By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor

Jason Christie took a look at the area that he exploited to win the recent Sabine River Bassmaster Elite Series the last time the tour visited the tricky, low-weight venue in 2018. That previous event was a couple of months later on the calendar, though, and the place didn't impress him all that much.

"I just poked around the edges last time and I got some bites, but they were really small," he said. "I gave it an hour or so and then got out. Either (the bigger fish) weren't there in the summer or they were farther up the river."

For last week's derby, he knew that the area around the launch in Orange, Texas would receive heavy pressure, as would the popular Taylor Bayou. Traveling to the stretch around Houston, as runner-up Brock Mosley did, involved too many variables (wind, the need to refuel, etc.).

With that in mind, he opted to spend two practice days far up the river – just about as far as he could go and get back on the 40 gallons of gas that his Xpress aluminum boat could hold.

"I caught very few fish with the exception of one little creek," he said. "Once I decided to go, I knew I had to be committed."

He notched his fourth career Elite Series triumph and seventh tour-level win by catching 43-15 over four days. The vast majority of that total came during the first two days, when he brought back bags that weighed 15-01 and 13-14. He averaged just 7 1/2 pounds over the final two days (6-12 and 8-04), but it was enough to relegate Mosley to runner-up status for the second straight event.

Fuel Conservation was Critical

Christie estimated that the two-hour run to his special creek featured 250 hair-pin turns in the river channel. Going up and back never left him with more than two gallons of fuel in his tank and he had just half a gallon left on day 2. There were no fill-up opportunities along the route.

"I figured out that I had to keep the motor under 4,000 RPMs to get the best fuel economy," he said. "Gas became less and less of an issue as the tournament went on – I don't mean I had more left over at the end of the day, but I figured out what I needed to do to conserve it.

"The first two days when the river was low, I had to be really conservative and take every outside bend. When the water came up, I could cut across of few of the sandbars and that took 4 or 5 miles off the trip."

His key piece of equipment was a cable running from his Yamaha motor to his Garmin electronics that allowed him to precisely monitor the fuel flow.

"I probably wouldn't have even made the trip without it," he said. "I could see everything the engine was doing and it gives a digital reading of how much gas is remaining. I couldn't imagine doing it with an old-style gauge and not knowing exactly what was left."

Progression Slower Up There

The creek where his fish had congregated was extremely narrow – he could put his boat in the middle and cast to either bank. He stayed close to where it met the main channel and provided the fish access to deeper water.

"The water is colder up there on the main channel and the fish are a little behind (in the spawning process) compared to the ones farther down," he said. "The largemouths I caught were fat pre-spawners."

Some of the holes in that vicinity were 8 or 9 feet deep.

"The farther up you went, the shallower it got," he said. "My thinking was there wouldn't be a lot of resident fish way up there up no deep water."

He threw a spinnerbait to cover as much water as possible and had a lot of isolated targets to aim at when the water level was down on the first two days. Those mostly went sub-surface on days 3 and 4, so he ventured farther in where the banks were steeper and there was less inflow from the channel.

The spinnerbait accounted for 18 of the 20 fish he took to the scale. Twice he made small culls while flipping near the take-off after returning with some time to spare.

Winning Gear Notes

> Spinnerbait gear: 6'10" medium-heavy Falcon Cara Head Turner rod, Lew's Hyper Mag casting reel (7.5:1 ratio), 22-pound Sunline Shooter fluorocarbon line, 1/2-ounce Booyah Covert spinnerbait (chartreuse/blue/white), YUM Swim'n Dinger trailer (white).

> Flipping gear: 7'3" heavy-action Falcon Cara rod, same reel (8.3:1 ratio) and line, 3/8-ounce tungsten weight, 4/0 TroKar TK130 hook, YUM Spine Craw (black/blue flake).