Jamie Hartman was going to fish this patch of aquatic vegetation just north of Goose Pond no matter what the weather was this morning. But he hadn’t planned on throwing a topwater walking bait, like a Zara Spook, until he arrived on saw the low light, windy conditions. And he is having a magic topwater morning. Hartman just keeps culling up. He’s got 21-15 now, and his smallest bass is a 3-1.
“There’s a little grass patch on a shell bed that I’m throwing over and they’re creaming it,” Hartman said.
Hartman was the last man in the Top 10 yesterday, edging 11th place Seth Feider by two ounces. He started the day 7 pounds, 2 ounces behind leader Matt Arey’s three-day total of 62-13. So Hartman’s must have a huge day to overcome Arey and eight other finalists by weigh-in time. But he’s doing it now, with an unofficial BASSTrakk total of 77-10.