(Editor's note: This is part 1 of a 3-part article on Tony Christian.)

Who is Tony Christian? He's not a tour pro, but will fish the FLW Tour next year because he won this year's BFL All-American – and he'll probably qualify through the EverStarts too.

Big deal? Well, the reason you're reading about him here is that he's had an almost unbelievably magic stick for the past 2 years, and has earned a reputation that can't be ignored.

That rep started with stats, namely wins. Last year he tore up the BFLs with 5 wins and a 2nd in 7 tournaments. This year in the BFLs he has a win, a 5th, a 21st and a DQ for late check-in, and in the Eastern EverStarts started off with a 7th, then had a win and a 19th.

You can't help but be impressed with results like that. At the very least, they indicate that he's an up-and-comer. But his true magic comes in the form of big fish. And to fully appreciate that, you have to consider Rick Clunn.

Special Breed

Throughout the tour season, Clunn has told BassFans about his new approach to tournaments. It boils down to a commitment to fishing for only bigger fish during the practice and tournament days of every event.

In his most recent evaluation of his quality-fish approach, he said that focusing just on bigger fish was more difficult than he thought, and that he missed out on the fun of catching numbers of fish. In his words: "To strategically change your way of fishing to just go for big bass takes a special breed. It's a different type of fisherman. They're not interested in finding schools of fish. Like those big-bass guys in California and other people across the country – they're fishing for a minimum number of bites per day, and are using techniques that discourage a lot of bites."

Christian, of Hull, Ga., has the exact genetic code to be the "special breed" Clunn was referring to.

At a cursory glance, Christian's fishing record is indicative of someone who is on a hot streak. But upon closer inspection, his record reveals something that even top-ranked pros are awed by: his uncanny ability to catch big bass in tournaments.

In fact, his big-bass reputation in the BFLs and EverStarts has earned him the nickname Tony "The Big-Fish Magician" Christian.

The Start and the Roll

How convincing is Christian's big-bass record? You'll have to judge for yourself, but what follows is an abbreviated review of his record from those two trails, starting with a little history:

  • He hasn't been tournament fishing very long. He appeared on the BFL scene in 2000 when he fished the Bulldog Division as a co-angler.

  • In 2001, he switched to the boater side and had little success until the 2-day tournament on Lake Sinclair, where he captured his first big-bass award with a 9-03 and finished 3rd.

  • His roll really began in 2002 in the BFL's new Savannah River Division. He won the first tournament of the year with 17-09 by a 5-pound margin.

  • At the 2nd event on Lake Keowee, he took big-bass honors with a 6-03, but finished 35th due to a late penalty.

  • He won the third event on Lake Hartwell with 20-11, helped by a 7-02 bass, which also took big-bass honors.

  • He then fished one event in the Bulldog Division on Lake Sinclair. He didn't win big fish, but he won the tournament (with 16-08).

  • Back in the Savannah River Division, he won the 4th event on Lake Russell with 13-12, but also didn't have big fish.

  • In the 2-day super tournament on Clark Hill, Christian had big fish on day 1 (8-11) and wound up 2nd.

  • He finished off his 2002 season by going to the Lake Gaston Regional and winning it handily by catching big bass all three days of the tournament.

  • His big-bass magic has continued into this year. In the Savannah River Division he caught the big bass in the first event on Keowee, a 5-05, and then caught big bass at again at Hartwell, a 7-15 that helped him win that event with 20-14.
Still not convinced that Christian is a big fish magician? There's more.

  • He started the Eastern EverStart season with big bass (9-07) on the first day of the Okeechobee EverStart, where he eventually finished 7th.

  • He won the second EverStart on Lake Martin. And guess what? He had big fish on the final two days.

  • He missed big fish by 2 ounces on day 1 of the Santee Cooper EverStart and finished 19th.

  • He dominated and won the All-American with big bass every day of the event, including two bass over 6 pounds, which local anglers were shocked to see in the Mobile Delta's flooded, muddy waters.
In sum, in 2 years in FLW Outdoors events Christian has won 8 tournaments and banked almost $200,000, which doesn't even include extra cash from the Ranger Cup Program.

Even more impressive is that out of 35 tournament days, he has weighed-in big bass of the day 15 times – an amazing 43 percent of the time – on different kinds of lakes and in all seasons.

- End of part 1 (of 3) -



FLWOutdoors.com
Photo: FLWOutdoors.com

Tony Christian is tearing up the BFLs and EverStarts with his uncanny knack for catching big bass.