ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — Jason Christie did not believe he had won the Maxam Tire Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound until the trophy was over his head. The Dry Creek, Oklahoma, pro closed out four days with 92 pounds, 7 ounces — a total he assembled from just 19 bass after failing to land a limit on Day 2.
"Even today, I thought my luck was going to run out," Christie said. "I could go up there tomorrow and not catch one. It was so random where I was catching them."
The win, his second of the 2026 season, was Christie's 10th career B.A.S.S. title. It put him in rare company: only Kevin VanDam, Rick Clunn, Denny Brauer, Larry Nixon, Edwin Evers and Roland Martin have reached double digits. Seven of Christie's wins have come on the Elite Series, two at Opens and one at the 2022 Bassmaster Classic.
He got there the hard way. Christie ran up to the Chowan River every day, holding to the front half so he only had to refuel once, and never settled into a reliable pattern. Most of his fish sat about two feet down in six or seven feet of water, scattered across cypress trees, laydowns and stumps.
"They've all been surprising," he said of his wins. "Whenever I have a good practice, I usually don't catch them. Practice here was not good."
One dock turned the tournament. Fellow competitor David Mullins tipped Christie off to it after Day 2, and Christie pulled more than 28 pounds from that single spot across Saturday and Sunday.
"It is the best dock I have ever fished. It took care of me yesterday and today. Without that, I wouldn't be standing here," Christie said. "It was something about the current. When I would pull up there would be baitfish jumping out of the water."
"I'm 100 percent serious when I say I don't know the name of them," he said. "I bought one, tried it at home and caught two bass on it. I had to work an event at Scheels, and I bought three or four there. I won using that one."
Rookie Fisher Anaya pushed him to the end, finishing runner-up with 87-1 and taking the $3,000 Phoenix Boats Big Bass bonus for a 9-9. A three-bass opening day weighing 9-7 cost him.
"I don't know how I'm feeling. Not good," Anaya said. "The first day bit me in the rear end... It was a heck of a comeback, though. I almost pulled it off."
Ohio's Hunter Shryock placed third at 86-10, posting the only 30-pound bag of the week on Championship Sunday with a glidebait and a Berkley Chop Block fished around flooded brush.
"It was a great week. I went a long way to fish one creek and it provided each day," Shryock said. He knew it was not quite enough. "Even after those two bass, I knew I needed another 8- to 10-pounder to win the event. I felt like I capitalized the best I could."
Carbondale, Illinois, pro Trey McKinney reclaimed the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year lead with 554 points, edging Canadian Cory Johnston and Georgia's Drew Cook as the series heads toward its closing stretch.
