Christie catches 18-plus for third consecutive day

Maloney sacks 21-6 to move into second

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. – Not much has changed in three days of Stren Series Central Division competition on Lake of the Ozarks. The hot weather, the tough bite and the pro leader have remained constant all week.

There is no doubt that Lake of the Ozarks is chock full with 4- and 5-pound bass, but not many of the 146 pros and 146 co-anglers are catching them. There are a few exceptions, and the exceptions are putting on a quite a show.

For a third consecutive day, Park Hill, Okla., native Jason Christie caught a five-bass limit weighing over 18 pounds. For some perspective, Chevy pro Dion Hibdon caught 72 pounds over four days last year at the FLW Series event. Lake of the Ozarks is Hibdon’s home water and no one dreamt that total weight would be approached at this tournament, especially with 90-degree weather. It isn’t easy to make the Hibdons jealous on their home lake, but Christie has done just that. Ladies and gentlemen, the Central Division finale has officially become the Jason Christie coming out party.

His stringer Friday weighed 18 pounds, 9 ounces, pushing his opening-round total to 55 pounds, 3 ounces. But for the first time all week, Christie had to alter his pattern. He started the day by running his deep-water crankbait pattern, but he bailed at 11 a.m. and decided to go spot fishing with a jig.

“I’m still worried about tomorrow,” he said. “I only caught eight or nine keepers today.”

Of those eight or nine keepers, Christie estimates three came on a crankbait and five came on a 3/4-ounce Booyah football-head jig tipped with a Big Show craw. He fishes the crankbait in water 15-25 feet deep and the jig around brush piles in 10 to 15 feet of water.

The pro leader had only two fish in his boat at 11 a.m. At noon he was headed back to the Grand Glaize Recreation Area with a livewell full of 4-pounders. The biggest fish in his string weighed 5 pounds, 2 ounces, and was dedicated to his daughter Ana, who was enjoying her seventh birthday.

Tomorrow he’ll have a chance to win his first major tournament and a total prize package worth roughly $65,000.

“Knock on wood, I haven’t lost a fish yet. It has been a really good week. I’m still a little afraid of those big cruisers tomorrow; they hurt me a little today.”

Maloney catches heaviest stringer thus far

Making the long trip to Lake of the Ozarks this week is pro Brian Maloney of Osage Beach, Mo. Up until Maloney weighed in, it looked as though Christie would have a double-digit lead heading into the final day. But the local pro wasn’t about to let that happen, not on his home lake. Instead of fishing conservatively like he did the first two days, Maloney pulled out all the stops en route to a 21-pound, 6-ounce limit.

“Today was the day to put it on them,” he said. “When you live around here and you’re fishing against these guys, you’ve got to step it up. I stepped it up today.”

Maloney did his work quickly as he had a limit in the boat by 9:30 this morning and was done fishing by 11 a.m.

“I didn’t see any purpose in bettering my stringer by a pound if I could save them for tomorrow. I guess I shouldn’t have paced myself the first two days. I think 20 pounds is realistic for tomorrow though. I think I definitely could have 18, especially if I stick with it all day.”

Not surprisingly, Maloney is fishing a specific set of docks. His key bait is custom-made Curt Walker jig. The jig has a round head and is 5/16 of an ounce in weight.

“Everybody else is going fast and I’m just letting it sit there. I think that’s the key.”

Maloney has a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 51 pounds, 4 ounces, which places him about 4 pounds behind the Oklahoma phenom.

Newby third

For Kellogg’s pro Sam Newby, the quality of bass on day three greatly increased. After catching 13 pounds on day two, Newby managed 16 pounds, 6 ounces on day three. Included in that was a giant bass that weighed 5 pounds, 10 ounces.

“I lost another one that was just as big,” said the Pocola, Okla., pro. “I’m surprised, I’ve got all my stuff pretty much to myself.”

Yesterday Newby said he was saving five spots for today. He caught 10 keepers on the day, six of which came from the water he was saving. Heading into the final day, Newby is out of new water but thinks his areas are replenishing.

Interestingly, Newby is rooming with Christie, the pro leader, but the two are not sharing information. Unlike Christie, the 2005 Stren Series Championship winner is throwing a big jig. He’s fishing some docks, but he’s not focusing entirely on them.

