On the borders of South Carolina and Georgia lies Lake Hartwell, and you can expect it’s going to be a great show at the 2015 GEICO Bassmaster Classic, Feb. 20-22.
We’ll see some deep fishing in which the bass are staging to come shallow, schooling fish and shallow prespawn largemouth. The water will be cold and bass will be on the verge of being lethargic.
Some seasoned pros will be fishing deeper, around docks and brushpiles, where there is less pressure and clearer water. They’ll tie on jigs, Texas rigged worms, shaky heads, suspending jerkbaits and square bills.
Anglers new to the lake will be shallow trying to get that prespawn game going. Even though it may be a little early for that shallow bite, it will play a factor somehow.
No matter what, this tournament is one for the record books. Hartwell is such a big lake and fish can be caught so many ways this time of year.
Here are my picks for Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing for the 2015 Classic.
Bucket A: Howell
Randy Howell is so good this time of year, and he is still running on momentum from last year’s Classic. I bet the champ will have a good showing again this year. He’s an Alabama boy, so he is versatile. He can go fish a pocket or go throw a jerkbait around a brushpile.
Bucket B: Ashley
Casey Ashley is my pick to win the Classic. This local is awesome on Hartwell. He has so much knowledge on this lake, it’s crazy. I think he will do what he did last year, when he won an FLW Tour event on Hartwell. He stayed deeper and fished a jig around docks and brushpiles, targeting staging bass. I have a feeling he will be going home with the big trophy.
Bucket C: Crochet
Cliff Crochet is a shallow expert. I think he is going to go back into a pocket and target some big prespawn largemouth. It is a little risky, but I think choosing him is worth it.
Bucket D: Montgomery
South Carolina native Andy Montgomery knows Hartwell. He likes fishing for those big spotted bass. He’ll dig out the shaky head and jig, go deep around docks and target schooling fish. He will definitely make a showing on the big stage.
Bucket E: Fukae
Shin Fukae is a seasoned FLW guy, who in my opinion is one of the best anglers in the world. He can catch them any way known to man. He has a solid track record on Hartwell, and the Japanese angler will show you he is truly a veteran of this sport. He is so good that there’s no telling what he might do during this event. He is comfortable fishing deep, schooling bass or he could go in the back of a creek and target largemouth. Who knows? Just watch him.