By B.A.S.S. Communications Staff

Jason Christie left Dayton Municipal Park on Sunday just 6 ounces out of the lead with a crystal-clear plan for where he wanted to start. But thick fog created by temperatures that had plunged into the 30s overnight changed that plan – and ultimately played a huge role in his eighth career victory with B.A.S.S.

To let the fog clear, Christie stopped on a bank he hadn’t fished all week and quickly put a solid limit in his livewell. He culled up a few ounces throughout the day until he reached a five-bass limit of 15 pounds, 12 ounces that helped him win the Bassmaster Elite event at Chickamauga Lake with a four-day total of 73-07.

“The fog is why I won,” said Christie, who is a little more than a month removed from winning the Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell. “I went through one fogbank at about 25 mph going to where I was going to start. But then I hit another fogbank and I saw a boat wave that I knew didn’t come from one of our guys, so I just immediately peeled off to an area that I fished three or four years ago in another event.”

After a warm start on Thursday, Days 2 and 3 were the polar opposite with cloudy skies, temperatures in the 40s and a spattering of rain, sleet and snow. But the low-light conditions played into the hands of Christie, who fished all week with a 1/2-ounce Booyah Covert Spinnerbait (chartreuse, white and blue with a white Yum Swim’n Dinger as a trailer), a bladed jig and the same War Eagle Jiu-Jigsu Jig (green pumpkin) he used at the Classic.

The conditions made another sharp turn Sunday, with the return of the sun, calm winds and a high temperature near 70 degrees. But Christie once again took advantage of a short window of low visibility aided by the early morning fog.

“I knew the spot I stopped at had had a lot of traffic, but I figured I would just go in there and fish until the fog lifted,” Christie said. “But really it set up perfectly because it was shaded and had all the right stuff.”

While much of the field was still navigating the fog, Christie caught a quick limit, taking the unofficial lead on BassTrakk by 8 a.m. and never relinquishing it.

“That was the key, just getting off to a good start,” he said. “What was weird is every day those fish have been tight to cover. But the first big one I caught today was halfway back to the boat. Then the next bite was about the same – and that’s how I ended up catching them.

“I think the bait would come by the cover, and they were sitting right out in front of it.”

The win provided a bit of redemption for Christie, who followed his Classic victory with a 93rd-place finish at the next Elite Series event at Santee Cooper Lakes – one of the worst finishes of his career. He said the same stubbornness that cost him at Santee Cooper Lakes might have helped him to the victory on Chickamauga.

“I certainly don’t like to make excuses,” he said. “But during practice for Santee, I was doing every interview, every podcast about the Classic win – I didn’t turn anyone down. I still thought I was on a good deal there and that I would catch them. But I was too stubborn to give up on it when it didn’t work.

“That’s just like today. The fishing was a lot tougher than it had been the last two days, but I stuck with what I was doing.”

Like Christie, Mississippi pro Brock Mosley stayed with the program he had been using all week, alternating between a bladed jig, a jig, a Senko and a spinnerbait. But with a modest limit of 11-14, he finished second with a four-day total of 69-15.

It marked his fifth career second-place finish on the Elite Series and the third time he’s finished one spot behind Christie.

“I caught plenty of fish today, but I just didn’t run into any big fish,” Mosley said. “I thought as good as I was catching them, everybody else was probably catching them too. So late in the day, I decided to run down the lake and try to catch a couple of big ones on a big swimbait.

“Looking back, I probably should have just stuck with what I was doing.”

With a 33rd-place finish, Florida's John Cox maintained his lead in the Angler of the Year standings with 353 points. Idaho's Brandon Palaniuk moved into second with 343, followed by Pirch (338), David Mullins of Tennessee (321) and Drew Benton of Georgia (321).

Day 4 (Final) Standings

1. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, OK -- 20, 73-07 -- 100 $100,000
Day 1: 5, 16-00 -- Day 2: 5, 20-15 -- Day 3: 5, 20-12 -- Day 4: 5, 15-12

2. Brock Mosley -- Collinsville, MS -- 20, 69-15 -- 99 -- $35,000
Day 1: 5, 19-06 -- Day 2: 5, 18-11 -- Day 3: 5, 20-00 -- Day 4: 5, 11-14

3. Jacob Foutz -- Charleston, TN -- 20, 67-06 -- 98 -- $31,000
Day 1: 5, 15-04 -- Day 2: 5, 17-01 -- Day 3: 5, 23-08 -- Day 4: 5, 11-09

4. Matt Robertson -- Kuttawa, KY -- 19, 66-01 -- 97 -- $25,000
Day 1: 5, 21-13 -- Day 2: 5, 18-08 -- Day 3: 5, 14-06 -- Day 4: 4, 11-06

5. Caleb Kuphall -- Mukwonago, WI -- 18, 64-13 -- 96 -- $20,000
Day 1: 5, 20-14 -- Day 2: 5, 17-01 -- Day 3: 5, 16-04 -- Day 4: 3, 10-10

6. Daisuke Aoki -- Minamitsurugun, JAPAN 18, 63-15 -- 95 -- $19,000
Day 1: 5, 23-12 -- Day 2: 5, 16-08 -- Day 3: 5, 17-10 -- Day 4: 3, 06-01

7. Carl Jocumsen -- Queensland, AUS -- 19, 63-04 -- 94 -- $18,000
Day 1: 5, 24-12 -- Day 2: 4, 08-04 -- Day 3: 5, 18-03 -- Day 4: 5, 12-01

8. Jason Williamson -- Wagener, SC -- 17, 58-00 -- 93 -- $17,000
Day 1: 5, 16-07 -- Day 2: 5, 13-00 -- Day 3: 5, 22-10 -- Day 4: 2, 05-15

9. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 18, 58-00 -- 92 -- $17,000
Day 1: 5, 12-06 -- Day 2: 5, 19-12 -- Day 3: 5, 16-11 -- Day 4: 3, 09-03

10. Drew Benton -- Blakely, GA -- 16, 51-14 -- 91 -- $15,000
Day 1: 5, 18-07 -- Day 2: 5, 18-14 -- Day 3: 5, 12-00 -- Day 4: 1, 02-09