One dock, one new trick carry Christie to Bassmaster Elite Series victory at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C., June 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- At no point did Jason Christie think he was going to win the Maxam Bassmaster Elite Series at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound. That is until he held the trophy over his head.

The Dry Creek, Okla., pro caught a four-day total weighing 92 pounds, 7 ounces, outlasting Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series rookie Fisher Anaya and Ohio native Hunter Shryock for his second victory of the 2026 season. That total weight was done with only 19 bass after he fell short of 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."

This marks Christie's 10th B.A.S.S., joining Kevin VanDam, Rick Clunn, Denny Brauer, Larry Nixon and Roland Martin as the only anglers to win double-digit Bassmaster events. Seven of those victories are Elite Series wins, two are Opens victories and last but not least a Bassmaster Classic.

All of that was done in 139 events.

"They've all been surprising," Christie said. "Whenever I have a good practice, I usually don't catch them. Practice here was not good. I just really had to keep my bait wet. I didn't even catch a limit one day."

Christie made the trek up to the Chowan River every day of the tournament, staying in the front half of the river so he only had to get gas once. Most of the bass were located 2 feet under the surface in 6 or 7 feet of water. As hard as he tried, he could never find a consistent pattern to run. He caught bass off cypress trees, laydowns and stumps, but nothing stayed consistent.

One dock, however, saved his tournament. Fellow competitor David Mullins told Christie about that dock after Day 2, and Christie caught over 28 pounds off that one dock between Semifinal Saturday and Championship 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."

After Day 3, Christie remarked he had a new arrow in his arsenal. That bait was an unnamed urchin-style bait in watermelon he purchased at a Scheel's event several weeks ago. He doesn't know the name, but it carried him all week on the Chowan.

"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."

He rigged it on a 2/0 Trokar Frog Hook, which he felt improved his hook-up ratio, and added light drop shot weight to help it sink. A Falcon Swim Jig rod paired with a Spro Jason Christie Elite MG reel and 22-pound Sunline Shooter was his primary setup.

A Booyah One Knocker Spook also produced on key keeper.

Forward-facing sonar was part of his strategy, but only to locate cover and structure elements.

Christie enjoyed his best start of the tournament on Championship Sunday. After starting on a set of cypress trees to let the other anglers settle in, he ran to the dock and cracked three bass weighing over 20 pounds, including an 8-pounder, in a 10-minute span. He proceeded to land two more 4-pounders to fill out the day, one on a cypress tree and another on an offshore spot.

"I pulled up, caught a big one. I went two (dock) poles down and caught another big one. I sat there and caught another good one. Then I caught a 3 1/2 out in front of it. I went from hunting and pecking to catch a limit to catching four really quick. It made my decision to leave early easier.

Not knowing how much time it would take to get across the Sound, Christie left around noon and returned to the Pasquotank River two hours before check-in. He said those two hours felt like an entire tournament day.

"I felt like I had a better chance of winning by getting back to weigh-in with my bass alive than rushing and killing my fish or getting stuck out there," he said.

Anaya notched his first runner-up finish as an Elite Series pro, catching 18 bass that weighed 87-1. The Alabama pro caught just three bass weighing 9-7 on the first tournament day, but rallied to catch 26-9 on the second day and 26-12 on Semifinal Saturday before adding 24-5 on Championship Sunday.

He anchored his final limit with a 9-9, the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Tournament.

"I don't know how I'm feeling. Not good," Anaya said. "The first day bit me in the rear end. I didn't even have to catch much, but I didn't catch anything. It was a heck of a comeback though. I almost pulled it off."

The Chowan River was also his playing field. There, he searched for isolated hard targets 250 or so yards off the bank that he felt were holding very late spawners. Stumps were plentiful, and those stumps had to be tall, while thick brush also held big largemouth.

He tossed a 6 1/2-inch Rapala CrushCity Freeloader paired with an 1/8-ounce jighead and a dark colored urchin-style bait most of the week.

Shryock earned his second career third place finish with a total of 86-10. The Ohio native stayed in the Top 10 all week long, catching limits weighing 19-6, 20-9, 16-8 and 30-3, the only 30-pound bag of the week.

"It was a great week," he said. "I went a long way to fish one creek and it provided each day. Today, I had 20 pounds early on and had the time to go throw (a glidebait)."

The five-time Classic qualifier utilized a two-pronged approach in the Chowan River. To start his day, he would run to one of the creeks branching off the main river and target largemouth around shallow cover with a Berkley Moeba.

Later in the day, he ran out to the main river channel and tossed a Berkley Chop Block around flooded brush. On Championship Sunday, he landed a 7-pounder and an 8-pounder out of one brushpile on back-to-back casts on the Chop Block.

"Even after those two bass, I knew I needed another 8- to 10-pounder to win the event," he said. "I felt like I capitalized the best I could."

Anaya's 9-9 earned him the $3,000 Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Tournament bonus while Christie (9-7), Cliff Pace (8-9) and Luke Palmer (8-14) earned $1,000 each for their daily big bass.

Shryock earned the $2,000 bonus for catching the Rapala CrushCity Monster Bag of the Tournament.

Christie claimed the $4,000 Toyota Bonus Bucks contingency for highest-placing eligible angler while Anaya earned $3,000 as the second-place angler.

Christie also won the $2,500 Yamaha Power Pay contingency award for the highest-placing eligible angler. Missouri's Cody Huff earned the $1,500 second-place award.

Carbondale, Ill., pro Trey McKinney reclaimed the lead in the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year race with 554 points. Canadian pro Cory Johnston is second with 538 points while Georgia's Drew Cook is third with 537 points. Tennesseans Cole Sands and John Garrett round out the Top 5 with 533 points and 525 points respectively. South Carolina's Brandon Cobb is sixth with 515 points; Minnesota's Bob Downey is seventh with 504 points; Wisconsin's Jay Przekurat is eighth with 494 points; Alabama's Kyle Welcher is ninth with 485 points; and Georgia's Caleb Hudson is 10th with 480 points.

Hudson leads the Pro-Guide Batteries Elite Series Rookie of the Year race followed by Anaya in second with 472 points and Pake South in third with 405 points.

Visit Elizabeth City hosted this tournament.

Media Contact: Mandy Pascal, Communications Manager, 334-414-8677, [email protected] 

SOURCE B.A.S.S.