Another stop on the Bassmaster Elite Series is in the books, and the ol’ Okie veteran, Jason Christie, emerged victorious. It was a complete 180 from the previous tournament on Lake Martin, where Christie finished dead last. However, the Mountain Dew Bassmaster Elite at Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway played into Jason’s strengths… shallow cover, flipping sticks, and some good old-fashioned spinnerbait winding.
The river fishery proved to be pretty tough, and this was also a tournament that didn’t allow anglers the use of forward facing sonar, but more traditional bank-beating techniques brought in the biggest bags of the tournament. With a shad spawn in effect, a white swim jig was a major player, as was a spinnerbait and a vibrating jig, but flipping sticks were also part of the equation.
Here’s a look at what the top 10 anglers were using to cash a check on the Tennessee-Tombigbee:
10. Mark Menendez (42-4)
Menendez kept it pretty simple with a classic 1-2 punch: drawing them out with topwater and going in after them with a flipping stick.
His topwater action came via a Strike King KVD Splash popper, whereas the flipping bites came courtesy a Strike King Perfect Plastics Game Hawg, and a Strike King Rage Space Monkey, both in black and blue color patterns.
Shop the Strike King Game Hawg at Tackle Warehouse – $7.49
9. Cole Sands (46-2)
Sands went with a high-rotation strategy, keeping the fish honest with a few different looks depending on the cover. With the finesse approach, he utilized a 6-inch FishCo FC Finesse Worm on a drop shot. He attacked topwater with a buzzbait, and relied on a swim jig to navigate the shallow heavy cover.
8. Michael Iaconelli (49-11)
Ike capitalized on the shad spawn early in the week before switching to a heavy-duty flipping bite to close it out. He used a Missile Baits Ike’s Mini Swim Jig to tackle the shad spawn, and opted for a Molix Pop Frog in matted vegetation. He used a vibrating jig to cover water, and flipped around Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Creature Hawg to slow down and clean up around heavy cover.
Shop the Missile Baits Mini Swim Jig at Tackle Warehouse – $6.99
7. Tucker Smith (50-2)
Sometimes, family knows best. Smith kept it simple and effective with a primary lure made by his uncle, a swim jig with a Yamamoto Yama Craw. He also utilized a Picasso swim jig according to his Instagram post.
Shop Yamamoto Yama Craw at Tackle Warehouse – $7.99
6. Jordan Lee (52-1)
Like many other anglers, Jordan Lee utilized a swim jig, a tungsten Chatterbait, and a Texas rig to secure a Top 10 finish on the Tombigbee. He used a 1/4-oz Berkley Swim Jig, a 3/8-oz Z-Man Tungsten Elite Evo ChatterBait (White/Chartreuse or Black), and flipped around a 3.5-inch Berkley PowerBait Crash Craw in heavy cover.
Shop the Chatterbait Elite Evo Tungsten at Tackle Warehouse – $17.99
5. Wesley Gore (52-3)
Gore stayed consistent with the swim jig/Texas rig combo that many others in the field were throwing, specifically targeting heavy cover with a magnum-sized lizard. He used a 3/8-oz Nomad Design Tackle Badlands Swim Jig (Green Pumpkin or Pearl) with a chartreuse Zoom Z Craw, as well as an 8-inch Zoom Magnum Lizard.
Shop the Nomad Design Badlands Swim Jig at Tackle Warehouse – $5.99
4. Seth Feider (54-11)
Feider kept his deck clean, alternating between just two presentations. He threw a 3/8-oz Bassman Spinnerbait to cover water quickly, and then slowed it down with a Black Sheep Custom Tackle swim jig and an unreleased Z-man trailer. Black Sheep custom tackle is a brand owned and designed, in part, by Seth himself so I’m really excited for the launch. Stay tuned…
Shop the Bassman Spinnerbait at Tackle Warehouse – $13.99
3. John Garrett (54-15)
Current AOY Standings leader, John Garrett, followed suit with most the field, pairing up a swim jig and a flipping bait to boat shallow water largemouth. He used two different colors of 3/8-oz Strike King Tour Grade Swim Jig (black/blue and white), and flipped a Strike King Rage Bug with a 5/16-oz weight.
Shop the Strike King Tour Grade Swim Jig at Tackle Warehouse – $5.99
2. Dakota Ebare (55-13)
Ebare finished strong by mixing a hard-thumping crankbait with traditional wood-flipping plastics. Like Garrett, he also was flipping a Strike King Rage Bug, but also mixed in a Strike King KVD Squarebill and a Strike King Tour Grade Spinnerbait.
Shop the Strike King Rage Bug at Tackle Warehouse – $7.99
1. Jason Christie (58-2)
The champion targeted shallow largemouth with his signature technique… a spinnerbait, while also mixing in a flipping bait and a swim jig. He used a 1/2 ounce Booyah Colorado blade spinnerbait with his own YUM trailer. A a half ounce Booyah swim jig with a YUM chunk, and flipped a YUM Wooly Bug.
Shop the Booyah Single Colorado Blade Spinnerbait at Tackle Warehouse – $10.49
Shop the YUM Covert Trailer at Tackle Warehouse – $3.99
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