Hartman's Lead Swells To 3-12 Entering Final Day

By BassFan Staff

Heading into day 3 of the Toledo Bend Elite Series, Jamie Hartman sat atop a cramped leaderboard where less than three pounds separated the top 7 contenders.

After bagging a solid 17-14 on Saturday, Hartman put some valuable distance between himself and the other 11 anglers who qualified to compete on the final day. What was a nine-ounce lead before Saturday is now a 3-pound, 12-pound cushion for the nomadic rookie who hails from central New York, but is essentially living on the road this season.

Typically, in early April Hartman is biding his time waiting to get on the water around home, where the spring thaw is in progress.

“We’re waiting for the ice to go off the lake,” he joked.

Now, he’s leading the way on one of the most prolific fisheries in the South, if not the entire country. After his weight dipped from 23-05 to 15-12 between days 1 and 2, Hartman wasn’t sure what to expect today. He feels the same way about tomorrow.

“Basically, what’s going through my mind is, ‘Oh (man), can I catch them again tomorrow?’” Hartman said. “That’s how it’s been since day 1. I’m just trying to catch five good fish or five fish in general.”

On Hartman’s heels are the two anglers who’ve caught the biggest stringers each of the past two days. Casey Ashley followed up his 23-09 day-2 effort with 16-07 and moved up three spots to 2nd with 53-03.

John Murray had 23-07 today, the lone 20-pound bag among the remaining 51 anglers, and shot up 31 positions to 3rd with 52-11 as he secured his first day-4 berth since the Lake Havasu Elite Series in 2015.

Jason Christie trails by 4-05 following a 16-02 stringer that put him in 4th with 52-10. Brandon Palaniuk tacked on 17-01 today and has 50-09 in 5th.

Here's a look at the top 12 after day 3, with deficit margin from Hartman indicated by red numbers in parentheses:

1. Jamie Hartman: 56-15
2. Casey Ashley: 53-03 (3-12)
3. John Murray: 52-11 (4-04)
4. Jason Christie: 52-10 (4-05)
5. Brandon Palaniuk: 50-09 (6-06)
6. Alton Jones, Sr.: 49-14 (7-01)
7. Matt Lee: 48-10 (8-05)
8. Jacob Wheeler: 47-11 (9-04)
9. Todd Faircloth: 47-09 (9-06)
10. Brett Hite: 47-01 (9-14)
11. Randy Howell: 47-00 (9-15)
12. Andy Montgomery: 46-14 (10-01)

After seeing how Jordan Lee rallied from a 13 1/2-pound deficit on the final day at Lake Conroe two weeks ago to win the Bassmaster Classic, none of the 12 finalists are going to mail it in Sunday. Certainly not on a lake like Toledo Bend, which regularly produces 25- to 30-pound stringers. Among them will be Jordan’s older brother, Matt, who made his first career 12-cut with a 15-05 stringer that put him in 7th with 48-10.

Alton Jones, Sr., had his second 18-plus pound day of the event and rose 11 places to 6th while Andy Montgomery caught 16-11 to rally 16 places from 28th to snag the final berth among tomorrow’s finalists.

James Elam started the day in 2nd, but slipped to 13th after bagging just four fish for 8-05. He missed the cut by 1 ounce. Greg Hackney also relinquished his spot among the top 12, sliding from 10th to 19th after catching 11-12 today. Dave Lefebre caught 13-15, but went from 12th to 15th, missing out in a bid for a second straight 12-cut.

It’ll be another breezy day Sunday for the finale with southerly winds in the 10- to 15-mph range expected, along with abundant sunshine and temperatures in the low 80s.

Hartman Hoping to Hang On

> Day 3: 5, 17-14 (15, 56-15)

Hartman went a good while today with just two keepers in the livewell, but his fortunes improved considerably later on when he ducked into a cove where he’d seen a few smaller fish around beds in practice.

Hartman’s best opportunities at catching bigger fish have come in the morning at the spot he’s been starting on. So far, it’s treated him well, so he hopes it has one more morning’s worth of fish there since he’s noticed there’s a definite shut-off time.

