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Greenville, SC. – Every one of the 50 BASS anglers that are on duty next week have been thinking of the first launch of the 2008 Bassmaster Classic at Lake Hartwell since the Elite Series, Bassmaster Opens and Federation Nation Championship and Bassmaster Weekend Series schedules finished in the fall of last year.
As Classic week commences and the competitors have had three full days of official practice last week. Based on those three days of practice, each of the anglers has been planning and strategizing what they believe it will take to hoist the Bassmaster Classic Trophy over their head amongst the fireworks and confetti.
The BASS ZONE caught up with nine Classic competitors who shared details of their practice periods, what their basic plans will be and what they think it will take to take their place among bass fishing’s version of champagne wishes and caviar dreams.
John Crews – 4th Classic
The 29-year-old Crews, from Salem, Va. feels fortunate to have this hiatus between last week's three practice days and Wednesday's last day of scouting.
"I dropped off my boat to get it re-wrapped," he said. "The wrap was coming off, so it had to be done. That's part of life on Tour. Then I'll be shooting commercials for Advance Auto Parts on Sunday and Monday and getting my truck re-wrapped on Monday."
As of Saturday, he hadn't touched his tackle since Thursday night, but planned to do so in short order. "I have 28 rods in the boat right now and I need to start whittling them down. The first six to eight are easy (to pick out) but the last two or three are tough."
The three practice days met his expectations, but he's not sure if he's on three winning limits of fish yet. "The potential is there. I've talked to a couple of guys I trust and who I share information with and we all feel similarly. We haven't found that magic place, nobody has found that spot you can milk, but we've all figured out enough to be comfortable."
Despite the low water levels, the Bass Cat pro expects the lake to fish fairly big because "it has a lot of shoreline, nooks and crannies." He's also pleased with what he perceives to be a relatively stable weather forecast, "not too hot, not too cold."
He noted that most of the competitors have been relatively silent about the quality spotted bass that reside in the lake, but he feels that they could play a critical role in the outcome. "You don't know what's going to bite. I haven't been able to pattern one or the other, but I caught a 5-01 in practice."
"I might like to have some rain on the competition days. That's something I've heard Rick Clunn mention before, that it keeps the recreational anglers off the lake."
Todd Faircloth – 6th Classic
Faircloth, 32-years-old from Jasper, Tex. was one of the most consistent anglers on the 2007 Bassmaster Elite Series to qualify for the Classic, and he said that he spent much of his three day practice period looking for deep fish, but was unable to locate them.
“I never found a concentration of fish in deep water,” Faircloth told The BASS ZONE. “With that in mind, I am going to go with what I found in the shallows and make a run at it; I’ve found water temperatures in the upper 40’s to low 50’s.”
With that in mind, Faircloth said that he is looking at the weather trends that are forecast and hopes that warm days will keep his targets shallow and active. “Warm, sunny days are best for what I am going to be doing,” he said. “I know the nights are going to be cold, but the warmer days will help me.”
The Skeeter pro also said that he has been able to concentrate on what his fish are doing and not his competitors because of the layout of the lake. “This place fishes fairly large because of the amount of arms and creeks,” Faircloth revealed. “I’ve not seen too many boats in my areas, and am fairly confident that it will continue that way.”
While he did not reveal what kind of weight he was able to coax up during practice, Faircloth said that he had a good idea of what the winning weight would be. “I think largemouth are going to be fairly dominant, but the winner could have a few spotted bass in his bag,” he said. “I think that it will take an average of between 16 to 17 pounds a day to have a shot.”
Charlie Hartley – First Classic
As a 43-year-old Classic Rookie, Hartley is intent on soaking up every minute of the Classic experience, so he's remained in Anderson, SC for the period between practice and the start of the festivities.
"Today's an off day so I'm running around taking care of errands," he said on Saturday. "I'm getting a haircut because I'm filming for ESPN2 tonight. You never know what you'll get when you get a haircut in a strange town, but because of what I do, I get a lot of haircuts around the country. This guy did a pretty good job."
He suffered through two terrible days of practice before he started to connect on the last day. "I think the water came up a bit since we were here in the fall. Someone said they're holding it there for us, but that may actually be hurting the fish."
"I'd love for it to warm up, but I don't know if that would benefit me. I'm kind of a grinder. I have a lot of experience fishing 40 degree water. For a long time, I worked every day, and from where I'm from up in Ohio, this is about as far south as I could get for a weekend trip, so I've spent a lot of time this time of year on places like Murray, Buggs Island and Santee Cooper."
