Greenville, South Carolina is supposed to be warm this time of year. Then can someone please tell me why the first day the 45th annual, Bassmaster Classic was the coldest ever in Classic history! Anglers had to tolerate temperatures close to 10 degrees at launch time on Lake Hartwell. This is Northeast style weather, not South Carolina. Just to give you an idea how cold it was, the launch was delayed over an hour the first day due to ice on the ramp, and then some anglers could not get their boats off the trailers as they were stuck to the carpeting! All I can say is thank God for STORMR, Cabelas Under Armour and Bass Pro jackets and bibs.
From interviews and watching online, it was apparent most of the larger fish were caught shallow in the backs of drains and pockets. Blue back herring were schooled up and each morning filtered out of the shallower feeder creeks. The second big bass producer was under docks with jigs and swimbaits. For limits, many anglers scored well in the 20- to 40-foot depths using drop shots. Several anglers said they had schools of 2- to 4-pounders chasing herring. In fact, Jacob Wheeler got back into a drain, saw a crash of bait, and within a few minutes had caught two, and dropped one. Bobby Lane skipped a jig under a dock for a 6-6-pounder on the final day, and had two, 4-pounders follow it up. He thought it was the winning dock, but the fish disappeared as quickly as they showed.
In spite of the cold, the top four anglers on day one were from areas where it is relatively warm year-round. Dean Rojas of Arizona put a five fish bag of 21 pounds, 2 ounces on the scales. Following Dean was Californian’s Skeet Reese with 20 pounds, 2 ounces, Keith Combs of Texas with 18 pounds, 8 ounces and Arizona’s Brett Hite with 15 pounds, 7 ounces. From a local standpoint, New Jersey’s Mike “Ike” Iaconelli was in 9th at 14 pounds, 7 ounces, while Connecticut’s Paul Mueller was tight to the pack in 13th with 13 pounds, 12 ounces. Both well within reach of the coveted Classic trophy and $300,000 paycheck.
On day two, the air temperature warmed up close to 50, but it was still a cold day on the water. Climbing on top of the pack was Takahiro Omori of Texas who put together a bag of 16 pounds, 11 ounces to climb over Dean Rojas by a mere 2 ounces. Takahiro’s two-day total of 31 pounds 11 ounces however was not blowing away the field by any margin. In fact, the 20th place angler, Todd Faircloth was only 8 pounds back. Seeing how Skeet Reese put 20 pounds on the board on day one, and then followed it up with 6-5 on day two shows that anything can happen. Back to our northern anglers, “Ike” was holding on to 3rd, 11 ounces back, while Paul Mueller climbed several notches to 8th, 3 pounds, 13 ounces off the lead. Most of the anglers were tight-lipped about where and what they were using on the first two days. Takahiro only commented that all his fish came from a 200-yard stretch, while Skeet Reese, while fishing docks, asked the camera crew to keep his lure of choice off-camera. On the other hand, “Ike” gave away his pattern, which was a nice change of pace in a tight competition. “Ike” revealed that he is fishing shallow with jerkbaits in the early a.m. in the back of drains and pockets where blue back herring are hiding. The key is finding the bait, which means following birds like most saltwater anglers do on a daily basis. As for Paul Mueller, he was watching his electronics and using a Reins Bubbling Shaker on a drop shot.
Day three started out with intense action. Within a few hours of the launch, Casey Ashley who calls Lake Hartwell his home lake, jumped over several anglers by putting five bass weighing over 16 pounds in his live well. Shortly after Casey’s run, Bobby Lane made one of his own with five bass for 16 pounds, jumping from 9th to second, a mere 2-1/2 pounds off Ashley’s lead. As the Bass Trakk closed for the day, Mike Iaconelli made a late run to move into third place, 3 pounds off the lead. For those unaware, Bass Trakk was the unofficial weight the anglers Marshall submitted while on the water during the day electronically.
When the weigh-in began, the winning angler was still up in the air. Unlike past editions of the Classic where most knew who was going to win, this year, with weights close, and tough conditions, any of the top 10 guys could jump the leader and walk away with the grand prize.
With Bobby Lane sitting in the lead, Casey Ashley shattered his dream with a day three bag of 20 pounds, 3 ounces. His final three-day weight of 50 pounds, 1 ounce earned him the Classic trophy check for $300,000. Landing in second, 3 pounds, 2 ounces back was Bobby Lane with 46 pounds, 15 ounces, while Takahiro Omori took third place with a three-day total of 44 pounds, 3 ounces.
As for the local guys, “Ike” hung on for 6th place with 42 pounds, 6 ounces. Paul Mueller of Connecticut finished in 12th with 38 pounds, 6 ounces. This was Paul’s second Classic, and I can tell you from speaking with him, and having the pleasure to fish with him, he will be back!
For a complete look at the final standings, go to Bassmaster.com.