Today, his first fish was a 6-05 kicker that bit on three straight casts before Hartman finally connected with it on the fourth.

“It’s not like I can sit on it all day,” he said. “It’s a flat where two creek channels intersect and I think they’re up there feeding. Once it’s done, I think they go back down those channels and God knows where they go. I tried doing down the channels and tried different angles, but I can’t seem to locate them once they leave.”

His second spot, a secondary point with some grass on it, produced another keeper today. From there, he fished off the cuff and it paid off.

He then visited the cove he’d found in practice and picked off three fish he could see.

“I’d seen one starting to make a bed, but he wasn’t there,” he said. “I rolled through there some more, but then something told me to turn around.”

He saw another boat going toward the back of the cove, but rather than leave, Hartman swung around and looped back to the opposite shoreline.

“Thank God I did that,” he said.

Soon, he spotted a bed with three good fish around it. He picked off two of them, both 3-plus pounders.

Tomorrow, he has no magic hole he’s been saving. He’s going to continue the grind and hope he can come in with five keepers.

“I will keep my head down and just keep going for those five decent fish,” he said. “It’s all you can do. I can’t think ahead. It’s one fish at a time.”

2nd: Afternoon Key for Ashley

> Day 3: 5, 16-07 (15, 53-03)

This is Ashley’s third career top-12 finish at Toledo Bend and he’ll be looking to notch his fifth career tour-level victory on Sunday. His previous best finish at Toledo Bend was 5th in 2014. He also finished 9th in 2012.

Today, he capitalized on a shad spawn to fill out an early limit, then culled most of them as the day wore on.
 
“My best fish seem to bite a little better later in the day,” he said. “I actually caught four fish early on a spinnerbait, but they were all small. I don’t know what those big ones are doing early.”

3rd: Two 7s Boosted Murray

> Day 3: 5, 23-07 (15, 52-11)

Murray has been around big fish all week. Today, he got them in the boat and more than doubled his day-2 weight to move into contention for his first B.A.S.S. win since the 2004 Busch Shootout at the James River.

“I’ve had two or three big bites every day, but haven’t capitalized,” he said. “I broke one off yesterday that was about 6 pounds trying to swing it in the boat. Don’t ask me why I did that, but I feel I’ve been lucky to get those big bites.”

He said when he hooked his third fish today, it felt like he’d hung his lure on a stump, then it started to move.

“It came up and jumped,” he said of the 7-10 kicker. “He was hooked good and didn’t get around any stumps and I got him in.”

After catching two more “keeper-sized fish,” Murray connected with another 7-pounder.

“That one was even hotter and had more stuff around it, but I got it in,” he added. “I feel fortunate that it worked out and I was able to get them in. With the technique I’m using, it’s not the easiest to land them,”

After catching two 6-pounders on day 1 and seeing the quality he saw today, he likes his chances to make a run at the win tomorrow.

“I have a spot that has worked,” he said. “It’s a good spot. I need a little wind, but too much wind might make it tough to fish. I didn’t have confidence to catch 20 pounds this morning, but I know it’s out there.”

4th: Christie Hanging in There

> Day 3: 5, 16-02 (15, 52-10)

Christie still isn’t sure he’s around the fish to win, but he’s ready to find out Sunday after moving up two spots today.

“I feel like I have to have 20 to have a chance,” he said. “I lost one today that really hurt. It would’ve given me another couple of pounds and I would’ve felt a little better about tomorrow. I’m just not around those kinds of fish. I could try something else and not catch anything so I feel like I have to go up there and if it’s meant to be I’ll get a couple big bites.”

He’s spent the whole tournament power-fishing shallow water with bulkier baits, a method he feels comfortable with knowing what swims at Toledo Bend.

“I’m fishing with bigger baits and that’s probably why I’m not getting a ton of bites,” he said. “I just feel more comfortable with bigger fish in the lake having bigger line and bigger baits.”

He caught fish steadily today and culled several times, but never tangled with anything approaching the 9-10 slob he caught Thursday.

