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Photo: Garrick Dixon

By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor

Article courtesy of Bassfan - read more

Jason Christie is a creature of habit somewhat, at least at Lake St. Clair.

When the Oklahoma resident won the Detroit River Northern Open in 2012, he spent his tournament in Lake St. Clair, in an area near the mouth of the Detroit River, ripping a tube out of and through some grass. He caught 22-13 on the final day to overcome a deficit of less than a pound.

Fast forward 5 years and that’s exactly how he captured the win in last week’s Lake St. Clair Elite Series. The only difference was the location changed. This time he was in Canadian water, off by himself, in his glory, ripping a tube off the bottom in 19 to 22 feet of water. His 22-00 stringer on Sunday was the heaviest among the 12 finalists and it helped him erase a daunting 3-pound, 4-ounce margin.

“When I won in 2012, that’s what I won throwing,” he said. “I can’t believe it happened.”

This is Christie’s third top-10 and second win at St. Clair in B.A.S.S. competition, a startling stat for a Midwesterner known for his shallow-water prowess.

“I’m comfortable fishing up here,” he said. “I know it doesn’t make any sense – me and smallmouth and grass and 20 feet of water – but it’s one of the few lakes I click with.”

He maintained a 22-pound daily average by settling into an area during practice and patiently narrowing

PHOTO: BASS / Gary Tramontina

Excerpt Courtesy

Todd Ceisner | Bassfan Editor

The proliferation of new grass up and down the Potomac River made for a challenging venue for last week’s Elite Series event near the nation’s capital. With all the fresh vegetation, the bass had so many more options and areas to ride out the summer.

It made practice a bit more of a task for the 107 Elite Series anglers, who tried to find areas with concentrations of fish that would bite consistently regardless of the tide cycle. That proved daunting and required most pros to move around and adjust with the rising and falling water. It also meant finding the right mix of grass in the right areas,

While winner Justin Lucas will be remembered for plucking 95 percent of his fish off a single piece of cover, i.e. the pilings and horizontal cross braces under a large parking deck, others had to rely on at least two locations to achieve the best outcomes.

Different areas required different techniques as well. Methodical flipping around hard cover was just as effective as working a vibrating jig around patchy grass or twitching a hollow-body frog across the surface.

As harsh and as hot as the weather was last week, the fishing at the Potomac was better than most expected based on reports that it’s been a fishery in decline, but it appears with the return of the green stuff, the green fish should thrive.

Here’s a rundown of how the rest

Oklahoma pro Jason Christie ended up one spot short of winning the 2016 Bassmaster Classic at Grand Lake, Okla., finishing second to fellow Oklahoman and Bassmaster Elite Series roommate Edwin Evers. Though he didn't win, Christie's old-school spinnerbait approach was the talk of the tournament, even among fellow competitors.

With the cold and muddy water, Christie wanted a bulky bait that he could fish slowly. He fished a 1-ounce BOOYAH Blade spinnerbait that he altered by replacing the single No. 5 Colorado blade with a huge No. 6 gold Colorado blade, and used the new YUM Pulse swimbait as a trailer.

"I used that combination because I wanted to increase the strike zone in that dirtier water," he said. "The fish couldn't see so well, so I wanted them to feel the bait."