By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor


Charlie Hartley admitted to being hurt and disappointed when he learned he wouldn't be invited back to the Bassmaster Elite Series for 2016. However, he has no qualms with the relegation system – which B.A.S.S. enforced this year after giving underperforming competitors a break 12 months ago – that's left him on the outside looking in.

"Nobody was more proud to be fishing the Elite Series than I was," said the ever-optimistic Ohioan. "But it would mean nothing to me if you didn't have to qualify to be there.

"When I make it back again, it'll be because I did well enough to get there. I'm glad that's one of the criteria along with just having enough money to do it."

He's fished B.A.S.S.' top tour since qualifying via the now-defunct Invitationals in 1993. Now he'll attempt to get back in via the Bassmaster Opens – a feat he almost pulled off this year.

He'll fish all three Opens divisions (Central, Northern and Southern) next year.

"If I want it bad enough and I try hard enough, I should be able to return. I was about 30 years old when I qualified for the first time and I've double-qualified more than once.

"There's no reason I can't do it again. It's a matter of putting my mind to it."

Pain is Palpable

The 51-year-old Hartley, whose fishing exploits are funded by a successful signage business that he owns, was one of nine 2015 Elite anglers who fell below the cutoff mark for requalification. He was in the same situation a year ago, when B.A.S.S. gave an 11th-hour reprieve to veterans at the bottom of the points list who desired to return. However, the organization made it clear that such gratuity would not be extended for 2016.

"I thought it was going to happen last year, so I've resigned myself to it 2 years in a row," said Hartley, who finished 103rd in the Angler of the Year race. "I won't lie and say I wasn't disappointed because I'd have been back with bells on to try again. It hurt a little bit more than I expected it to.

"I'm going to hate not being there. Every morning when I'm in a tournament, whether it's an Elite or an Open, I look at the guy next to me in the boat and say, 'If I could be anywhere in the world right now, I'd choose to be right here.' How many people can honestly say that? That's what I'll miss the most."

His love for fishing knows no bounds and he's on the water nearly every day throughout the year. He spends winters in Florida, fishing Lake Toho and sometimes the nearby saltwater flats while staying with his in-laws and operating his business via phone and the Internet.

Former Classic champion Boyd Duckett once recounted a tale from a practice day when he came across Hartley catching one 1-pounder after another from a point. After watching for a few minutes, Duckett pulled up next to him and Hartley exclaimed, "I know these aren't going to do me any good, but man, I just can't make myself stop. It's (a bite) every cast!"

During a phone conversation this week, he enthusiastically reported that he'd caught 28 fish on a topwater bait at Toho the previous day.

"I could fish every day and then watch fishing shows all night," he said. "I'm a rare bird."

Enthusiasm Exceeds Results

In 212 B.A.S.S. events, Hartley has logged just eight Top-10 finishes. By contrast, Aaron Martens has 67 Top-10s in four fewer starts, including eight victories.

Hartley has always made light of his lack of success at the sport's top level. He's long referred to himself as "Disappearing Charlie" for his propensity to fade from the leaderboard after a strong day 1 and cracks that if he had to eat only what he caught on the Elite Series, he'd go hungry most of the time.

"I always joke that I enjoy everything about the tournaments except for the weigh-ins," he said. "I'm so scarred from fishing that nothing can hurt me anymore. Even if I don't have a big bag, I'm always proud to be there.

"Guys would see me smiling and laughing (at the holding tanks) and they'd say, 'What are you so damn happy about?' Hey, I was standing in line between Rick Clunn and Kevin Van Dam – how could I not be happy? Sure, I wish I had 20 pounds every time, but just being there is pretty cool."

Fishing only the Opens every year won't be quite the same. It'll still be pretty good, though.

"(Former Elite Series pro) Jon Bondy is a good friend of mine and he tells me that sometimes I'm really good, but I'm just not really good all the time. When I weigh a big bag on St. Clair on fish I found myself, I'm so proud – I know I was as good as anybody on the lake that day. Then I go out the next day and get it shoved right up my (posterior).

"I don't regret a penny or a minute I've spent on tournament fishing and I'll love it until the day I die. I have so much respect for the lifestyle – it's a rare human being who can live that way. Physically and mentally, it's different than any job in the world and that's why there's only 111 guys doing it."

He hopes to be able to count himself among that number again real soon.

Notable

> Hartley said the highlight of his career to this point was leading day 1 of the 2008 Classic at Lake Hartwell after catching a 21-pound stringer. He was in 2nd place after day 2, but dropped to 15th on the final day with a two-fish, 3-05 sack. "I was as high as I've ever been when I led, and then as down as I've ever been when I let it slip through my fingers," he said.