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Grove City, OH – Day in, day out, Ohio's Charlie Hartley may be the happiest guy in the Elite Series. Seeing Hartley without an ear-to-ear smile is about as common as sightings of the Loch Ness monster.
But with his first Bassmaster Classic only a month away, beneath that happy exterior lies a deadly serious attitude. He and his Venom-wrapped Ranger were common sights in and around Hartwell up until the cutoff.
"I've been investing a lot of time. If you give me an excuse to go, I'll go as much as I can. I don't take this opportunity lightly, so my only regret would be if I hadn't gone. I'd like to think that I'm going to make it the next 30 Classics, but in case I don't I want to make it count."
It was easy to stay revved up throughout his time in South Carolina because "it was a fun lake to practice on. My motivation out there is getting a bite and I was getting plenty of bites. I was down there by myself, without my wife, so even though it was getting dark at 5 o'clock, I could fish until 7, 8 or 9. There was no reason to go back to the hotel.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
He believes that he always had the respect of his peers on the water, but may have received less recognition from fishing fans, and the Classic qualification serves to remedy that inconsistency.
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"The guys on the trail, we've always had great mutual respect. They know the lifestyle, the hours, how much goes into it. But this gives me more credibility with the guys at home. I used to tiptoe around the question. People were surprised to learn that I hadn't qualified for the Classic."
Certainly he had a resume to be proud of, with achievements including a Canadian Open win and the 2004 Midwest EverStart points title, but his BASS Southern Open points title, and the Classic berth that accompanied it, are the icing on the cake.
"It legitimizes me. I feel like I belong. I've spent a lot of years out here, and what I liked most was when we finally had to qualify to fish the Elites. Before, it was always a question of are you out there because you can afford it or because you belong. Now, all the money in the world can't buy you a spot."
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The Canadian Open win and the EverStart title were the result of his smallmouth prowess, so it's particularly notable that he claimed this title on bubba water.
"It makes me feel well-rounded, I feel like a million bucks. I know southern waters. I've been fishing all these big lakes down here for years and spending winters in Florida for years, but this proved to everyone that I can catch fish down here. Especially after Scroggins won the first two events. I thought that even if I finished in the top three in the last tournament there was no way I'd catch him, so I was completely surprised to end up on top (in the points)."
Money's No Issue
Hartley maintains a successful business, Signcom Inc., back home in Ohio, so he doesn't feel the financial pressures that might plague some less-established pros. There's no need to sleep in his truck and eat peanut butter sandwiches for days on end in his world. Like Boyd Duckett last year, the lack of financial stress allows him to focus entirely on the fishing.
"When people have to fish for their income, it changes their motivation. I get such a rush from the bite. There's not a better motivation in the world. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if I had that eye of the tiger, but I doubt it would change my drive at all."
The only way that the Classic berth has changed his life financially is that "last place is $10,000 and first place is a half million and probably a lot more."
However, his sponsors have stepped up to the plate to recognize the achievement. Venom Lures, his title sponsor is "wonderful and they always will be." He also signed on with two Pure Fishing brands, Fenwick rods and Berkley line. Of the former, he said "I never thought anyone other than Santa Claus would give me a fishing rod." He was equally excited to pick up the line deal, noting that he "spent $5,000 on fluorocarbon line last year."
Perfect Preparation
He ventured to Hartwell ready to put in a significant amount of time, but with the idea that it would be a fun process.
| "I was going to play and fish. Oh man, I was catching them. Then one of my buddies called and said quit playing around. This is the Bassmaster Classic, you need to go to work. From then on, I spent a lot of time working with my electronics, my camera and my GPS and I'd leave a couple of hours at the end of the day. I spent a lot more time not fishing than fishing, and for me that's torture. I want to catch fish. I don't want to drive a boat – in fact, I have trouble breaking in a motor for that reason."
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He filled dozens of pages in legal pads with notes about "every bite, every fish, what was unique about the spot. When you write it down, it mentally makes you repeat everything. Going into the Classic, I'll go through it all again."
He idled up every little ditch, into every last pocket and saw the entire navigable lake. "I don't want to spend my official practice wondering what's up that creek or around that bend. I want to be comfortable that I know what's up there. So my success is going to have to do with the decisions I make that day."
The weather will be critical. If it's warm, like it has been, "the fish will think it's not winter. Up until the cutoff you could still catch them on topwater. But if it's cold, they'll be down in that timber and you'll have to catch them on a jigging spoon. The lake is a lot like Lanier, with all that standing timber, and I could see someone winning it with a jig like Mickey Bruce used to do on Lanier back in the day."
He's absolutely certain about how he'd like the weather to play out: "I would like to see the water at 55 degrees and the sun out. I want the fish to be shallow."
Final Thoughts
With approximately a month left before the biggest tournament of his life, the fact that it's his first Classic doesn't strike any fear into him.
"People say they can't remember the fist time they fished it. But I've been to the Elites, been to the Majors," he said. "I hope it won't be overwhelming and I hope it's not such a whirlwind that I can't step back and enjoy it."
"I have a couple of weeks to prepare," he said. "I have a boat on order, but I won't scramble to get it ready if it comes in at the last minute. I'll just go with the boat that did so well for me last year."
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