Most weekends, Jason Christie is on the road chasing tournament checks — a Bassmaster Classic champion who’s earned a reputation as one of the most consistent pros in pro bass fishing. So when Christie does get a weekend off, where does he go? About 25 minutes from his home in Park Hill: Lake Tenkiller.
In a recent reel from his Facebook page, Christie pulled back the curtain on what a “normal” Christie family weekend looks like on Tenkiller. No live wells full of contenders. No co-anglers. Just his family, his dog, a pontoon, and a lake that’s been in his backyard his whole career.
Here’s what their weekend looked like — and how you can plan one just like it.
Even on his “off” days, Christie still puts fish in the boat — this largemouth came up between sandbass schools.
Sandbass and largemouth — Tenkiller’s two-for-one summer pattern
Lake Tenkiller’s clear, deep, current-fed water gives anglers something most Oklahoma lakes can’t: an honest shot at multiple species in a single morning. In summer, the pattern Christie’s family was running — sandbass with a few largemouth mixed in — is exactly what local guides recommend for casual anglers who want consistent action without committing to one technique all day.
A few things worth knowing if you’re going to try this yourself:
If you’re not bringing your own gear, plan ahead — see the Plan Your Trip section below for licenses and rentals.
Pontoon fishing is a Tenkiller specialty — comfortable for the family, stable enough to fish from, big enough to swim off of.
Pizza on the water at Dockside Pizza
The Christie family’s go-to lunch stop on the lake is Dockside Pizza at Bluewater Bay Marina — and there’s a reason it’s earned the “go-to” label for a lot of Tenkiller boaters, not just pros.
You can pull right up to the marina, tie off, and order without leaving the water. Bluewater Bay is one of the newest marinas on Lake Tenkiller (opened in 2022) and one of the few that combines a year-round ship store, 24/7 fuel pumps, slip rentals, pontoon and tritoon rentals, and a sit-down pizza spot with a big outdoor seating area looking out over the lake (Bluewater Bay Marina).
What that means in practical terms: you don’t have to plan your day around a lunch break. You don’t have to pack a cooler. You don’t have to leave the water. If you forgot sunscreen, a tube, or a life jacket, the ship store has it.
For a family weekend, that single fact removes about half of the friction that usually comes with a lake day.
The gravel-bar lunch
If you’d rather pack your own and find a quieter spot, Tenkiller’s shoreline gives you that option too. Christie’s family found a shady gravel bar to pull onto for lunch — one of those small details that separates Tenkiller from busier Oklahoma reservoirs.
Tenkiller has roughly 130 miles of shoreline, much of it wooded and protected, with gravel beaches tucked into coves where the water stays clear and the trees stretch right to the bank. Pulling up to one of these spots is a Tenkiller tradition. A few tips if you want to do the same:
A shady gravel bar lunch — the unofficial halftime of a Tenkiller summer day.
Wakeboarding and time on the water together
Tenkiller’s main basin is wide and deep, which makes it one of the better Oklahoma lakes for water sports. Clear water means visible buoys and structure. Deep water near the dam means you can find smooth lanes even on busier weekends if you’re willing to run a few minutes from the launches.
Christie’s family worked wakeboarding into the day between fishing sessions — and that mixing-and matching is the real point of a pontoon weekend on Tenkiller. Fish for an hour. Pull a wakeboarder. Swim. Eat. Fish again.
If you don’t own a boat, Bluewater Bay rents pontoons and tritoons set up for exactly this kind of day. Sequoyah State Park (on Fort Gibson, just north) and other Tenkiller marinas also offer rentals — see our Lake Tenkiller Visitor Guide for the current list.
Between fishing and wakeboarding, the lounge-and-soak-it-in part of the day matters too.
One more fishing trip — this time with the dog
The Christies wrapped the weekend the way it started: back on the water with rods in hand. Only difference — this time the dog rode along.
It’s a fitting bookend. Tenkiller is a lake people come back to, not because it’s flashy, but because it’s easy to enjoy. You can show up with a kayak, a fishing rod, a pontoon, or a wakeboard, and the lake meets you where you are.
Wrapping the weekend: Christie at the helm, family aboard, dog supervising.
Plan your own Lake Tenkiller weekend
You don’t have to be a pro angler to enjoy what Christie’s family enjoys. Here’s how to put a weekend like this together:
Watch Jason Christie’s full Lake Tenkiller weekend reel on his Facebook page, then start planning your own. If a pro angler’s perfect weekend off looks like this, it’s worth a try.
