Photo: FLWOutdoors.com It's tough to tell whether Tony Christian gambled or simply has super-powers.

Jig Was Key To Christian's Win

Tuesday, June 03, 2003

It's tough to tell exactly why Tony Christian caught only big bass at the BFL All-American on the Mobile Delta.

He didn't intentionally focus only on big bites because he couldn't: the river was ridiculously high and muddy, and anglers were thankful just to find a few keepers. But while others fished smaller baits for smaller fish, he fished a big-fish lure (a jig) in a promising spot and got the bites he needed to win.

Was it that or the fact that he seems to be endowed with Superman-like fishing power? Tough to tell, but here's what he did.

> Day 1: 2, 8-14
> Day 2: 3, 7-05 (Total: 5, 16-03)
> Day 3: 3, 14-00

Days 1 and 2

On the official practice day Christian ran to the clearer water of Gunnison Creek, off the Mobile River. He checked the spot and liked what he found. He caught two 2 1/2-pounders and two smaller keepers, then left.

He started there on day 1, but "didn't catch a thing over there. I couldn't believe it," he said. He ran to another spot in Hurricane Creek off the Tensaw River, and got another goosegg. From there he went to what ultimately was his best spot, on the Tensaw, and caught two bass on a jig: a 6-02 and a 2-12.

That spot was on the Tensaw River where the water was "really high and strong. I had to put my trolling motor on 80 just to stand still," he said. "I found a spot on the edge of that river with 3 boathouses on it and a huge drum, like a tank. The tank and boathouses were cutting the river, and behind them there was no current." He let a jig fall through the current (in about 6 feet of water) and into the eddy. "Fish can't stay in that current for long periods because they burn too much energy," he noted.

On day 2 he knew he didn't need much weight to make the cut. This time he started on Hurricane Creek and caught one on a jig that morning, around 3 1/2 pounds. He figured that was enough weight, so he ran over to the Gunnison Creek/Saraland Creek area and started fishing it with a spinnerbait. "I'll be darned if I didn't catch 2 nice ones over there," he said.

Weights were zeroed after day 2, so Christian's commanding 6-pound lead evaporated.

The Big Day

On day 3, the final day, he first headed over to Hurricane Creek. "I fished a spinnerbait in and halfway out, and then I started throwing my jig," he said. "I threw behind this old boathouse 4-5 times, and all of a sudden I got a thump. I set back on it and that fished weighed 4-08.

"It was the first fish I caught and I felt good about it, but I didn't it would be enough to win. The day before the weights had picked up. I figured if I could just get 2 more and get over 8 pounds, I'd feel good about it."

He ran 20 minutes to his iffy Gunnison/Saraland spot and fished it with a spinnerbait for almost an hour. No bites, so he went to his hole on the Tensaw.

"I threw out there and I had a fish," he said. He knew it was a good one. "I was fighting him, and he was digging underneath those boathouses, where barnacles grow." Eventually the fish cut the 17-pound line. (He's fanatic about feeling and retying his line, and still feels "there's no way that fish should have broken off.")

Christian kept fishing the spot, and 10-15 minutes later had another strike. "It started doing the same thing, digging underneath that boathouse," he said. But then he caught a break: the fish ran out to the main river and started bulldogging. "In the river there was nothing it could do," he said. "It was 15 feet deep once you got off that ledge."

He fought the fish for a few minutes, then it came up and he grabbed it and put it in the boat. It was a 6-08. That's when his head started to spin.

"I started counting up my weight, and then I thought about the $100,000, the other $10,000 (from Yamaha) and a new boat (from the Ranger Cup) -- my stomach was just rolling in knots," he said. "I got to dry- heaving -- I couldn't handle it. I drank some water and sat there for 10-15 minutes just trying to get my breath.

"The whole time I was fighting that fish I think I forgot to breathe. I wasn't thinking about breathing. It gave me a headache -- my blood pressure must have been through the top of my head."

The weirdest part about it was that 6-08 had Christian's other jig in its mouth. It was the same fish he'd just broken off.

When he recovered, he thought he had enough to win "but you're never sure. And it was pretty day -- kind of windy, good for fishing a blade." Even so, he stuck with jigging his honey hole. "I went back up in there, fishing around trees, the boathouses and the tank."

He felt another thump, set the hook and landed a 3-pounder. He fished there for another 15-20 minutes, then decided to try to finish off his limit in Gunnison/Saraland spot. He had a bite, but boated no other fish.

Gear/Other Notes

> Jig -- 6' 8" All Star medium-heavy rod; Shimano Calcutta reel; 17-pound P- Line; 1/2-ounce no-name jig (black/blue) with Zoom Swimmin' Chunk (black/blue).

> Spinnerbait -- 6' 6" All Star Titanium Topwater Special rod; Shimano Curado reel; same line; 3/8-ounce 3-bladed Gambler Ninja Spin spinnerbait (white/blue skirt) with a white Zoom Split-Tail Trailer.

> Why those two baits? "They were the only two I could get bit on," he said. "And when you fish that jig, you catch good fish."

> The backs of the creeks off the Mobile River had clear water, but his Tensaw spots were stained or dirty.

> Main factor in his success -- "The jig. The jig caught the bigger fish and that's what brought the gold to me."

> At this point Christian has no official sponsors, but look for that to change soon. He intends to fish the FLW Tour next year.