With an opening-round total weight of 45 pounds, 2 ounces, Newby is 10 pounds off his roommate’s lead. Hopefully Christie sets two alarms for tomorrow.

Fitzpatrick fourth

Eldon, Mo., pro Roger Fitzpatrick had yet another successful day on his home lake, but it wasn’t enough to keep pace with Christie and Maloney. Fishing a combination of deep and shallow water, Fitzpatrick caught five bass weighing 12 pounds, 13 ounces. His total weight is now up to 44 pounds, 4 ounces.

Fitzpatrick starts each day by skipping a 3/8-ounce jig under docks. With that exact technique, his first cast this morning netted him a 3-pounder. He does this until he has a limit, and then he switches to throwing a D16 crankbait in the deep water. Today he fished docks until roughly noon.

“I catch all I can then I go deep,” he said. “I want to fish deep all day, but with the low weights I can’t bring myself to do it until I have five. If I have to gamble and fish all day tomorrow I may do it. I also lost a 5-pounder on a log that I hope to bring to Wal-Mart tomorrow.”

Hutson fifth

In the fifth spot is Washburn, Mo., pro and Ozark legend Randall Hutson, whose 16-pound, 4-ounce day-three catch brought his combined total to 40 pounds, 4 ounces. Two of those bass weighed over 5 pounds. Hutson finished fourth at the season-opening event on Bull Shoals Lake.

The former Wal-Mart FLW Tour champion may not be a household name in professional bass fishing, but his accolades stack up against the best anglers in the sport. As proof, he has accumulated nearly $500,000 in FLW Outdoors career earnings.

His major accomplishments include an FLW Tour win on the Connecticut River in 1998, which at the time was the richest bass tournament in the history of the sport. His other major paydays have come in the Ozarks, a surprise to no one. He took second at the Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake in 2002 and again in 2003. Each of those tournaments earned Hutson $100,000.

Rounding out the top 10 pros who will compete in tomorrow’s final round:

6th: Jeremy Lawyer of Sarcoxie, Mo., 39-11

7th: Steve Ruff of Wentzville, Mo., 39-3

8th: Rick McGaughey of Osage Beach, Mo., 38-7

9th: Jackie Davis of Willard, Mo., 38-4

10th: Jimmy Davis Jr. of Willard, Mo., 37-8

Waggoner assumes co-angler lead

Day three saw considerable movement in the Co-angler Division. As two of yesterday’s leaders zeroed, Carthage, Mo., native Joe Waggoner caught four bass weighing 8 pounds, 7 ounces, to take the lead. His biggest catch came yesterday when he caught a limit weighing 12 pounds. After three days, his total weight is 28 pounds, 5 ounces.

Waggoner practiced for the event with his good friend Tommy Lowery, who is in sixth place in the Pro Division. The two dialed in a solid dock pattern in the back of various creeks. Yesterday he fished with a Senko and today he threw a 3/8-ounce jig.

“This is cool,” Waggoner said. “I’m excited I get to fish with Jason (Christie) tomorrow.”

Waggoner is also looking for a little revenge after missing the top-10 cutoff at the Columbus Pool by just 5 ounces.

Rest of the best

Greentop, Mo., co-angler Tony Lain caught four bass today that weighed 12 pounds, 2 ounces, the heaviest catch of the tournament thus far from the back of the boat. With an opening-round total of 24 pounds, 5 ounces, Lain is 4 pounds behind Waggoner in second. Lain’s biggest fish from Friday’s competition weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces, and was worth $125 as the Snickers Big Bass.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Eugene Robinett of Springfield, Mo. (10 bass, 23 pounds); Ron Abbot of Lafayette, Ind. (12 bass, 22 pounds, 11 ounces); and Tommy Lowery of O’Fallon, Mo. (nine bass, 22 pounds, 1 ounce).

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers who will compete in tomorrow’s final round:

6th: Tony Spinks of Springfield, Mo., 21-11

7th: Chuck Loerzel of Yorkville, Ill., 20-14

8th: Matt Scheipeter of St. Louis, Mo., 20-12

9th: Anthony Lowrance of Dora, Ala., 20-9

10th: Brian Branum of Longview, Texas, 20-8

The final takeoff will commence at 6: 45 a.m. Central time Saturday from the Grand Glaize Recreation Area, located just off Highway 54 on Public Beach Road.