Jason Christie's 13th-place finish was a bittersweet thing for the Oklahoma pro who's won three tour-level events this year. On one hand, it allowed him to head for Shreveport, La., where he'll fish for half a million dollars in this week's Forrest Wood Cup, a day earlier than if he'd have made the Top 12. On the other, it brought about the agony of missing the final cut by a single ounce.
"To be honest, (on the morning of day 3) I would've gladly taken 13th," he said after a 20-pound sack moved him up 8 places. "But to only miss the cut by a single ounce is still tough. I just lost way to many fish to be happy with my performance. I fished good, but I didn't land nearly as many as I should have.
"I told myself I wasn't going to worry about the Cup until I was out of this tournament. I learned this year that crazy things can happen on the final day, but it's not as likely up here (where almost everybody catches a limit every day and weights are always tightly bunched). One thing I don't like are tournament days where I don't really have a chance to win, so I'd rather be on the road."
He said it was just the second time in his career that he caught every fish he weighed on spinning gear (the first was a Cup at Lake Lanier). He used his prototype signature series Falcon rod and the new Lew's Gold Spin reel to dropshot a 3-inch Yum Wooly Bug that was slit length-wise to produce more action.
"Lew's isn't really known for spinning reels yet, but they will be soon," he said.
The Big Bite Lookback, which focuses on the angler who's first out of the final cut at each tour-level event, is brought to you by the great folks at Big Bite Baits.
