DID LEE WIN OR DID CHRISTI LOSE

[okiebass]

if he would have got one afternoon bite (4lb) he would be a genius .

[RazorCat]

After watch Swindle and couple of others pull some solid fish off docks on worms, and I believe jigs, Yeah, Jason could have probably done better making a switch. Hindsight is 20/20.
I think this only makes Christie more determined, and hopefully he'll look back and learn a lesson on adapting. It's hard to put down the lures that bagged you 37 lbs. over 2 days.

[Wild Heethen]

This should evoke some colorful responses.

I watched all three days of bass live. It was easy to tell that the bass weren't chasing moving baits sitting in the comforts of home yesterday. As the day wore on though, I kept screaming at the monitor for Christie to pick up a whacky worm and slow down. I know that everyone said he was going to ride that horse the whole way, but at some point you have to say I need five in the box before I can cull.

At some point you have to be willing to bend and change the game plan. Especially when you have nearly a 7 pound lead over second place. Oh how 5, 2 pound cookie cutters would have changed the outcome of this derby.

I understand his determination to continue with the reaction baits but man, he really has to be kicking himself today. Just ask yourself how many docks he fished that he didn't get a bite on that held fish under them that may have gone for a Senko?

So I say this, 70/30. 70% was Christi not going out and winning it and 30% was Jordan Lee doing the best he could and hoping that someone had an epic collapse.

100 percent CORRECT!

[Flipping57]

Jordan Lee won, he has the trophy to prove it. The other 51 guys lost.

[grimsbylander]

I guess we should add crystal ball to the wish list of options on new boats. hmmm should I get the 7" or the new 12" lol

[FlipSide]

After watch Swindle and couple of others pull some solid fish off docks on worms, and I believe jigs, Yeah, Jason could have probably done better making a switch. Hindsight is 20/20.
I think this only makes Christie more determined, and hopefully he'll look back and learn a lesson on adapting. It's hard to put down the lures that bagged you 37 lbs. over 2 days.

This right here...

He knew nothing that we knew, had he known he would need only a limit of 2lbers to win of course he would have switched it up and caught the limit. Every angler said they thought they would crush them on Sunday... it just didnt happen. I am willing to bet everyone here has fished a dead pattern longer than they should have...

[grout-scout]

I’m not crying? Just calling out all of you guys pouring it on a guy that already feels bad enough. ( I bet your one of those guys that always wears his tournament jersey when you fish)

You are incorrect again, I do not even own a jersey and unless I were to be in a club that required them I would not own one.

[Meadows]

Hats off to Jordan Lee, but Christie lost it.

[mrc]

Christie was doing what he thought he needed to do to win. We had the benefit of seeing other anglers switching to finese tactics and wacky worms, but he did not have that benefit. If you watched live you heard Christie talking to himself and debating on if it was a tough day for him or a tough day for everyone. His mindset was that if it was tough on everyone then he would have enough to win based on his lack of bites. But if it wasn't as tough for others then a small limit wasn't going to be enough to win anyway. He chose to stick with a bigger aggressive bait trying to catch the size fish he thought it would take to win. I have been on boht sides of this in different events. Have been catching small ones when others were chasing bigger fish and ended up doing well. And have been catching smallones when bite was tough but someone else found bigger more aggresive fish and my little ones didn't help. The reality is Christie out fished everyone for 2 days. Lee just happened to out fish him on the one day that mattered most.

[spinningchicken]

This year's classic, on the final day, could the anglers access basstrack? If I remember correctly, the year on Grand, someone told Jason that Edwin had a big bag, and Jason looked at basstrack to confirm, even though he said he didn't really want to look. Very possible that rule has changed in two years, but if not, then it could have been used to determine weight estimates of the competition and that could have changed some decisions.

[dstep0]

This year's classic, on the final day, could the anglers access basstrack? If I remember correctly, the year on Grand, someone told Jason that Edwin had a big bag, and Jason looked at basstrack to confirm, even though he said he didn't really want to look. Very possible that rule has changed in two years, but if not, then it could have been used to determine weight estimates of the competition and that could have changed some decisions.

I was wondering the same.

[slaunch]

This year's classic, on the final day, could the anglers access basstrack? If I remember correctly, the year on Grand, someone told Jason that Edwin had a big bag, and Jason looked at basstrack to confirm, even though he said he didn't really want to look. Very possible that rule has changed in two years, but if not, then it could have been used to determine weight estimates of the competition and that could have changed some decisions.

I believe they changed the rule that next year to where they could not look at anything like that during tournament hours.

[pickwickmike]

FWIW this is how I would have played it. I started with a 7 lb lead. If I go catch a limit of 2 lbers that's a 17 lb lead; pretty substantial. I would have chased the 2 lbers.

[slaunch]

FWIW this is how I would have played it. I started with a 7 lb lead. If I go catch a limit of 2 lbers that's a 17 lb lead; pretty substantial. I would have chased the 2 lbers.

But what if he tries that and doesn't catch a limit? We assume he would have because the other guys did but what if he didn't? Everyone would be killing him for not going out and doing what he had the first two days.

[FlipSide]

FWIW this is how I would have played it. I started with a 7 lb lead. If I go catch a limit of 2 lbers that's a 17 lb lead; pretty substantial. I would have chased the 2 lbers.

Even if the 2lber limit meant changing from the technique that you used to jack a 20 and 16lb bag the previous two days? I highly doubt it...

[slaunch]

Even if the 2lber limit meant chaning from the technique that you used to jack a 20 and 16lb bag the previous two days? I highly doubt it...

And again, he caught a 4 pounder, his biggest fish of the day on Saturday, on his very last cast. A cast he said he shouldn't have even made because he was cutting the time so close!

[TNRanger]

I put Christie and Hackney in the same group. Too much stubbornness and cockiness to make adjustments.

The most successful athletes in any sport are those that can adjust their game plan to suit the conditions.

Yes they have done great using this method, but just think how much better they would be if they swallowed the pride a little.

Just IMO as an armchair QB...

[skeeterator]

He actually saw fish under docks that wouldn't hit his chatterbait and still didn't pitch a finesse bait at them. He blew it, plain and simple.

[plowjock]

Ten, fifteen years down the road, you'll remember the winner of 2018 Bass Master Classic. Who will remember the names of the other fishermen who DIDN'T?
Sports psychologists will be next added team on board to help.

[kailor]

Both gentlemen mentioned in this thread did an outstanding job in the 2018 BMC. Congratulations to both of them and the entire field of contestants. It sure would be nice to have their fishing skill sets. To know which lures to change to and where to present them is a skill I wish I had. Makes me want to go catch a BIG one!