Another pro stoked to hear that Lake Hartwell's the site of the 2008 Bassmaster Classic is South Carolina's Casey Ashley, who lives less than an hour from the lake. He's a rookie who's currently 22nd in the Elite Series points, so he's well within the qualification zone right now (the Top 37 get invited). But he also knows there's a lot of opportunity to move down over the next six events.
"A rookie, with a Classic on one of his home lakes? There's no pressure," he said with a laugh. "I had people calling my phone at 6:30 in the morning to ask me about it.
"This is a pretty good (fishery)," he added. "It's not as big as some, but it'll be exciting. Hartwell's probably got more 4- and 5-pounders than any place we've been in the Southeast."
About the rest of the season, and his current points position, he said: "There's lots of fishing left. A lot's going to change in the points standings. I have to go out there and just fish hard and concentrate on the fishing. That's all I've been doing all year, and there's no reason to change anything now."
