(Editor's note: This is part 2 of a 3-part article on Tony Christian.)

Tony Christian's big-fish magic really isn't magic. It doesn't happen by coincidence or accident. Instead, he is that "special breed" who has a fascination with big bass and their habits.

"I practice a lot," he said. "That's one thing most people don't realize, how much I practice. I'll practice 5 or 6 days just for a BFL, and I spend a majority of that time looking exclusively for big fish with big-fish baits. I'd say that 75 percent of the time I spend on the water is spent in what I consider to be big-fish water."

To him, big-fish water is the upper ends of reservoirs, where he can find stained water.

But that might just be personal preference. "I like rivers," he said. "They make more sense to me than the main-lake part of a reservoir."

Because he focuses so much time and energy on big fish, his lure selection is rather simple. His favorite two baits are the same ones he used to win the All-American: a 1/2-ounce jig (he doesn't care about the brand as long as it's black and blue) with a Zoom Swimmin' Chunk; and a 1/2-ounce, three-bladed Gambler Ninja Spin spinnerbait.

He also favors topwaters – buzzbaits, Spooks and prop baits – for big fish.

Beyond those lures, he carries a healthy selection of medium-running crankbaits. "I like Normans, Shad Raps and Bandits," he said. "But crankbaits to me aren't necessarily big-fish baits. They're limit-hunters. I'll catch a good one on them every now and then, but really a crankbait is my small-fish bait. It's my go-to bait. If I already have a big fish and I just need to fill my limit in a cut format, I'll tie on a crankbait and start fishing down the bank."

"That's really about it," he adds. "I carry a few (Zoom) Brush Hogs as well, but I don't have a boat full of plastics like some of these guys. I hardly ever throw a plastic worm."

He keeps his rod selection simple too. He uses 6' 6" rods almost exclusively. The longest rod he owns is 6' 8". And he doesn't flip or pitch much. "I'll pitch a little bit, but mostly I just make sidearm casts with those shorter rods to get the bait where I need it."

He's also a self-imposed neat freak. "This game is all about efficiency," he said. "I don't like to carry a lot of tackle, and what tackle I do carry is highly organized. If you could look at my tackle in my boat you'd think I was some kind of freak, it's so neat. I can't stand wasted time on the water. I want everything where I can get to it in seconds."

Another ingredient in his approach is that he doesn't hook fish in practice. He puts rubber trailer-hook stops on his hooks to keep from catching fish. "I rarely catch the same fish off the same piece of cover that I shook off in practice, but I'll usually catch a fish very close to where I had a bite," he noted.

Dedication and Patience Key Too

He noted that what many people don't appreciate about big-fish fishing is the time it takes to locate big fish and the dedication to stay with it all day in a tournament – even when he hasn't had a bite.

"I've caught many of my bigger fish with just an hour left in the day," he said. "On the first day of the All-American, I didn't have a fish at 12:30. I was that close to zeroing. But I got two bites right before we came in, and suddenly I look like a hero. It can happen that fast, and that's one reason I stick to it. I know that in one bite I can jump 70 places in the standings."

The Ledger

Christian has made a science out of finding and fishing for big fish, the ingredient necessary for winning tournaments.

He is so infatuated with big bass that he's been keeping a detailed ledger of his fishing for 2 years. In the ledger is a record of every bite he's had and every fish he's caught.

"I don't show anybody my ledger," he said, laughing. "I have all the good stuff in there. I record every fishing trip, even if I go for just a couple of hours. Even if I don't catch a fish, I record everything I didn't catch a fish on. In fact, some the most useful information to me is on lures, patterns or areas that didn't produce. Those are the mistakes I don't want to make again."

These aren't just scribbled notes. In keeping with his neat-freak personality, these records detail lures, cover, structure, water temperature, water clarity and depth, as well as particular information about the time of day a big fish bites, including the presence of shad, amount of sunlight and amount of wind blowing on the area.

Even though he's guarded about the information in his ledger, he does throw BassFans a bone. "I will tell you this," he said. "Most of my big fish have come in depths of 6 to 8 feet."

- End of part 2 (of 3) -