Macomb County , Mi—Chumming isn’t allowed in the Bassmaster Elite series. Anglers cannot throw bait into the water to get the fish fired up and start feeding.
When it occurs naturally though, there are no provisions in the rules to keep an angler from taking advantage. Jason Christie did just that to grab his 5th trophy.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve caught a drum here this week, and as the drum was coming up, it would be spitting out crawdads. There would be smallmouth out there below them, just eating everything they could get their mouths on.”
Bringing a drum to the boat is usually a waste of time, but in Christie’s case, it was a helpful sidetrack. “It takes a lot of time fighting them,” he said, “because…you don’t want to straighten your hook. But it definitely had something to do with it.”
Christie caught most of his bass using a classic smallmouth assasin—a 4-inch Yum tube in green pumpkin and a 3/4 ounce tube head.
After leading temporarily, Brock Mosely came in second place. It’s his second such finish in the past 3 Elite Series events.
Angler of the Year Implications
The big win allowed Christie to hold on to his second place standing in the AOY. Now in possession of 796 points, Christie trails leader Brandon Palaniuk by only 15 points.
With the season wrapped up, the top 50 anglers in the AOY standings will head to Mille Lacs Lake in Minnesota next month to crown a champ.