“Every time I’d cull it’d be a quarter-pound,” he said. “Then I went looking for a big one. I felt the opportunity to have a bigger one would be on the lower end, but I never saw anything I wanted to catch. Tomorrow, I’ll hang where I’ve been and let the chips fall where they may. It’ll be a lot more fun anyway.”

5th: Practice Area Paid Off For Palaniuk

> Day 3: 5, 17-01 (15, 50-09)

Palaniuk was in 8th place each of the first two days and made up three spots today with another solid stringer. He said the key to his consistency has been keeping an open mind.

“As cliché as it sounds, I’m just having fun and enjoying it,” he said. “The Classic was such a grueling tournament to me. I was tired of idling around. I had marked hundreds of spots at Conroe trying to make the deep bite work and couldn’t do it. I came here and started shallow and found enough to compete, so I stayed shallow.”

Focusing on water 10 feet or under, he’s moved around some and fished largely on feel.

“Today, I caught the majority of my weight from a place I found Monday morning,” he said. “I hadn’t been back there since. I thought it was a place where I could catch 10 or 12 pounds and get a good limit and work up from there. I caught some 2-pounders, then a 4 and then a 5 1/2. That got me fired up that there are some big ones moving in there.”

He wound up culling seven times. Later on, he moved back to some water that he’d fished Thursday and Friday and picked off another 5-pounder, which helped him add two pounds to his weight.

He wound up offsetting that gain, however, when he made a cast with six fish in his livewell at one point. Such an infraction, which he self-reported, is subject to a 2-pound penalty. He’d still be in 5th without the reduction, but he’d be just an ounce behind Christie.

Still, he thinks he can challenge Hartman for the victory.

“I don’t know how far back I am and I’m not going to look,” he said. “I feel like I'm going to make decisions that will help me catch the most weight possible. What I saw today and with the weather we’re supposed to have tomorrow, I feel good about it.

“The big key is how the first 90 minutes to two hours will go. That will set the tone. If I can get a big bite or two, that will tell me if big fish are still moving into that area and I’ll go from there.”

26th: DeFoe Followed His Instincts

> Day 3: 5, 15-13 (15, 43-10)

After three top-10s to start the year, including the Bassmaster Classic, Ott DeFoe was still satisfied with this week’s outcome considering the practice he had. He improved 15 spots today and will hold onto the lead in the Angler of the Year standings.

After focusing on a spot he had some history on the first two days of the tournament, he played a hunch today and headed north and came back with 15-13, caught mostly on the same yet-to-be-released topwater bait he used at the Classic and a jig.

“I scrapped what I’d been doing and fished a part of the lake I’d never fished before,” he said. “There were fewer boats up there and that’s probably another reason I did what I did today. I’d heard there was a big local tournament today and the south end always gets crazy busy on a Saturday. It stinks we have to plan for that with our job, but we do and that’s the world we live in.

“I knew the worst I could finish was 10 places lower than where I was so if it worked out, I could move up some.”

35th: Chapman Camped in Two Creeks

> Day 3: 5, 11-04 (15, 41-02)

Brent Chapman is grateful B.A.S.S. didn’t schedule this tournament as part of a back-to-back scenario. His arms need a rest.

“I’ve never thrown a jerkbait so much in 6 days as I did this week,” he said after notching his first money finish since the Winyah Bay tournament last spring. “My hand got so numb that I literally threw my rod out of my boat at one point today.”

He fished his rod back into the boat and didn’t have trouble catching fish either. He spent the entirety of the tournament in Six Mile Creek and Housen Bay, two areas that received a glut of fishing pressure this week.

“I finally had to have a heart to heart with myself and re-evaluate things and I chose to focus on my areas,” he said. “I picked what I think is the best part of the lake. I spent my whole tournament in a quarter-mile stretch.”

He relied on a jerkbait in 3 to 6 feet of water.

“I was able to capitalize on getting intimate with the area instead of just winging it,” he added. “I felt like I was catching them in all phases of the spawn.”

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 51 anglers, 39 limits, 5 fours, 5 threes, 2 twos.

