I
f you follow bass fishing in the northern
part of the Golden State, you’ve likely heard
of Christian Ostrander from Turlock, Calif. Christian guides on the 1000 miles of waterways in
the California Delta, the Motherlode Lakes, and the
famed big bass factory – Clear Lake and unlike many
of the area fishing guides, Christian is also a west
coast tournament competitor.
FISHING THE TOYOTA SERIES FOR CONSECUTIVE CASHES
Christian has claimed three consecutive top-10s in the Major League Fishing Toyota Series events on the Delta. His most recent runner-up position in 2023 helped him secure a spot in the Toyota Series Championship on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Mo, this past November. He locked in 7th place finish over the course of the three-day Championship and has pocketed a total of $45,241 from Toyota Series earnings since 2021.
SECURING REPEAT CLEAR LAKE VICTORIES
While the Wild West Bass Trail / APEX Pro tour is now defunct, it doesn’t diminish the accomplishments of the anglers that competed, such as Christian’s Clear Lake victory of their 2021 Pro/Am that included his Day Three Big Stringer at 27.14 and $15,500.
He successfully defended that win the following year, with a repeat first place Clear Lake finish in their 2022 Pro/Am, where he weighed a three-day total of 73.53 pounds, earning $21,500.
MO MONEY, MO TROPHIES
In addition to other Wild West Bass Trail earnings, Christian added unknown cashes in their APEX Pro Tour, which held prize payouts under wraps in their non-disclosure contracts. However, we would have to speculate that his phenomenal 122 single-day bass catches in the APEX quantity-counts, “number of
scorable bass” format at the Columbia River earned some portion of the event purse.
Christian has been on the receiving side of an untold number of other wins, and checks in west coast Pro/Ams, team, or solo events. He has decided that it is time to take the next step in his fishing career.
“If you want to fish for a living, you can’t do it on the West Coast,” he said. “You’ve got to go East, so I am.”
In hopes of qualifying for the Bassmaster Elite Series, for 2024, Christian made the big leap to the Bassmaster EQ Opens. He now has his first BASS Opens tournament at Lake Okeechobee in Clewiston, Florida behind him and at the time of this interview, he is amidst practice of his second.
“I can’t believe how big Okeechobee was,” said Ostrander. “It’s nothing like fishing back in California. Well, it is, but it isn’t.
“There is a lot about the actual fishing that’s
the same; but the quality
of the amount of
competition and the
size of the lakes – well
that’s just huge. And,
how serious they
are about bass
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Spring 2024
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