By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor

Since the last time the Bassmaster Classic was held at Lake Hartwell in 2008, no tour-level pro has fared better at that venue than Brent Ehrler. The FLW Tour stopped there three times from 2011-14 and the Californian won once and finished 2nd on another occasion.

Having transitioned to the Elite Series this year via the Bassmaster Opens points, the former Forrest Wood Cup winner sorely wishes he were in the Classic field next week. Instead, he'll be an interested (and highly knowledgeable) observer.

"I really like that lake and I've had some success there and it's one where I feel like I'd have a legitimate chance," he said. "It'd be different than a place like the Red River – that'd be more of a survival deal for me.

"I'm just excited to be headed in the direction of fishing a Classic at some point here in the near future."

It's his opinion that shallow fish will be a major factor in the 45th Classic, but the event likely won't be won by a competitor who never ventures into the depths.

"My guess is to win, it's going to take some shallow fish, but a guy's going to have to work in some from the deeper structure – the brushpiles or the ledges. I think a lot of the quality fish live deep at this time of year, so a dropshot, a jig and a swimbait are going to play a big role.

"A lot of big fish also live shallow, but I just think it's going to be hard to catch them up there for multiple days in a row."

Catch 'Em While You Can

Ehrler said the key for catching quality offshore at Hartwell is pinning down multiple schools. Some of those schools may stay in the same place for several days, while others assuredly will not.

Such is the way of bass that spend much of their time pursuing the ever-restless blueback herring.

"The year I won I had four spots that had hundreds of (quality bass) down there," he said. "The thing that was funny is you could catch a 4-pound (spotted bass) and a 4-pound largemouth on back-to-back casts – they were kind of grouped together.

"Looking back, I remember the spot I went to on the first day, where I thought I was going to win the tournament, I never caught one. Then I left and went to my secondary spot, or it might've been my third spot, which was an area that was just okay in practice. They were everywhere down there. I caught a 6-pound largemouth and a 4-pound spot and my co-angler caught a 5-pound largemouth.

"If you run into them when they're on those herring, you can catch a couple big ones in a hurry," he continued. "But the odds of them leaving are pretty good."

Camping Should Be Avoided

Crowding usually isn't a problem at Hartwell, as the impoundment is big (56,000 acres) and its features are similar throughout. Quality fish could be just about anywhere.

There's a chance that a competitor could have a prolific school of bass all to himself, as Ehrler has on several occasions. When that occurs, he said the key becomes management – get on them and catch what you need for the day, then bust out of there to avoid beating them up or having other anglers discover what you're on.

"You go out hoping the field hasn't found them, and then you try to roll up and catch three or four and then run away from them and save them for later in the tournament," he said. "I'd try to get 15 or 16 pounds and then go catch a 4-pounder up shallow."

Docks and brushpiles will be the predominant cover for bank-beaters, along with some random visible pieces (wood or rock). Ehrler said one shallow pattern that shouldn't be overlooked is swimbaits in the backs of small creeks or pockets.

"If you're in the right place you can catch a couple big ones in a hurry doing that. The bass tend to push bait to the backs of the creeks at times and they'll be in little pods and you can catch one or two every morning.

"To me, that wasn't something you could do all day – it was mostly a low light/bad weather thing."

He doesn't think the winner will average 20 pounds, but that angler will likely exceed the mark on at least one day.

"You never really know, but with it being cold and the time of year, I can't see it being quite that high. But if it's good fishing, it might be close to 20 a day."