Weather Forecast

> Sun., April 9 – Sunny – 82°/63°
- Wind: From the S at 10 to 15 mph

Day 3 Standings

1. Jamie Hartman -- Newport, NY -- 15, 56-15 -- 110 -- $500
Day 1: 5, 23-05 -- Day 2: 5, 15-12 -- Day 3: 5, 17-14

2. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 15, 53-03 -- 109
Day 1: 5, 13-03 -- Day 2: 5, 23-09 -- Day 3: 5, 16-07

3. John Murray -- Spring City, TN -- 15, 52-11 -- 108
Day 1: 5, 17-13 -- Day 2: 5, 11-07 -- Day 3: 5, 23-07

4. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, OK -- 15, 52-10 -- 107
Day 1: 5, 21-05 -- Day 2: 5, 15-03 -- Day 3: 5, 16-02

5. Brandon Palaniuk -- Hayden, ID -- 15, 50-09 -- 106
Day 1: 5, 19-13 -- Day 2: 5, 13-11 -- Day 3: 5, 17-01

6. Alton Jones -- Lorena, TX -- 15, 49-14 -- 105
Day 1: 5, 18-05 -- Day 2: 5, 13-06 -- Day 3: 5, 18-03

7. Matt Lee -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 48-10 -- 104
Day 1: 5, 20-00 -- Day 2: 5, 13-05 -- Day 3: 5, 15-05

8. Jacob Wheeler -- Indianapolis, IN -- 14, 47-11 -- 103
Day 1: 5, 25-01 -- Day 2: 4, 11-01 -- Day 3: 5, 11-09

9. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 14, 47-09 -- 102
Day 1: 5, 20-02 -- Day 2: 5, 17-12 -- Day 3: 4, 09-11

10. Brett Hite -- Phoenix, AZ -- 15, 47-01 -- 101
Day 1: 5, 24-11 -- Day 2: 5, 13-02 -- Day 3: 5, 09-04

11. Randy Howell -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 47-00 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 15-12 -- Day 2: 5, 17-05 -- Day 3: 5, 13-15

12. Andy Montgomery -- Blacksburg, SC -- 15, 46-14 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 18-03 -- Day 2: 5, 12-00 -- Day 3: 5, 16-11

The following anglers missed the cut and will not compete on day 4.

13. James Elam -- Tulsa, OK -- 14, 46-13 -- 98 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-14 -- Day 2: 5, 22-10 -- Day 3: 4, 08-05

14. John Crews Jr -- Salem, VA -- 15, 46-12 -- 97 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-11 -- Day 2: 5, 13-11 -- Day 3: 5, 14-06

15. Dave Lefebre -- Erie, PA -- 15, 46-09 -- 96 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-01 -- Day 2: 5, 15-09 -- Day 3: 5, 13-15

16. Seth Feider -- Bloomington, MN -- 15, 46-06 -- 95 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-03 -- Day 2: 5, 18-05 -- Day 3: 5, 13-14

17. Brent Ehrler -- Newport Beach, CA -- 15, 46-00 -- 94 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-10 -- Day 2: 5, 14-02 -- Day 3: 5, 15-04

18. Jacob Powroznik -- North Prince George, VA 15 -- 45-13 -- 93 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-07 -- Day 2: 5, 11-12 -- Day 3: 5, 18-10

19. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 15, 44-14 -- 92 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-04 -- Day 2: 5, 15-14 -- Day 3: 5, 11-12

20. Gerald Swindle -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 44-07 -- 91 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-03 -- Day 2: 5, 13-02 -- Day 3: 5, 13-02

21. Michael Iaconelli -- Pitts Grove, NJ -- 15, 44-05 -- 90 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-15 -- Day 2: 5, 16-02 -- Day 3: 5, 12-04

22. David Walker -- Sevierville, TN -- 15, 44-01 -- 89 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-12 -- Day 2: 5, 13-04 -- Day 3: 5, 17-01

23. Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 15, 43-15 -- 88 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-09 -- Day 2: 5, 14-02 -- Day 3: 5, 12-04

24. Jason Williamson -- Wagener, SC -- 15, 43-15 -- 87 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-04 -- Day 2: 5, 17-03 -- Day 3: 5, 14-08

25. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 15, 43-10 -- 86 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-12 -- Day 2: 5, 11-11 -- Day 3: 5, 14-03

26. Ott DeFoe -- Knoxville, TN -- 15, 43-10 -- 85 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-07 -- Day 2: 5, 10-06 -- Day 3: 5, 15-13

27. Drew Benton -- Panama City, FL -- 15, 43-05 -- 84 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-01 -- Day 2: 5, 15-04 -- Day 3: 5, 11-00

28. Mark Daniels Jr. Tuskegee, AL -- 15, 43-00 -- 83 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-07 -- Day 2: 5, 17-10 -- Day 3: 5, 12-15

29. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 15, 42-11 -- 82 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-14 -- Day 2: 5, 16-01 -- Day 3: 5, 11-12

30. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, AR -- 15, 42-08 -- 81 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-12 -- Day 2: 5, 18-00 -- Day 3: 5, 11-12

31. Fletcher Shryock -- New Philadelphia, OH -- 15, 42-07 -- 80 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-02 -- Day 2: 5, 13-11 -- Day 3: 5, 11-10

32. Russ Lane -- Prattville, AL -- 15, 42-03 -- 79 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-00 -- Day 2: 5, 16-12 -- Day 3: 5, 11-07

33. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 15, 41-07 -- 78 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-14 -- Day 2: 5, 16-14 -- Day 3: 5, 12-11

34. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 13, 41-02 -- 77 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-04 -- Day 2: 5, 17-12 -- Day 3: 3, 11-02

35. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 15, 41-02 -- 76 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-04 -- Day 2: 5, 15-10 -- Day 3: 5, 11-04

36. Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, AR -- 15, 41-01 -- 75 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-10 -- Day 2: 5, 14-12 -- Day 3: 5, 13-11

37. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 15, 40-11 -- 74 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 20-08 -- Day 2: 5, 10-05 -- Day 3: 5, 09-14

38. Jordan Lee -- Grant, AL -- 14, 39-10 -- 73 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-14 -- Day 2: 5, 17-11 -- Day 3: 4, 08-01

39. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, CA -- 15, 39-07 -- 72 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-11 -- Day 2: 5, 13-15 -- Day 3: 5, 12-13

40. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, TX -- 15, 39-02 -- 71 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-09 -- Day 2: 5, 10-11 -- Day 3: 5, 10-14

41. Kelley Jaye -- Dadeville, AL -- 15, 38-03 -- 70 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-02 -- Day 2: 5, 12-04 -- Day 3: 5, 09-13

42. Jesse Wiggins -- Cullman, AL -- 14, 38-00 -- 69 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 14-15 -- Day 2: 5, 12-04 -- Day 3: 5, 10-13

43. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 13, 37-02 -- 68 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-13 -- Day 2: 5, 13-03 -- Day 3: 3, 06-02

44. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 15, 37-02 -- 67 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-04 -- Day 2: 5, 13-14 -- Day 3: 5, 09-00

45. Shaw Grigsby Jr. Gainesville, FL -- 13, 36-06 -- 66 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 14-10 -- Day 2: 5, 12-08 -- Day 3: 4, 09-04

46. Keith Poche -- Pike Road, AL -- 14, 36-02 -- 65 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-12 -- Day 2: 5, 14-08 -- Day 3: 4, 09-14

47. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, AR -- 12, 35-03 -- 64 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-05 -- Day 2: 5, 13-09 -- Day 3: 2, 06-05

48. David Fritts -- Lexington, NC -- 13, 34-14 -- 63 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-12 -- Day 2: 5, 11-04 -- Day 3: 3, 06-14

49. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 13, 31-13 -- 62 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-03 -- Day 2: 5, 12-11 -- Day 3: 3, 04-15

50. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 12, 31-06 -- 61 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-07 -- Day 2: 5, 11-01 -- Day 3: 2, 03-14

51. Kelly Jordon -- Flint, TX -- 13, 30-06 -- 60 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-08 -- Day 2: 5, 15-02 -- Day 3: 3, 02-12