Have you sacked aggressive, prespawn bass on power-fishing baits only to return to the same place the next day and struggle to get bites? If so, you may have been a victim of what 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic champion Jason Christie calls “lazy bass.”
Perhaps you tried switching baits and tactics to catch them, including finesse offerings, to no avail. You suspected the
bass had vacated the area, but it’s likely they were still there. The lazy-bass syndrome is frustrating on fun-fishing outings. When you’re competing in a major tournament, it can be devastating.
Christie believes lazy bass prevented him from winning the 2018 Bassmaster Classic on South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell.
In practice and during the first two days of that Classic, quality bass jolted Christie’s bladed jigs and spinnerbaits. His
Day 1 limit of 20 pounds, 14 ounces vaulted him to first place. A 16-6 limit on Day 2 gave him a substantial lead of nearly
5 pounds. Going into the final round, it was his tournament to lose. Day 3 was a disaster. Christie pounded his best water with the same bladed jigs and spinnerbaits that had been so effective on the previous two days. Hours passed between bites. When he did catch a bass, it lacked the quality of the fish he had been catching.
