A frosty Championship Sunday morning had the temperatures in the low 30s at the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Chickamauga Lake. After sunrise, areas of thick fog added a weather anomaly to the game plans of the Top 10 anglers.“The fog is why I won,” said Jason Christie, who made an unscheduled stop while en route to his key area until the fog lifted. By 8 a.m., Christie lit up the BassTrakk scoreboard with a limit, while much of the field was still navigating through the fog. A winning weight of 73 pounds, 7 ounces, earned Christie an eighth career B.A.S.S. victory.
Some bass were spawning. Many were migrating along textbook staging and transition areas toward the spawning areas. Intercepting the fish made timing and bait selection a must for success.Capitalizing on that prevailing pattern took a combination of reaction lures and finesse baits to work throughout the water column. That’s a wide array of tackle, and you can find what you need for the spawning season at basspro.com.Drew Benton (10th; 51-14)
Drew Benton alternated between a creature bait for wood cover, and a bladed jig for covering water.His lure lineup included a Big Bite Baits Fighting Frog, on a 4/0 Owner Offset Shank Wide Gap Worm Hook, with a 3/8-ounce Elite Tungsten Weight.Benton also used a 1/2-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer, with a Big Bite Baits Kamikaze Swimon.
Clifford Pirch (9th; 58-0)Clifford Pirch covered the water column using a glide bait, skirted jig and drop-shot rig, including two new soft plastics he designed for Big Bite Baits.For heavy cover he used a 1/2-ounce homemade jig with a new Big Bite Baits Ram Tail Craw designed by Pirch.
Pirch made a drop shot with a new hand-poured Big Bite Baits Scentsation Worm, with a 1/0 Gamakatsu Light Wire Rebarb hook, and a 1/4-ounce weight.He also used an HPH Glide.Jason Williamson (8th; 58-0) Jason Williamson alternated between a bladed jig and skirted jig.
For covering water, Williamson used a 3/8-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer, with a Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw, with the tails dipped in red dye.He also used a Buckeye Lures Mop Jig, with a Zoom Super Chunk.Carl Jocumsen (7th; 63-4)
“Big bass like to eat a big shad, instead of searching for smaller bait,” Carl Jocumsen said. And with that, he chose big baits to stay in the hunt for the win.Jocumsen helped design this Molix Glide Bait 178 featuring realistic soft fins, swiveling treble hooks and a wide 180-degree “S” action. The bait sinks to 2 feet and suspends, chopping and gliding through the water with 3/4 turns of the reel handle, pausing and repeating.Jocumsen also used a Storm Arashi Glide designed by Brandon Palaniuk. Swimming in an exaggerated “S” action that piques interest of large bass, a quick snap of the rod tip turns the AGB 180 degrees, triggering strikes from followers.
Daisuke Aoki (6th; 63-15)A submerged hump used by bass as a staging and transition area along a creek channel was the key area for Daisuke Aoki. He chose lures capable of producing strikes from bass feeding on top of the hump.Aoki used a 5-inch Deps Sakamata Shad for casting and twitching the bait across the top and edge of the hump.
Alternatively, he used a self-designed 4.8 DSTYLE Decapture swimbait.For blind sight fishing, he used a wacky-rigged 4-inch Yamamoto Senko.Caleb Kuphall (5th; 64-13) Caleb Kuphall alternated between a skirted jig and bladed jig.
Kuphall used a 1/2-ounce homemade jig, with salty craw chunk.He also used a 3/8-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer, with a Big Bite Baits Big Bite Baits Kamikaze Swimon.Matt Robertson (4th; 66-1)
Lipless crankbaits and a swimbait made up the lure arsenal of Matt Robertson.Robertson alternated between two lipless crankbaits, including this 3/4-ounce Berkley Warpig.He also used a 6-inch Berkley Hollow Belly, rigged on a 6/0 weighted weedless wide gap worm hook.
Jacob Foutz (3rd; 67-6)Jacob Foutz rotated between a spinnerbait and bladed jig.That choice was a Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer, with a Z-Man Goat ToadZ.
Foutz also used an Accent Fishing Products 1/2-ounce Accent River Special Spinnerbait, with a Zoom Split Tail Trailer.Brock Mosley (2nd; 69-15)Brock Mosley used a spinnerbait, bladed jig and lipless crankbait to intercept migrating bass.
Mosley used a 1/2-ounce Angler Assets Spinnerbait with a split tail trailer.Alternatively, he used a 1/4-ounce Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap.Mosley also used a 1/2-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer, with a Yamamoto Zako trailer.
Jason Christie (1st; 73-7)A skirted jig and spinnerbait enabled Jason Christie to cover water, and flip and pitch to bass in heavy cover.Christie used a 5/8-ounce War Eagle Jiu-Jigsu flpping jig, with a 2.75-inch YUM Craw Chunk.
He covered water with a BOOYAH Covert Series Spinnerbait, featuring a single Colorado blade, and a YUM Swim’n Dinger trailer.Shop for Christie’s winning lure lineup, and add your personal favorites at basspro.com.