He's not suffering pre-Classic jitters at all and in fact expressed a desire for "the buildup to continue." He added that his inaugural Classic experience has "been everything I hoped it would be and more."
He fully believes he's around the right type of fish to win. "It's not like they're ganged up, but even though the lake is down it should fish pretty large for 50 boats. If you asked me (whether I thought I could win) about any tournament, the answer would be yes. What other attitude can you take?"
While he wouldn't divulge too much of what he plans to fish, he did say that his title sponsor, Venom Lures has gone the extra mile for him. "They've made me a new hair jig that's just great in cold water. We've all been hooked on living rubber jigs for a long time. I'm old enough that I even remember before living rubber. But it has too much action. The hair jig has a very subtle motion that really works well this time of year."
Tim Horton – 9th Classic
Like Hartley, Muscle Shoals, Alabama’s Tim Horton found the fishing to be slower during the practice period.
The 35-year-old has experienced tour-level success in his decade on the trail with a variety of tactics – everything from a crankbait to a football head jig to a flipping stick, and he doesn't expect to have to go to anything too off-the-wall this week. "It's going to be pretty standard stuff."
But he's firm in his conviction that the only way to win is to plumb the depths. "You'll need deep fish to win," The YUM Baits pro revealed. "You can get bit shallow, but I don't think you can win it exclusively shallow."
Even a warm front won't change that, in his opinion. "We'd all like for it to get nice and warm, but even if that happens, those fish that are 30 to 50 feet deep won't feel that for several weeks."
Ish Monroe – 5th Classic
At 33-years-old, Monroe has proven himself a very capable angler on the biggest stages; and this year’s Classic is no different. He said he spent more time trying to figure out which style of fishing it would take to win the tournament.
“I’m looking to fish deep,” the Hughson, Calif. pro revealed. “I feel pretty confident that I’m on good starting limits, but am still looking for the winning fish.” Monroe said that he will use the one remaining practice day on Wednesday to try and further dial in his game plan.
He told The BASS ZONE that, like Horton mentioned, the weather would not make too much of a difference into his game planning. He also said that he is seeing more anglers than some of his other competitors are mentioning. “When I am fishing the limit areas, I am seeing more boats around, but when I am targeting what I believe are winning fish, I pretty much have the water to myself.”
Monroe told The BASS ZONE that he thinks it will take predominantly largemouth to win the tournament, but that it wouldn’t surprise him to see some spotted bass mixed in. Whatever the species an angler weighed, Monroe felt that it would take significant weight to win. “It should take around 48 to 50 pounds to win; it seems to be a pretty good fishery.”
John Murray – 5th Classic
The 43-year-old Phoenix, Ariz. pro characterized his three day practice period as ‘stubborn.’
“I spent all three days looking for the ‘glory spot,’” the Powell Rods pro told The BASS ZONE. “I found two spots that have real potential, and when I caught a fish on it, had more fish like it chasing it up.”
He said that weather pattern wouldn’t make too big of a difference to him because his better stuff is in deep water. “I spent all three practice days in water between 30 and 50 feet and didn’t look shallow,” he said. “I will spend Wednesday looking for a shallow pattern in case I need it.”
He also said that Lake Hartwell reminds him of a Western body of water he is familiar with. “It kind of reminds me of Shasta,” Murray said. “It has three arms and a lot of different cuts and creeks that you can fish; I’ve not seen too many boats during practice.”
Murray also feels that the Classic will be won with primarily largemouth, although he said that there are some really good spotted bass in the lake as well. “My best spot in three days was a four pounder, but saw some bigger ones; I think it is reasonable to think that 17 pounds a day could win.”
Skeet Reese – 9th Classic
The 2007 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year said that he has mixed emotions about the Classic at Lake Hartwell. “I got a lot of good bites last week, but I know that a lot of the other guys did as well,” The Lucky Craft pro said. “I think this tournament is going to be one of attrition, its going to be very tight.”
Reese said that he had to go shallow to find his better bites, and said that the main reason was that finding quality bites deep at Hartwell was like sifting through the proverbial haystack. “They’re there,” said the man in yellow. “But there is so much submerged cover that it takes a long time to locate them.”
