Story by Pete Robbins 

Greenville, SC – In 2007, Boyd Duckett proved that there's no such thing as a home state Classic jinx. He found a way to keep the trophy in his home state of Alabama with last minute heroics.

With the 2008 tournament scheduled to take place in South Carolina next week, the pundits have speculated on whether a Palmetto State angler can follow in Duckett's footsteps and win before a home state crowd. Certainly South Carolina has no shortage of quality tour pros – names like Davy Hite and Jason Quinn are consistently at or near the top of the leader board. But those two anglers didn't make the big show in the ultra-competitive season. As a result, lots of attention has been focused on rookie Casey Ashley, who proved his chops on tour this year not only by qualifying for the Classic, but also by claiming the victory at Virginia's Smith Mountain Lake.

BUT WAIT….there's another competitor from in state. Todd Auten from Lake Wylie qualified for the Classic through the Southern Opens and should also be receiving some scrutiny or attention, but thus far he's generally flown under the radar.

Return to BASS
Auten is a veteran of 84 BASS events, including the 1999 and 2003 Classics, both held on the Louisiana Delta. He left the then-Citgo Bassmaster Tour after the 2005 season and headed over to the FLW side. 

"I didn't really want to leave BASS, but the entry fees made it necessary," he said. "At the time, financially I couldn't afford it so I went over and fished the FLW Tour. 

In 2007, he fished the Opens again, with a mind toward requalifying for the Elites and also because of the chance to fish a Classic close to home. "This year everything seemed to be in my favor. I'll be traveling less than I did last year. I didn't like it back when we went to California and this year we won't have to. I still like the FLW events, but with a 110 boat field on this side, hopefully that'll help me. You really can't run a pattern over there."

He was excited by the big fish potential on the 2008 schedule, particularly Amistad and Falcon (neither of which he has visited before), but also lakes closer to home like Wheeler and Murray, upon which he has a great deal of experience.

Hartwell History
In some respects, he stands to have the best of both worlds in the Classic – fishing a familiar lake close to home, but without the hordes of spectator boats that may plague Ashley. 

"I hope I don't have a lot of people following me. That could really give me an advantage. I like to fish shallow and if you're not staying in one area a lot a lot of spectators could kill you."

Over the years, he's fished a number of events on Hartwell, including some of the old Jerry Rhyne tournaments that were popular in the southeast a little over a decade ago. "It seemed like we used to always come down here in February. At least I remember that it was always real cold, that was par for the course. We always caught a ton of fish, but getting a quality bite was the tough part."

He also fished BASS Invitationals on Hartwell in November 1996, and May 1998, and finished 71st and 23rd, respectively.

Does that experience give him an advantage over some of the competitor who haven't spent as much time on the lake over the years?

"I don’t think it does," he said. "With the water down, it's all new water to me. Some of the same areas should produce, but most of these guys can figure that out. If the water was up five or six feet, it would help me out a lot."

Camp or Run?
While he was loathe to divulge too much about his likely tactics with the practice period already underway, he noted that "in tournaments here in the past, you can catch them good this time of year spooning them deep."

But he warned that it's possible to do that for a day or two, but "for three days it's tough to stay on those fish."

He's most comfortable running a pattern rather than relying on an area, and while he feels that the low water may somewhat hinder his ability to run and gun, "it cuts things down a little but it still fishes pretty big. You can stay in an area all day long and not see another boat." As for the shoreline cover that is reputedly high and dry, he said that there are still plenty of docks and stumps with enough water to hold fish this time of year."

Conclusion
So what's it like to make his return to top-flight BASS competition in the sport's biggest event and within his home state?

"It sure beats fishing the Delta. I go down there and I'm lost. You have to run two hours before you start fishing."

A Classic win couldn't come at a better time for the returning pro, who despite a solid career often gets overlooked, perhaps due to his soft-spoken nature. "It would be really great," he said. "It would help out a lot financially, get me set for a few years where I wouldn't have to worry about making a check."

Miscellaneous

• The 2004 Classic was held on his home lake, Wylie. Takahiro Omori won and Aaron Martens came in 2nd. Both will be fishing against him at Hartwell.
• He'll run a Ranger Z520 with a Ranger wrap in competition this year.
• Asked to pick his top three lures for next week's Classic, he answered: "A jig, a crankbait and maybe another bait that I don't want to mention. I don't have a whole lot up my sleeve, but I have a few tricks."
• Gerald Swindle finished 2nd and 5th in the two late 90's BASS Georgia Invitationals on Hartwell. 
• The other 2008 Classic competitors who finished ahead of Auten in the 1996 Georgia Invitational were Peter Thliveros (11th) and Brent Chapman (31st)
• The other 2008 Classic competitor who finished ahead of Auten in the 1998 Georgia Invitational was Takahiro Omori (11th).