As Usual, All Eyes On Weather At Hartwell

By BassFan Staff

Randall Tharp has started a new tradition for himself – bass fishing on Christmas Day. In 2013, he spent part of the day at Lake Guntersville, getting one last look at the venue for the 2014 Bassmaster Classic before it went off-limits on Jan. 1.

This past Christmas, he was doing the same thing, only at Lake Hartwell, site of this year’s Classic (click here for proof).

Tharp was one of many Classic qualifiers who made the trek to the South Carolina-Georgia border to get a better feel for how Hartwell might set up in advance of the 45th installment of the Classic, which starts Feb. 20.

“It’s not that I enjoy fishing on Christmas Day, but I got my boat and motor late and I wanted to make sure I at least fished out of the boat I’ll be in at the Classic before I come back for (official) practice,” Tharp said.

Ever since the Classic moved to a late winter slot on the calendar, the one variable that seems to get the lion’s share of attention, and rightly so, is the weather. This year figures to be no different. Overnight temperatures around Hartwell on Wednesday and today will be in the teens, but a warm-up (highs in the 50s) is due to arrive next week.

If this were last year, many would be lamenting the cold snap’s impact on Guntersville’s fertile grass. There won’t be much in the way of belly-aching this year as Hartwell is not noted for its greenery. Depending on how the mercury acts between now and late February will determine if we’ll be talking about a deep-water Classic like it was in 2008, when Alton Jones won there, or a tournament won on fish heading shallow.

Here are some pre-practice reports from anglers who visited Hartwell prior to the Jan. 1 cutoff.

Randall Tharp

Tharp will be among of a small group of qualifiers who competed at the FLW Tour event at Hartwell last February, an event that was won by South Carolinian Casey Ashley, who'll be a prohibitive favorite. Tharp finished 13th. He’s also fished two other early spring tour events at Hartwell and he thinks that experience can help him.

“Without a doubt, having competed in those FLW Tour events there during the pre-spawn and fishing those big tournaments on that lake will definitely give us guys an advantage,” he said. “I practiced a way that I have not fished there. In the past, I've fished shallow there and definitely feel like I have a good grasp on the lake up shallow. This time, I did a lot of graphing and a lot of idling. I wanted to keep my options open for official practice.

“The water was as low as I’ve seen it and I don’t anticipate it changing much unless we get a bunch of big fronts and a lot of rain. That happened last year at Guntersville right before the tournament and I wouldn’t mind seeing it happen again. That way, everyone’s practice goes out the window and we just go fishing.”

Tharp likely won’t be among the favorites in pre-Classic chatter like he was last year at Guntersville, but that won’t change how he prepares for the event.

“I definitely put more thought and research and time into the Classic,” he said. “I don’t do much pre-fishing anymore except for championship events. Those are the most important ones. I think an AOY title is harder to win but a (Forrest Wood) Cup win and a Classic win is more valuable to your career from what I can see.”

Cliff Crochet

Newlywed Cliff Crochet spent three days at Hartwell in early December and did very little fishing, he said. Not getting emotionally attached to an area where he’s caught fish previously is important to him.

“I did the same thing at Guntersville, too,” he said. “Obviously I didn’t win the Classic, but it helps in that there’s no emotion.”

As far as his initial thoughts on Hartwell, he noted the lack of grass and reiterated what everyone has been saying: The weather will be the key.

“It looked good to me. It’s a typical Carolina/Georgia lake like West Point, Clarks Hill or Norman. No doubt, the weather from now until then, especially that week before, will be key. That’s no secret. Look at what happened last year at Guntersville.

“With this Classic, the big difference is if it’s a cold Classic, I think you’ll see finesse, really deep techniques do well and if it’s warm, it could turn into a physical, power deal, which is what I’m hoping for.”

Andy Montgomery

Andy Montgomery is near the top of a lot of people's watch lists due to the Blacksburg, S.C. resident's vast knowledge of the venue. As expected, he put in a lot of time on the lake (upward of 20 days) before it went off-limits.

"I've never been real big on pre-practice, but I've prepared harder for this tournament than any other in my career," he said. "The lake's fishing really good. The big difference between now and '08 is the number of (spotted bass) and how big they've gotten. With this being a (blueback) herring lake, they've really grown.

"The winning weight will probably be pretty close to what it was back then (Jones prevailed with 49-07), but the better weights will go deeper into the field. There'll be a lot of 14- to 15-pound bags."