He also revealed that locating them is also complicated because the lake fishes so large. “I got turned around a couple of times, and had to stop and get my bearings on my Lowrance to get where I wanted to go next,” he said. “There are a lot of cuts and islands that can cause a guy to get disoriented.”
The Champion Boats pro staffer said that he thought the weights were going to be a little heavier than what some of the other anglers were saying. “I think the winner will have a 20-pound day, and then follow it up with two 18-pound bags,” Reese said. “It will take two kickers one day and a solid kicker each day to win this event.”
He said that much of Hartwell’s bass population is deep. “I think 90 percent of the fish are in 30 to 50 feet, and that there is a 75 percent chance it will be won deep; I’m just hoping that I’m in that 25 percent that has the right shallow bite figured out.”
Fred Roumbanis – First Classic
Like Hartley, the 29-year-old pro from Bixby, Okla. is making the most of every minute of his first Classic appearance. He and his family have checked into the Hyatt and are waiting out the period until the contenders' obligations begin.
One person who is not enjoying his first Classic experience is young Jackson Roumbanis, Fred's son. "He's teething now so he's not enjoying it as much as he should," the elder Roumbanis said.
His practice was not what he'd hoped for; "it's absolutely the toughest practice I've ever had. Right now it's a 100 per cent mental game for me."
The silver lining to that dire statement is that when he does get a bite; "they're big." In that respect, it's similar to High Rock, up Highway 85 a bit, where he won last summer’s Bassmaster American.
"I'm shocked at the average size of the fish here, The Ima Lures Pro said. “They're all good quality. I just wish I could catch more of them and I hope I can get five a day. But I'll be swinging for the fences.
Like others, he's convinced that the deepwater bite is the best chance to win, but perhaps not his best chance. "I don't have enough time on the lake to know a lot of that deep stuff, so I'm fishing in between deep and shallow." He has already identified four or five spots that he expects to produce and hopes to find a few more with the remaining practice day.
Like the others, he said that the lake is fishing big. "I've rarely seen another boat in practice. Maybe it's because I'm in the wrong areas, but there are multiple fingers and all sorts of creek channels and offshore trees to fish."
Kevin Short – First Classic
Like Roumbanis, the 46-year-old man in pink is ‘peeping’ his first trip to the Classic stage and he will be doing so with the confidence that he had a decent practice, he told the BASS ZONE that he was going to be moving a lot.
“I think the pink Bass Cat will be moving around a little bit,” the Mayflower, Ark. pro revealed of his plan. “I think that there is enough going on in the lake that a guy won’t be able to win it by doing one thing; I don’t think anybody will be able to camp on any one spot and win.”
He said that the size of the lake also allowed him to fish without having to share the water with a lot of company. “I didn’t really see a lot of boats while I was practicing,” the Peepers Baits pro said. “It really made me wonder if I was in the right places at all, but I think I am going to be okay.”
He said that he expects to see a lot of largemouth come to the scales, although he wouldn’t be surprised to see a few quality spotted bass as well. “The way things are progressing, I wouldn’t be surprised to see all largemouth bass win the tournament,” he said. “But there are some good spotted bass out there as well.”
He said that he thinks it is going to take a lot of mental sharpness to win at Lake Hartwell. “This isn’t going to be the kind of tournament that a guy can put it on cruise control and just catch his fish,” Short said. “We’re going to have to be on our toes to pull this one off.”
On Another Note:
The BASS ZONE will be on its toes at the 2008 Bassmaster Classic. The BASS ZONE team will be in full force at Lake Hartwell to bring the viewers up to the minute happenings at the 20087 Bassmaster Classic.
Mark Jeffreys and Harold, ‘The Legend’ Harold Allen will be providing Wide Open video updates throughout the day from the Skeeter Boats booth at the Classic Expo. Meanwhile BASS ZONE .com Senior Writers Dru Smith and Dan O’Sullivan will be in their roving Skeeter offices from the surface of Lake Hartwell providing everything that happens as it unfolds through our Live Chat as well as reports to Mark and ‘The Legend.’
Also on site will be BASS ZONE Senior Writer Pete Robbins to bring you as much of the inside happenings from the Classic Expo as well as getting into the minds of the anglers as they weigh in.
Check on Wednesday for Wide Open video previews and for frequent reports of bass fishing’s biggest event, the 2008 Bassmaster Classic keep checking BASS ZONE .com for everything related to the tournament, and remember to Stay Tuned, because It’s All About Being There!”
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