Hartman’s three-day performance at Cherokee is most impressive. The Elite Series rookie from Newport, N.Y., has no experience on a lake like this, but he’s got plenty of experience with catching deep, offshore smallmouth bass.
“I’ve never fished anything like this,” Hartman said yesterday. “I went with a game plan that these are wintering fish and they’re going to be deep. That’s it. I’m fishing deep. It’s too inconsistent weather-wise this time of year to run shallow patterns.
“I know how to read my electronics very well. I’ve seen every single fish I’ve caught. Nothing has been shallower than 26 feet, mostly 26 to 37.”