After an exciting event at a virtually brand new fishery, the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series makes its fourth stop of the season on familiar waters. I expect a wide open event for the majority of the field when they hit Lake Hartwell at the end of April.
Bass on Lake Hartwell have been spawning most of April and there should be bass still in all three stages but we should be trending towards the end of bedding phase for this tournament, but with Hartwell being a massive fishery with a high population of bass, sight fishing could still play a factor for anglers making the weekend cuts.
That being said, there will definitely be plenty of fish staging offshore and in ditches to target with electronics and offshore fishing methods and on top of all that, I would expect an emerging herring spawn bite to be getting better as the practice and tournament rolls on to add even more options for anglers to tap into.
I anticipate 10- to 12-pound limits being plentiful, but the anglers that thrive will likely need to find those mid to high teen bags consistently to be competitive all week long. Come the weekend, I expect we will see anglers in the Top 10 up the rivers shallow for largemouth, anglers in main lake pockets picking off late spawning mixed bags, herring spawn patterns on topwaters, flukes and swimbaits as well as a few anglers focusing on forward-facing sonar based fish. In the end, build your roster around anglers that should be able to adapt to April conditions and fishing being on the move.
BUCKET A: PRZEKURAT
I have no strong data or historical correlation to pick Jay Przekurat on Lake Hartwell, but Jay just seems to catch them at just about every venue he is faced with. Time to just embrace that Jay is probably somebody you can just install in your lineup every event.
Nation’s Best
Don’t look now, but Will Davis Jr. is tied for the lead in Progressive Bassmaster AOY points after three events and he won his second of back to back B.A.S.S. Nation Championships at Lake Hartwell. Not to mention, he is pretty stout on fisheries where big spots play.
BUCKET B: MARKS
As much as it pains me not to pick Patrick Walters in this event, Paul Marks is very experienced and successful on Lake Hartwell. If you are looking for an under the radar favorite with a low percentage, Marks is your pick.
Sights Set
In 2019, Drew Cook sight-fished his way to a 4th place finish. Cook has literally made a career out of catching spawning fish when most of the field thought it was either too late or early to be the deal.
BUCKET C: WAGNER
Emil Wagner is a guide on both Lake Lanier and Hartwell, plus he won a BFL All-American on Lake Hartwell. He is a bad, bad man with a fluke style soft plastic on these herring fisheries.
Cutless No More
I would make a hefty wager that Dakota Ebare makes his first Bassmaster Elite Series cut on Hartwell. He has been on the wrong side of the bubble through the first three events, but expect a solid finish from Ebare on Hartwell.
BUCKET D: FOTHERGILL
After an underwhelming Florida swing, Easton Fothergill is locked in and claims that Lake Hartwell is his favorite lake in the country. With good reason, he is the favorite in Bucket D.
Captain Cobb
There are probably few anglers that have the time on the water on Lake Hartwell to rival that of Brandon Cobb and he won in early April here in 2019. He understands these herring chasing bass and I expect him to be dangerous in this event.
BUCKET E: GORE
Wesley Gore was a workhorse for my Fantasy team most of 2024, but has got off to a rough start in 2025. I am looking for a bounce back event at Hartwell. Whether it is staging fish or herring chasers, I expect Gore to be fishing on the weekend.
Local Herring Guru
Don’t sleep on the Tower of Power when it comes to Lake Hartwell especially if the Blueback spawn gets in full swing as the tournament develops. Jason Williamson is a solid pick if you are looking for some home cooking for your squad.
Falcon Rods Bassmaster Drain The Lake Challenge
Here we are in season five of the Falcon Rods Bassmaster Drain the Lake Challenge. This additional Fantasy Fishing game not only offers a fresh way to play the game, but a completely separate prize pool. Drain the Lake is an elimination / survivor style game where you can only use an angler once all season.
For 2025 we will have 10 events and 102 anglers. You will need to use up 80 of the 102 anglers. What river experts have you saved for this event?
Here is my Lake Hartwell Drain the Lake roster:
Stetson Blaylock
Brandon Cobb
Drew Cook
Shane Lehew
KJ Queen
Hunter Shryock
Emil Wagner
Jake Whitaker
