I expected the weights to be strong today because Hartwell is absolutely loaded with bass, but I didn’t expect them to be this strong.
Based on history, I figured a 12 or 13 pound bag each day would put an angler in pretty good stead. After all, when the Elites visited in 2019, it only took 15 a day to get through to the top ten, and then 10th place finisher, Hank Cherry, averaged 14 over four days. Today, 14 pounds has you below the top 50 cut line.
As David Mullins (64th, 13 pounds 10 ounces) said onstage, “Until I got here, I thought 13 pounds was going to be pretty good.”
In that same 2019 tournament, there was only one 20-pound limit – Drew Cook’s Day Two catch. We’ve already had two of them so far, and the tournament is still young. Perhaps more impressive is the sheer number of bags in the 18-pound class. The difference between Gerald Swindle in 10th and Luke Palmer in 4this just 12 ounces. Similarly, the difference between 11th and 20th is mere 15 ounces. They’re packed together like blueback herring on a primo clay point.
We’ll see some movement up and down the board tomorrow, but it won’t be easy. While Hartwell has produced some atypically-heavy largemouths and spotted bass already this spring, it’s not chock-full of sevens and eights like the Florida fisheries or even the Pasquotank. Ounces will matter in terms of who gets paid and how much.
One hundred two anglers with 102 limits makes for a remarkably repetitive weigh-in, but here’s what I saw and heard on Day Two from one of the storied lakes of recent Bassmaster history:
A Timing Deal – On blueback lakes, particularly when they’re spawning, I always assume that an early boat number provides the best chance of amassing a big catch, but that wasn’t true today. Bill Lowen (18th, 17-5) reported that he caught all of his weigh fish in the last hour on the water. Jamie Hartman (34th, 15-10) reported that he caught all of the bass he brought to the scales in the last 75 minutes and said that he “salvaged an absolute catastrophe today.” So was it the weather getting warmer, the fish getting settled or just a matter of “right place, right time”? We may learn more tomorrow, but it’s apparent that things are moving quickly. Steve Kennedy recalled finding three fish on a bed later in the day, hooking one of them twice, and then leaving to let them settle down. When he got back 20 minutes later, all three were nowhere to be found.
Cooking on the Flattop – It’s good to see 2014 Classic champ Randy Howell back in the hunt. I wasn’t sure what to think of his return to the Elite Series, as he finished 57th, 57th and 94th in his first three tournaments. He hasn’t fished a Classic since 2018 and his last Elite Series top ten was in 2016 at Winyah Bay – like Hartwell, also in South Carolina, albeit in a totally different part of the state. In fishing years, that’s a lifetime. His last top ten before that was in 2014 on the St. Johns River in Florida. In between he won a Northern Open on Virginia’s James River. We’ve seen past world-beaters like David Fritts, Larry Nixon and Jay Yelas return to the Elites and struggle to be consistently competitive. It might be an age thing. It might be a technology thing. It might be a combination of things. Howell may be 51, and if it seems like he’s been around forever it’s because he has (he started guiding on Lake Gaston when he was 13), but he’s also a relatively young 51. He’s spry, energetic and has the influence of his son Laker (currently 13th in one of the divisions of the Opens) to keep him apprised of what’s up and coming in bass world, if he can’t figure it out himself.
Smells Like Teen Spirit – Along with the two 20 pound bags from Randy Howell (1st, 21-11) and Kyoya Fujita (2nd, 20-9), there were 75 bags in the teens. Nine of the first 10 anglers weighed in 13 pounds or more, and the 10th (Cody Huff) was only a pound off that pace. There were a mere three bags below 10 pounds, the lightest being Jake Whitaker’s 9-10, which means that everyone is still in the hunt for a check.
International Division – Fujita, in 2nd, is the only non-American angler currently higher than 30th. Cory Johnston (30th, 15-13), Chris Johnston (40th, 14-15) and Taku Ito (45th, 14-11) are the other international anglers (out of a total of eight) currently inside the cut.
Paul Marks (3rd, 19-7) – “It feels good to finally have a good first day. He barely missed two checks (53rd at the St. Johns and 56th at the Pasquotank) and finished 26th on Okeechobee.
Home Cooking – The South Carolina pros were all over the map on the leaderboard. Patrick Walters is currently best-positioned among them in 14th, while Jason Williamson is struggling in 96th. Past winner Brandon Cobb (62nd, 13-15) said, “I would’ve been better off not knowing so much out here.” Indeed, this could be a big turning points for Cobb, who has twice been in the top ten for AOY (finishing a personal-best 2nd in 2022) and fished five consecutive Classics from 2020 through 2024. Last year he was 67th in AOY and missed the 2025 Classic. He started off this year with 66th, 35th and 97th place finishes, landing him in 77th in the early AOY race. Tomorrow’s performance may go a long way in determining whether missing the 2025 Classic will just be an aberration or whether it’ll become two in a row.
Przekurat’s Consistent Excellence – If Jay Przekurat (4th, 18-15) can hold onto this position, it’ll mark the ninth straight Elite event in which he’s finished 32nd or better, and his fifth top ten in that stretch. That period also includes an Open win and a runner-up finish at Minnesota’s Leech Lake. “I’m happy to be back on clear water, to be honest,” he said onstage.
Dance With the One That Brung You – “I did not catch any fish on a jig,” said notorious one rod guy Tyler Williams (94th, 11-1). “I caught a dropshot bag today. I’m going to throw that jig a lot more tomorrow and see what happens.”
Draft Day – As we celebrate one of the most exciting off-the-playing-field days of the sporting calendar, the NFL draft, note that the town of Anderson, SC has produced no fewer than nine athletes who got at least a cup of coffee in the NFL. The town’s preeminent sporting native son, however, is likely Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Rice. While nearby Clemson University is unlikely to have any early round picks, linebacker Barrett Carter is generally considered to be within the top 100 options.
Jordan Lee, 2018 Bassmaster Classic Winner (12th, 17-14) – “I’ll never say a bad word about this lake.”
Drew Times Two – I’m sure Drew Cook (6th, 18-12) and Drew Benton (9th, 18-11) get confused with one another at times, not because they look alike, but rather because they share a name, travel together, and produce joint video content. Right now they’re an ounce apart, and if they both finish in the top 10, it’ll be the first time that’s happened in an Elite event since Lake Murray (another South Carolina fishery) in 2023. They also both top-tenned at Eufaula in 2020 and Fork in 2019.
Easton Fothergill (17th, 17-6) – “We’re on my favorite lake in the whole country and we’re having a lot of fun out there.”
The AOY Race Shapes Up – Out of the top ten in AOY heading into this event, Jay Przekurat (previously in 3rd) at least temporarily did himself the most good, as he’s currently in 4th in the tournament. Meanwhile past leader Will Davis Jr. is in 32nd. Lee Livesay (previously 5th), Bill Lowen (previously 10th) and Shane LeHew (previously 7th) are in 17th, 18th and 21st, respectively. Meanwhile, John Garrett, currently in 81st, David Gaston, currently in 82nd, and Jake Whitaker, currently in 102nd, hurt themselves substantially.
Jason Christie, the 2022 Classic Winner on Hartwell (57th, 14-2) – “I didn’t see a boat all day today, which tells me I’m probably in the wrong area.”
Early Prediction – Kyle Welcher’s all-time margin-of-victory record will not be broken here this week.