He said there will be ample opportunities to catch fish deep or shallow.

"Typically when there's a lot of fish out deep, which there will be, those are the ones that win multi-day events. With the Classic being only 50 boats on a huge lake, that does open up the possibility for the shallow stuff to play, but there's going to be (offshore) places where you can catch a really good weight in 10 casts.

"The only thing I can say is I'm really looking forward to it."

Jacob Wheeler

Jacob Wheeler has fared reasonably well in two FLW Tour events at Hartwell, posting a 38th-place finish as a rookie in 2012 and a 20th last year.

"I have a pretty good history on the lake," he said. "That first year I spent quite a bit of time there in January and February because I was getting ready for my first Tour event, so I have a good idea of how it sets up.

"You need to have more than one thing going on because you might get on a deal where you catch them really good one day, but then you can't get a bite doing that the next two days. Guys are going to have to be versatile and be able to fish on the fly."

He spent the majority of his five pre-practice days idling around in deeper water.

"It takes more time to understand what's going on out deep, so I spent time graphing and looking around, trying to dissect as much as possible. I could've gone shallow and probably caught a lot of fish, but that wasn't my goal. The shallow stuff, I can fly by the seat of my pants – that's what I like to do.

"I think the guy who can catch one 20-pound bag and then back it up with 14- to 16-pound bags will win it. It'll be all about getting a couple of big bites and surrounding them with those 3-pound fillers. That'll be money."

Chris Lane

Hartwell will always hold a special place in Chris Lane’s heart. In 2008, it was the site of his first Classic. That’s about where the warm and cuddly memories end for him, though. He caught three fish for 6-01 and finished 49th in the 50-man field.

When he went back to Hartwell last month, he was obviously looking to prepare for this year’s Classic, but he also had a little revenge on his to-do list.

“One thing that I wanted to do there was to catch more fish than I did in my first Classic,” he said, chuckling. “I caught more fish in 30 minutes than I did in practice and the tournament in 2008. I was kind of shocked at how much I’ve learned since then, just from reading my electronics to knowing how to throw dropshots and shaky-heads and crankbaits now.”

He didn’t let up, either, as he fished most of the 2 1/2 days he spent at the lake.

“The weather was beautiful and the fish were biting and I thoroughly enjoyed my time over there,” he said. “I can’t wait to get back and put my head down and work.”

This time around, he’ll have a much different mindset than he did in ’08.

“Before I think I might’ve run maybe 10 miles in any direction,” he said. “Going into this year and having been there it’s interesting because it’s a giant lake. It could be won north, west , east or south. I know Alton (Jones) won it deep before, but there were close calls up shallow.

“I don’t mind dropshotting in 35 feet of water now so I’m covering my bases a little more than what I did seven yeas ago.

“If water temps hit the right number, the fish could push up and we could slam them shallow. If it stays cold, you’ll need to be out deep. One thing I noticed is the spots have gotten pretty big over there. When I caught spots over there last time compared to this time, there was a big difference in size.”

Mark Davis

This year’s Classic will be the 18th of Mark Davis’ career (he won at High Rock Lake in 1995) and he seems to think Hartwell squares up well with his skill set and the way he likes to fish.

“It’s the kind of lake that I like,” he said. “Being that it’s clear and a big and deep-water fishery, it’s an interesting lake in that it’s got both largemouth and spots. I think it’s going to depend on the conditions when we get there. I think 15 (pounds) a day will do pretty well and it’ll probably take a little more than that to win.”

He had surgery on his rotator cuff last fall and is still recovering so he didn’t set the hook a bunch, but what he did catch impressed him.

“The lake has a lot of those 2 1/2- to 3 1/2-pound spotted bass in it,” he said. “It’s just like (Lake) Lanier to me. It’s almost a carbon copy with the clear water and spotted bass and sand, rock and red clay.”

His early prediction resembles those of the qualifiers above – weather and water temperature will be on everyone’s mind as the event draws nearer.

“If winter time continues, it’ll be a deep-water affair, but it’s the kind of lake that if we have a warming trend with three or four days of warm weather those fish could move up real fast,” he said. “You’re going to have to be prepared for anything. It could turn into a spinnerbait and jerkbait deal if the water warms up. If not, it'll probably be won deep like in ’08.”