By Bryan Brasher
BASS PRESS RELEASE
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| A big spinnerbait and local knowledge assist Christie on Day 2. (Photo: BASS) |
For the first 43 years of the GEICO Bassmaster
Classic presented by GoPro, only one angler managed to win the event in his
home state.
Now, there’s a chance it could happen for the third year in a row.
After
establishing a solid lead with 20 pounds, 14 ounces on Day 1 at Grand Lake O’
the Cherokees, Oklahoma pro Jason Christie added 16-11 Saturday and
maintained his spot atop the leaderboard with a two-day total of 37-9. Christie
leads second-place angler Todd Faircloth (31-14) by more than 5 pounds, and has
better than a 6-pound advantage over third-place angler Edwin Evers (31-4),
another Oklahoma native.
“It wasn’t a great day by Grand Lake standards, but
it was pretty good compared to what everybody else did today,” said Christie,
who lives in Park Hill, Okla., just an hour from Grand Lake. “Just
like Friday, I was surprised that I had as much weight as I did.”
Christie
was emphatic Friday that he was going to stick with the one tactic
that’s really been working for him since practice began for the event last
week.
