Life might have encumbered Jason Christie’s fishing this year, but the 2022 Classic champ is confident he can climb the standings to reach his 10th championship.
Although qualifying for the 2024 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic isn’t critical, the 49-year-old pro from Oklahoma sure wants to get there since it’s in his backyard on Grand Lake, where in previous Classics he contended for titles.
“I want to say it’s everything, and it means more than anything, but that’s really not the truth,” Christie said. “It does mean a lot to me to have a Classic on Grand.
“Truth is I don’t want to walk around the Expo in Tulsa for three days answering the question 3,000 times, ‘Why aren’t you fishing?’ I’m literally going to put a sign on my chest, ‘I did not qualify.’”
Christie, who said he didn’t want to be told where he stood in the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings, is close to qualifying. He’s 48th with 336 points and needs to make up nine spots, around 20 points, for an automatic berth.
“I’m not worried about that. I’m going to make it. I just need to step it up,” said Christie, who’s performed some late-season heroics in the past. “I’ve been in this position a few times, and it’s worked out. Hopefully this year is no different.”
What’s been different this year is Christie and fiancé Shana Ramsay have been fully involved in overseeing construction of a 3,800-square foot home. They’ve been living next door in “a big shop, with a double bay with full parking, tackle room, walk-in cooler and 1,500 square feet of living area,” and tackling the day-to-day management of contractors.
“I’m hoping we’re on the downhill side of it. We’re a couple months out,” he said. “Ready to get back to a normal life.”
That would be fishing and deer hunting. Christie said the build has been so time-consuming that his boat only leaves the homestead for Elite events.
“That’s probably why it’s been a subpar year,” he said. “No excuses, but it just hasn’t been a great year. Things happen in life, and you can’t fully concentrate on bass fishing.”
It didn’t help that he started the season with a bomb. A 99th place at Lake Okeechobee had him looking uphill from the get-go. Soon after, his presence in Tulsa was requested by B.A.S.S. to announce the third Classic on Grand, where he was seventh in 2013 and was leading on the final day of 2016 before finishing second.
“It just automatically put a lot of pressure on me,” Christie said. “I had just done terrible in the first event. I dug that hole right off the bat and been trying to get out of it.”
An angler of his caliber — he has won eight events in 110 Bassmaster entries — would surely climb as the season progressed. A 23rd at Lake Seminole bumped him into 66th in the points, but he fell two spots after a 64th at Lake Murray. Avenging a second-to-last finish at Santee Cooper Lakes in 2022, Christie finished 29th to bump up to 61st.
His biggest move came at Lay Lake. Christie landed a 9-pound, 4-ounce largemouth to take the lead in Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the year and its $10,000 payday — say, that will pay off some nice crown molding. It bolstered his VMC Monster Bag of 23-0 and had him eyeing a ninth title.
Yet it wasn’t to be for Christie or tournament leader Brandon Palaniuk, who lost by 2 ounces to local rookie Will Davis Jr. by the most freakish of occurrences.
“That just goes to tell you that Will was supposed to win,” Christie said. “Brandon has a dead fish, and Brandon lost fish. And I lost fish.
“The day I had 23 pounds, I should have had 27. The last day, to lose two big ones — one didn’t make camera — and either one of them could win the event? On a frog? I don’t lose fish on a frog.”
The third-place finish did jump Christie inside the Classic cut at 38th, but he surprisingly faltered with a 76th at the Sabine River, where he had won in 2022, to fall back below the cut.
“It’s just been one of those years,” Christie said. “I’ve just lost so many key fish. I lost fish that cost me a win. I lost fish that cost me 30 or 40 points. I’ve never been the guy that loses a lot of fish. I’ve been the guy that may not get a bite. But typically, if I get a bite, I usually land them.
“This year has just been different. I know it’s because I haven’t fished away from the Elite Series as much as I normally do to kind of stay in the groove.”
After almost two months off, the season resumes with the AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair, a venue where Christie has two victories. The Elites then finish the season with back-to-back events in New York on Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River, where a Classic berth goes to the winner.
“I need to go up and have three decent finishes or a couple high finishes,” he said. “All I need is to go up there and take care of business. I like the three events we’re going to. I’m ready for some cooler weather and to go fishing.”
Christie captured his first B.A.S.S. title on Lake St. Clair, the 2012 Open. In 2017, he won his third of five Elite titles there.
“I’ve had a lot of success up there over the years,” he said. “I’ve won a couple, had a bunch of Top 10s there, but I’ve also had a couple of hiccups. Hopefully we’re on the right side of the line on that deal.”
As others have said, the northern fisheries can be scary. Almost every angler catches a limit, so kicker fish become so much more crucial.
“You can go up there and have great fishing days, go catch 30, 40 bass and catch 17 1/2, 18 pounds, and you could be in 50th or 75th place,” he said. “It comes down to a couple 4 1/2-pounders and that changes the standings by 30 points.”
Among previous Classic winners competing on the Elites this year, only Mike Iaconelli (12th in AOY) appears to have sewn up a berth via the points. Jeff Gustafson goes in as defending champ, but he’s shy of double qualifying. Two-time Classic champ Hank Cherry is one spot above Christie in 47th.
“We’re going into Gussy’s stomping grounds,” Christie said. “I have no doubt he’ll be in the Classic cut and double qualify. Myself, I expect it to happen.
“I’ve just had that year where fish come off for no reason. You almost just want to step back and laugh. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I sure would like to be in Tulsa in March of next year.”
When he first heard the Classic was back at Grand, Christie signed up for the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens to give himself every avenue to qualify. He’s got three chances left – the AOY points and the win-and-in shots at the St. Lawrence Elite and the Division 2 Open on Lake of the Ozarks.
“I’ve never missed a Classic. If I don’t make it, it’s not the end of the world for me,” he said. “No matter if I’m in the Classic or not next year, the house is going to be built, the yard is going to be done, the grass is going to be mowed.
“I’m looking forward to next year already just to be able to concentrate on fishing. I still feel like I’m doing my job for sponsors, and social media and YouTube, but as far as being fully concentrated on the Elites, I’ve tried, but life is busy right now.”
“I’m doing everything I can. If I don’t make it, it just wasn’t meant to be. Life goes on, and there are times in your career when life comes before fishing. And this has been one of those years where life has come first.”
