Christie climbs into the lead In Bassmaster Elite at Tenn-Tom
COLUMBUS, Miss. — His opening game plan may not have panned out, but after a second day of impressive consistency, Jason Christie took over the Day 3 lead in the Mountain Dew Bassmaster Elite at Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway with a three-day total of 45 pounds, 9 ounces.
The decorated veteran from Dry Creek, Okla., made a big first-day run that included two locks and caught a limit of 12-5 that left him tied with Brandon Cobb for 37th place. Day 2 saw Christie adjust his focus to closer waters where a limit of 16-10 lifted him to fifth.
Repeating his program on Semifinal Saturday, Christie added another bag of 16-10 and moved into the top spot. Heading into Championship Sunday with a margin of 1-4 over Day 2 leader Wesley Gore, Christie said he’s doing his best to capitalize on unpredictable opportunity.
“I’ve just been lucky and getting a few good bites,” Christie said. “You don’t know when that’s gonna happen, or where it’s gonna happen. All I know is I’m putting my bait in front of the right ones and I’m landing them.
“I think that’s gonna be key tomorrow. Whoever wins is gonna get two or three good bites, he’s gonna land them and he’s gonna win $100,000. Hopefully, it’s me.”
Christie, who has eight Bassmaster wins to his credit — including the 2022 Bassmaster Classic at Lake Hartwell — said location was the key to faring well on this system known as the Tenn-Tom.
“It was just getting in the right area,” he said. “On a river system like this, everything is different, so it’s hard to run a pattern. You have to be able to find an area that has ’em and, so far, I’ve gotten lucky and found that.”
Christie’s fishing a shallow backwater area with a mix of submersed and emergent aquatic vegetation and various wood cover. This area, he said, appeals to fish in all stages of the spring bass cycle.
“It has a little drain in it and it has everything they want for prespawn, postspawn and spawning,” he said. “I found one other area like it and that’s where I fished the first day and for some reason, that fizzled out. This one, I just feel like there’s some fish in there.”
A cold front that blew into the area last night brought little precipitation, but a significant temperature drop, along with big winds. This muddied parts of Christie’s waters, but he encountered a mix of clarities.
Consistency, Christie said, required frequent adjustment.
“I bounced in and out, based on the conditions,” he said. “I got up on the bank some, I got out some. It’s funny, in these drains, the water will be dirty and you go 50 yards and it’s clear.”
Christie caught most of his fish on a 1/2-ounce white/blue/chartreuse Booyah Covert Spinnerbait with a single gold Colorado blade and a white YUM Covert Spinnerbait Trailer and a 1/2-ounce Booyah Mobster swim jig with a YUM Craw Chunk trailer. He also added a few keepers by flipping a Texas-rigged YUM Wooly Booger.
With Championship Sunday’s weather outlook showing a warming trend and partly cloudy skies contrasting today’s high-pressure “bluebird” complexion, Christie’s optimistic about the final round.
“I know the weights are tight, but there is the potential for someone to catch 15-20 pounds and win this thing,” he said.
Hailing from Clanton, Ala., Gore is in second place with 44-5. Keeping himself in the conversation from the start, Gore placed fifth on Day 1 with 16-8, then took over the top spot with a second-round bag that went 17-5.
Day 3 proved challenging for Gore and with a smaller limit of 9-14, he slipped to second. Despite a slower third day, Gore’s convinced that staying in local waters and maximizing his fishing time is the right call.
“I felt like the winning fish were here; in practice, they were a little bigger,” Gore said. “Everyday is hard; it’s a new challenge. I knew today would be very challenging for me.
“I’m not catching any fish flipping or pitching, I’m catching all my fish on reaction baits, so the cold front definitely had an effect on that. I had six keeper bites today, but never had a big bite.”
When Gore determined that his main pattern of targeting largemouth bass in shallow grass was not producing as he needed, he ran farther north in Columbus Lake and filled his limit with spotted bass.
Gore’s has caught most of his fish on a green pumpkin swim jig with a chartreuse trailer and a Texas-rigged 8-inch swimming lizard on a 5/0 Superline EWG hook with a 1/8-ounce pegged weight. He caught his spotted bass on a crankbait.
“I used the swimming lizard because everybody’s kinda doing the same thing,” Gore said. “That’s also why I’m throwing a green pumpkin swim jig with a chartreuse trailer. It’s still a shad imitator. Everyone’s throwing white on white and I was able to go behind people and get some bites.”
Seth Feider of New Market, Minn., is in third place with 42-14. His daily weights were 15-9, 13-6 and 13-5.
