Jamie Hartman doesn’t have to catch a big bag today to hang on to his lead in the Elite Series Rookie of the Year race. But he’s got to do a lot better than his has this morning. BASSTrakk shows him with two bass totaling 4 pounds.
Meanwhile, his chief rival for the title, Dustin Connell, has sacked 20 pounds already, including a 5-pounder at 11:23 a.m. In the current BASSTrakk standings at 12:30 p.m., Connell is in 13th place and Hartman is in 42nd. That’s a difference of 29 points, more than enough for Connell to overcome Hartman’s 23-point leading entering the AOY Championship.
It seemed that Hartman had solved his Mille Lacs Lake problems on Day 2, when he bagged 23-10 and moved up to 36th place, after catching only 4 bass for 13-5 on Day 1, which left him in 48th place. Hartman said he made both a location and a lure change that made all the difference.
Obviously, Hartman is searching for other difference-makers now.