GROVE, Okla. (March 12, 2007) - Boater Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla., won the Bass Fishing League Okie Division bass fishing tournament on Grand Lake Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 21 pounds, 13 ounces. The victory earned Christie $4,380 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Wright Patman Regional Championship in Texarkana, Texas, Oct. 25-27, where he could ultimately win a new 519VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
Christie was throwing a spinnerbait around shallow points to catch his quality-sized tournament limit of bass. Christie also won an additional $1,000 for winning the Ranger Cup Contingency program.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Mike Collins of Eufaula, Okla. (five bass, 17-11, $2,577); Rodney Lowe of Tulsa, Okla. (five bass, 17-9, $1,719); Larry Slawson of Tulsa, Okla. (five bass, 16-4, $1,203) and James Carper of Wright City, Okla. (five bass, 16-3, $1,031).
Lowe also took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning him an additional $795 for a 7-pound, 3-ounce bass. David Decker of Broken Arrow, Okla., earned $2,474 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 24 pounds that he caught while fishing a tube around boat docks.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are JW Blankinship of Midwest City, Okla. (five bass, 16-6, $1,237); Adam Schmidt of Joplin, Mo. (five bass, 15-15, $824); Matthew Kinsley of Columbus, Kan. (five bass, 13-5, $577) and Gregory West of Fort Gibson, Okla. (five bass, 13-3, $495).
Jeff Lander of Owasso, Okla., earned 377 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 7-pound, 7-ounce bass. The Okie Division's next event will be March 31 on Fort Gibson Lake in Wagoner, Okla., followed by a tournament May 12 on Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Okla. The division's fourth event will be held June 16 on the Arkansas River in Webber Falls, Okla., and the final event of the regular season will be a two-day Super Tournament held Sept. 15-16 on Grand Lake in Grove, Okla.