Feider fished the same backwater area as Christie and did most of his work with a 3/8-ounce Black Sheep Custom Tackle swim jig with a prototype Z-man trailer. He also caught keepers by flipping that same Z-Man bait on a light Texas rig.
Persistence, he said, was essential for a fishery that’s not known for giving up big numbers.
“You just have to grind all day, keep your head it in and you just gotta get lucky,” Feider said. “I had a really slow morning. Most of the mornings, I was catching pretty good weigh right away, but today I had two little tiny ones early in the morning.
“I went another three or four hours without a bite, but I stayed in it and they started biting midday. Every bite I’ve gotten this week has been around grass.”
Justin Atkins of Florence, Ala. holds the Phoenix Boats Big Bass lead with a 6-4.
John Garrett of Union City, Tenn. leads the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year points with 264. Trey McKinney of Carbondale, Ill., is second with 262, followed by Cory Johnston of Otonabee, Canada with 258, Dakota Ebare of Brookeland, Texas with 251, and Brock Mosley of Collinsville, Miss., with 244.
Sunday’s takeoff is scheduled for 7 a.m. CT at Columbus Marina. The weigh-in will be held at the marina at 3 p.m.
Championship Sunday action can be found on FS1 from 8-11 a.m. before heading to Bassmaster.com for afternoon coverage. All weigh-ins will be available live on Bassmaster.com starting at 4 p.m. ET.
Visit Columbus is hosting this event.
2026 Bassmaster Elite Series
2026 Bassmaster Elite Series
2026 Bassmaster Elite Series
2026 Bassmaster Elite Series
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2026 Bassmaster Elite Series at Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway 3/26-3/29
Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, Columbus MS.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Jason Christie Dry Creek, OK 15 45-09 101
Day 1: 5 12-05 Day 2: 5 16-10 Day 3: 5 16-10
2. Wesley Gore Clanton, AL 15 44-05 100
Day 1: 5 16-08 Day 2: 5 17-15 Day 3: 5 09-14
3. Seth Feider Elko New Market, MN 15 42-14 99
Day 1: 5 15-09 Day 2: 5 13-06 Day 3: 5 13-15
4. Dakota Ebare Brookeland, TX 15 42-08 98
Day 1: 5 13-10 Day 2: 5 18-06 Day 3: 5 10-08
5. Mark Menendez Paducah, KY 15 40-07 97 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-10 Day 2: 5 13-01 Day 3: 5 14-12
6. John Garrett Union City, TN 15 40-03 96
Day 1: 5 12-06 Day 2: 5 17-00 Day 3: 5 10-13
7. Tucker Smith Birmingham, AL 15 40-03 95 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-03 Day 2: 5 15-02 Day 3: 5 12-14
8. Michael Iaconelli Pitts Grove, NJ 15 39-13 94
Day 1: 5 17-11 Day 2: 5 11-01 Day 3: 5 11-01
9. Jordan Lee Cullman, AL 14 39-13 93
Day 1: 5 15-13 Day 2: 4 09-11 Day 3: 5 14-05
10. Cole Sands Johnson City, TN 15 39-11 92
Day 1: 5 13-05 Day 2: 5 11-10 Day 3: 5 14-12
11. Lee Livesay Longview, TX 15 39-11 91 $7,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-03 Day 2: 5 12-15 Day 3: 5 13-09
12. Justin Atkins Florence, AL 15 39-00 90 $8,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-07 Day 2: 5 12-05 Day 3: 5 11-04
13. Hunter Shryock Ooltewah, TN 15 38-14 89 $7,000.00
Day 1: 5 11-14 Day 2: 5 14-15 Day 3: 5 12-01
14. Kyoya Fujita Yamanashi CA JAPAN 15 38-13 88 $7,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-04 Day 2: 5 13-04 Day 3: 5 13-05
15. Trey McKinney Carbondale, IL 15 38-12 87 $7,000.00
Day 1: 5 10-08 Day 2: 5 11-15 Day 3: 5 16-05
16. Tyler Rivet Raceland, LA 15 38-11 86 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 10-10 Day 2: 5 16-09 Day 3: 5 11-08
17. Jeff Gustafson Kenora, ON Ontario CANA 15 38-09 85 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 12-00 Day 2: 5 11-12 Day 3: 5 14-13
18. Jay Przekurat Stevens Point, WI 15 38-08 84 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 10-01 Day 2: 5 12-11 Day 3: 5 15-12
19. Brandon Cobb Greenwood, SC 15 38-07 83 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 12-05 Day 2: 5 14-08 Day 3: 5 11-10
20. Shane LeHew Catawba, NC 15 38-03 82 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 13-09 Day 2: 5 14-02 Day 3: 5 10-08
21. Buddy Gross Chattanooga, TN 14 37-07 81 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-10 Day 2: 5 15-09 Day 3: 4 08-04
