By Lynn Burkhead
OSG Senior Digital Editor
In the two previous Bassmaster Classics held at Lake Hartwell, weather has played a significant role. Back in 2008, the 38th Classic that Texan Alton Jones won en route to an invitation for a White House visit with then President George W. Bush - the three-day tourney started off with what was at the time the coldest Classic day ever recorded. How does a morning low in the mid-30s with wind and a good rainstorm sound for the opening bell?
Such temps seemed downright balmy when the Classic returned to Hartwell in 2015 as the event began with a frigid opening morning bottoming out at 9 degrees, something that made the launching of bass rigs anything but routine. While temps would moderate into the 30s for day 2 and into the 40s for day 3, the derby (won by Casey Ashley) was chilly from start to finish.
So how will the 2018 visit to Hartwell be remembered?
For the thousands of fans anticipated here, the event may be recalled as mild, almost balmy in fact, as temps are expected to be in the 70s the first two days of competition – with a chance of rain and storms on Saturday's day 2 –- followed by a high of 68 degrees and partly cloudy skies for the final round.
But for the 52 anglers competing in the 48th Classic, the 2018 event will once again revolve around the weather. Only this time, the raw winter-like weather conditions early this past week as a cold – chilly rainfall inundated the area with temps near 40.
With the runoff staining the water just a little bit, the cold rain and subsequent chilly nights with low temps in the 30s have conspired to knock water temps back several degrees from the 60s a week ago into the low to mid-50s now. And that could change the way the 2018 Classic unfolds.
"I think what happens is that you get that first real big warmup like they had two or three weeks ago and those fish think about going (up shallow)," said Jason Christie, who won an FLW Tour event in wire-to-wire fashion on Hartwell back in late March 2011. "They start moving, swimming, and they bust up, and then they've really got nowhere to go.
"They're hidden somewhere in between (now) and I really haven't found those fish (in practice). That's what I've looked for for four days, that magic spot like I had when I won here in '11."
Christie said he sees a fair number of similarities between his 2011 FLW win – when he did a good bit of his damage with a half-ounce Booyah spinnerbait with a single gold Colorado blade – and the 2018 Classic being held here on Hartwell this weekend.
"The conditions are a lot the same," he said. "The only difference is the water temperature. We've got some color in the lake and these fish are moving around and I need to cover some water. To me, there's not really a better bait (for these conditions) than that spinnerbait.
"I'm going to throw one some (this weekend). I don't think I'm going to commit to it like I did in the Classic here two years ago, but I'll throw one some, especially if I feel like I need a big one."
Heading into this weekend's Classic, a lot of pre-tournament talk had centered around the idea of a shallow event, much like when FLW Tour pro John Cox ran a sight-fishing pattern for three days en route to a Hartwell win in March 2016.
Christie, whose 2011 Hartwell win was his first tour-level victory, isn't buying that after what he's seen so far in practice.
"There's a lot of talk that these fish are going to flood the bank," said the Oklahoma pro. "Like we're sitting out here and it's 90 degrees and it's not. That lake is still cold and we've got a cloudy day coming (on Saturday).
"I don't see a lot of things changing and I think that's what is going to make it a very interesting Classic because you're going to see guys fishing in 40 (feet of water), you're going to see guys fishing in 4 inches, and everywhere in between."
Christie thinks such a wide-open event means that a good start is critical during Friday's first round.
"Who makes the best guess tomorrow, that's the guy (with a good chance to win)," said Christie, the five-time B.A.S.S. winner from Park Hill, Okla.
"It may be a guy who didn't have a very good practice, like myself," he added. "He just pulls in, gets a bite or two and gets keyed in, and then takes off with it."
Meaning that Christie thinks figuring out the 2018 Classic as it unfolds may be the way to go.
"I think to me, those guys (who do that) are more scary than the guys who right now have a bunch of waypoints where they feel like they can catch a lot of fish. I think each day, they (the fish) may move and not be where I want them to be at, but I think they are going to be moving."
