUTDOORS
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Oklahoma angler Jason Christie has won his third major bass tournament of the year.
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Oklahoma’s Jason Christie thought he lost his Forrest Wood Cup chances when a big one slipped away from him today, but a 13-pound, 8-ounce bag lifted the angler to 18th place and he qualified to fish in the Top 20 Saturday.
The tournament started Thursday on Georgia's Lake Lanier with 46 of the top FLW pros and 46 co-anglers in the hunt for the Cup and $500,000 first prize. The field is cut to 20 on Saturday and the Top 10 on Sunday.
“I lost a good fish today and I really thought it would keep me from making it,” he said after Friday’s weigh-in. “Fishing was tougher today than it has been.”
After a nasty spider bite put a crimp in Christie’s practice days he said Day One of the tournament Thursday turned into a practice day for him and he gained a little ground Friday. “I just didn’t get many bites today, but I’m learning more every day,” he said.
Antibiotics are working and the bite is much better now, just sore at the spot of the bite, he said. “I can deal with that. During practice with the leg swollen and hard to move that was a problem.”
Christie said the trick on Lanier is to get the 3- and 4-pound bite. “Yesterday I had a couple of those and lost one. Today I had four and lost one. A guy has to get five good bites and get them all into the boat.”
Landing fish is a challenge because the fish are lethargic in the 85-degree water and it’s hard to get a good solid hit and hook-up. Christie said he is sticking with shallow-water techniques he is comfortable with.
Some of the best deep-water anglers in the business are working the lake with mixed results, so he feels confident where he is. “They’re good one day and off the next so who knows what’s going to happen,” he said.
The shallow bite is by no means, hot, however. “There are very few up shallow but that’s where my comfort zone is and that’s where I’m going to stay,” he said.
Christie said he will have to average 15 to 17 pounds the next two days to make up for his poor first day to have a chance at the win. “That’s going to be hard to do,” he said. “I’m not saying it’s impossible but it will be hard to do.”
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