22. Luke Palmer Atoka, OK 15 37-01 80 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-09 Day 2: 5 15-11 Day 3: 5 08-13
23. Keith Combs Huntington, TX 15 37-00 79 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-11 Day 2: 5 14-12 Day 3: 5 09-09
24. Cory Johnston Otonabee CANADA 15 36-11 78 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 10-14 Day 2: 5 14-00 Day 3: 5 11-13
25. Randy Howell Guntersville, AL 14 36-10 77 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 17-12 Day 2: 5 10-11 Day 3: 4 08-03
26. Tyler Williams Barnett, MO 14 36-08 76 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 14-07 Day 2: 5 09-13 Day 3: 4 12-04
27. Gregory DiPalma Millville, NJ 13 36-04 75 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 13-08 Day 2: 5 13-04 Day 3: 3 09-08
28. Chris Johnston Peterborough Ontario CA 15 36-04 74 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 11-04 Day 2: 5 12-10 Day 3: 5 12-06
29. Paul Marks Cumming, GA 14 36-02 73 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 14-10 Day 2: 5 12-00 Day 3: 4 09-08
30. David Mullins Mt Carmel, TN 15 36-02 72 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 12-03 Day 2: 5 13-13 Day 3: 5 10-02
31. Austin Felix Eden Prairie, MN 15 35-05 71 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 12-14 Day 2: 5 11-14 Day 3: 5 10-09
32. Brock Mosley Collinsville, MS 15 35-00 70 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 13-06 Day 2: 5 11-00 Day 3: 5 10-10
33. Drew Cook Cairo, GA 15 35-00 69 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 13-05 Day 2: 5 11-08 Day 3: 5 10-03
34. Drew Benton Panama City, FL 15 34-12 68 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 14-07 Day 2: 5 09-03 Day 3: 5 11-02
35. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 14 34-11 67 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 16-15 Day 2: 5 08-02 Day 3: 4 09-10
36. Carl Jocumsen Queensland TN AUSTRALIA 14 34-04 66 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 12-07 Day 2: 4 10-12 Day 3: 5 11-01
37. Scott Canterbury Odenville, AL 15 34-02 65 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 11-03 Day 2: 5 11-05 Day 3: 5 11-10
38. Andrew Loberg Guntersville, AL 13 33-15 64 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 13-02 Day 2: 5 11-04 Day 3: 3 09-09
39. JT Thompkins Myrtle Beach, SC 15 33-13 63 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 10-03 Day 2: 5 12-07 Day 3: 5 11-03
40. Pake South Winnsboro, TX 13 33-02 62 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 16-02 Day 2: 5 12-04 Day 3: 3 04-12
41. Jacob Powroznik North Prince George, VA 13 32-10 61 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 11-03 Day 2: 5 14-11 Day 3: 3 06-12
42. Bob Downey Detroit Lakes, MN 14 32-07 60 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 11-03 Day 2: 5 12-07 Day 3: 4 08-13
43. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 13 32-05 59 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 17-14 Day 2: 5 10-06 Day 3: 3 04-01
44. Cliff Pace Ovett, MS 14 32-02 58 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 13-13 Day 2: 5 12-05 Day 3: 4 06-00
45. Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 14 31-15 57 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 13-15 Day 2: 5 10-03 Day 3: 4 07-13
46. Russ Lane Prattville, AL 13 31-05 56 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 11-05 Day 2: 5 13-03 Day 3: 3 06-13
47. Caleb Hudson Lincolnton, GA 13 30-07 55 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 10-08 Day 2: 5 13-13 Day 3: 3 06-02
48. Cody Meyer Eagle, ID 12 28-13 54 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 14-03 Day 2: 5 09-14 Day 3: 2 04-12
49. Wes Logan Springville, AL 12 28-04 53 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 10-07 Day 2: 5 14-10 Day 3: 2 03-03
50. David Gaston Sylacauga, AL 11 26-07 52 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 12-06 Day 2: 5 11-02 Day 3: 1 02-15
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PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Day
1 Justin Atkins Florence, AL 06-04 $1,000.00
2 Tucker Smith Birmingham, AL 05-09 $1,000.00
3 Mark Menendez Paducah, KY 06-00 $1,000.00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 87 476 1138-10
2 80 462 1097-06
3 32 218 518-02
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199 1156 2754-02
