By Vance McCullough
Special to BassFan
“The fish are making a move right now. Sunny day, great Classic coming up,” said Buddy Gross as he relaxed in the sunny parking lot outside the Greenville (S.C.) Convention Center.
He and his fellow competitors in the 2022 Bassmaster Classic were participating in Media Day, fielding questions on the final afternoon before competition begins on Lake Hartwell.
The decks of their boats looked like the aftermath of a tackle shop explosion. Multi-colored rod wraps, squirrels’ nests of discarded line, cases of yet-unopened boxes of fresh line, lures of all types, sizes and colors lay next to open tackle trays, with treble hooks and split-rings scattered about the decks.
If the visual clues reflect the states of mind, most anglers are leaving a lot of options open as they prepare to fish amid beautiful and ever-improving conditions this week.
“We’re going to throw practice out the window and just go fishing every day,” said Patrick Walters. “The fish are in transition. We’re going to see a major change throughout the tournament, pointing a lot of fish toward the bank. Every single day I think it's going to be a different pattern that takes over the top. You won’t catch them doing the same thing three days in a row.”
Drew Benton was more direct.
“This has been the most useless practice in the history of tournament bass fishing,” grinned the affable pro. “A week ago, we were wearing every layer of clothing we had. Now, I’m getting hot sitting in this jersey. The fish are feeling that too. And they are moving up.”
Still, some aren’t ready to pull fish "from the dirt" just yet.
“To me, they’re still in late February mode, they’re not in late March mode yet,” said Brock Mosley. “It’s interesting. You want them to be up there and you hope they’re up there, but it’s nothing like when we were here a couple of years ago for the Elite Series when you could go down the bank and catch the snot out of them.”
While he has tempered his expectations for a full-blown spawn, Mosley is optimistic about the tournament overall.
“I still think it’s going to take some weight. It will be a junk-fisherman’s dream tournament because you’ve got a little bit of everything going on. I’ve got more rods rigged up than I ever do.”
What About the Herring?
Blueback herring are always a factor on lakes that have a population of them. Unless they’re not.
“They always have an influence,” noted Mosley, “unless the bass go to spawn. That’s the only time they don’t care about them.”
But the pelagic bait could draw schooling activity from staging bass. As a result, a few anglers are experimenting with lures they opted not to talk about.
Not everybody is excited about the warming trend, though. Take Jacob Powroznik, for example.
Drew Benton says that Classic anglers need to be more concerned with where the fish are going rather than where they were in practice.
“The best thing for me would be if it was 21 degrees when we go out in the morning," Powroznik said. "This nice weather is definitely going to hurt the bite a little bit because the fish are going to be in that ‘no eating’ stage, thinking more about making love than about feeding. But we’re just sitting and waiting. We don’t know what’s going to happen until we get out there tomorrow and let the fish tell us what’s going on.”
Powroznik said anglers need to set up near spawning areas to do well this week because, regardless of what specific stage the fish are in, they are ready to go to the backs of creeks and coves very soon.
Jason Christie is among the favorites to win this year’s Classic. He’s also a favorite to throw a spinnerbait. Even though he’s known for his prowess with that method, he will fish with an open mind.
“That’s one thing about this event, I don’t think you can have too many options," Christie said. "There are going to be some adjustments. It’s changed every day since Friday.
“Nobody knows. I wouldn’t be surprised if we go out there tomorrow and they’re laying everywhere. I also wouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t happen for another couple of weeks. It’s a Mother Nature thing.”
Some Want to Look
One angler who would love to see an all-out sight-fest is John Cox. He’s cautiously optimistic.
“The lake looks great," Cox said. "It’s got a lot of life in it, a lot of fish, and this warm weather is going to get them going, I think.”
Cox understands the old adage that you can’t win the Classic on the first day, but you can sure lose it.
“We’re going to have that cold morning at the start. I don’t want to get behind because it is going to get hot – I think like 80 the last day – so I think I’m going to go to my prespawn stuff in the morning, try to get a limit in the boat and then start looking. As long as you can stay close, I think someone could win it sight-fishing the last day. That would be a dream of mine.”
Cox is sticking with largemouth as a target species and said the only way he might catch a spotted bas is if “one swims in the wrong area.”
Seth Feider also looks to fish shallow, but with more conventional tactics.
“I’m keeping it pretty simple," the reigning Bassmaster Angler of the Year said. "I can do anything I want to so I’m going to flip, I think, most of the day.”
By the way, Feider’s boat was the cleanest in the lot, so maybe he is the most focused angler going into the Classic. Simple could be good this week.
Most pros made note of the early spring atmospheric influences and the need to dance nimbly with them as they change by the hour.
“The weather conditions are setting up to spread those fish out and you’re going to have to adjust and adapt to that,” said Brandon Palaniuk, among the most versatile pros on tour, as he sat spooling fresh line onto a spinning reel.
Palaniuk breaks with many of his fellow pros on the shallow/deep debate this week.
“I don’t think the fish are going to flood the bank just because it gets warm. The baitfish won’t allow it. It’s definitely going to change things, but I don’t think it’s going to be just a shallow-fishing derby. There are just too many other factors.”
If the bass spread out this week, at least Lake Hartwell’s size, with hundreds of miles of irregular shoreline, will allow anglers to do the same.
“I’ve only seen five other boats this week,” noted Palaniuk, echoing observations from others who saw few competitors in their areas during practice.
Palaniuk also represented the consensus view when he said, “I’m looking forward to it. Going to be a lot of fish caught!”
Benton summarized, “Whoever wins this week is definitely going to be fishing where the fish are going, not where they are right now.”
