Waiting Game: Will Hartwell Start Warming Up?

By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor

It can't be overstated how different Lake Hartwell is this spring compared to three years ago when the Classic visited the 56,000-acre impoundment along the South Carolina-Georgia border. Heck, it's different than it was three weeks ago, maybe even three days ago. It's the time of year we're in, folks. Everything is subject to change.

First off, water levels in 2015 were pretty steady and rose gradually before and after the Classic, which was held in the third week of February. The fish were still firmly in their winter pattern and that put them right in the crosshairs of local ace Casey Ashley, who thumped a 20-pound bag in dreary conditions on the final day to claim his first Classic title.

This year, the water has risen fairly rapidly since early January, coming up more than eight feet during that span. The Anderson, S.C., area has also received a good bit of rain, including a dose of more than inch last weekend during the first three days of practice for the 52 competitors in this year's field. The forecast for the three tournament days seems to change daily, but it looks like Friday and Sunday should stay rain-free.

As recently as two weeks ago, a wave of fish had already moved up shallow, thanks to a steady warming trend that had water temperatures in the mid 60s, according to former FLW Tour pro Jayme Rampey, a resident of Liberty, S.C., who competes at Hartwell regularly. That's been followed by a series of cold fronts, the last of which still has a bit of a grip on Hartwell. Water temperatures have tumbled into the mid 50s and competitors are hoping things pick back up following high, sunny skies on Wednesday and a similar ay in the forecast Thursday before competition gets going Friday.

Who knows - those fish that had started to move in, but retreated when it got chilly, could be joined by a new wave of fish ready to move shallow if certain variables fall into place.

"We've got goofy, in-between conditions," said Alabama pro Russ Lane, who's preparing for his seventh Classic. "We had such warm temperatures several weeks back for a month. This water has to be a lot cooler now than it was then and that had to have backed the fish up. We're halfway in between full moons and nothing is cut and dried. I think anybody could win this doing just about anything."

And therein lies the early theme of this Classic: Will there be a dominant pattern out there or are the fish too spread out to really get dialed in on one particular strategy? The three days of practice last week offered some clues, but expect many of the 52 competitors to take off Friday with an open mind, largely because lake conditions are changing so rapidly.

"I don't think anybody will be able to stay consistent on the same thing all three days," says Jason Williamson, who will compete in his third career Classic this week and first in his home state. "I think guys will ride the deep bite to start then it'll fade and the shallow bite will get stronger later in the tournament. The guy who can mix it up and catch a limit deep and maybe get lucky and catch a couple big ones out there, then go shallow and cull will be hard to deal with."

Hartwell is not a place where one bite can erase a huge deficit, like at previous Classic venues such as Conroe or Guntersville, but it has prolific numbers of 3- to 4-pounders along with the odd lunker. In the six major tournaments at Hartwell since 2008, the big bass has ranged in weight from 6-07 to 7-10.

"I don't think you'll see giant weights because there are so many fish up there," Rampey added. "There are not a lot of game-changer fish, but there sure are a bunch of 4s."

The practice session took place in the midst of a cold snap, but temperatures started to trend upward Wednesday and will continue that way as the tournament progresses. Heck, we might see 70 degrees come Friday afternoon. That's a big departure from the record low of 10 degrees anglers encountered on day 1 in 2015.

Ah, yes, the 2015 Classic - the coldest Classic on record. That's when boats were frozen to their trailers. Anglers, bundled up as if they were going to a sledding party, fished with propane heaters on their front decks. Ice built up on rod guides and in reels, prompting a dip in Hartwell's waters to thaw them out only to have ice re-form. The start of competition on day 1 was delayed nearly two hours because of the single-digit temperatures at Green Pond Landing, the sparkling new launch facility on Lake Hartwell near Anderson, S.C.

With a Nor'easter thumping the Northeast and New England with snow earlier this week, it appears the Anderson area will be spared another wintry Classic. Phew!

Whether the warm-up that's in the weekend forecast will be enough to get the fish moving again remains to seen, but if that happens, it'll open up a target-rich environment with wood, bank grass - you'll hear the term "dog fennel" plenty this week - in as much as five or six feet of water and endless docks in play with the higher water.

Before delving deeper into how this event may play out, here are some pertinent details about Lake Hartwell:

BassFan Lake Profile

> Lake Name: Lake Hartwell
> Type of Water: Lowland reservoir
> Surface Acres (full pool): 56,000
> Primary structure/cover: Standing timber, points, humps, creek channels, brush piles, docks
> Primary forage: Shad, blueback herring, crawfish, bream
> Average depth: 45.6 feet at full pool
> Species: Largemouths, spotted bass
> Minimum length: 12 inches
> Reputation: An expansive, quality fishery with excellent average size, but unpredictable from spring through summer, since fish move a lot day-to-day in relation to baitfish. Contains some bruiser spotted bass.
> Weather: It will be a marked improvement from 2015 with daytime highs in the upper 60s and low 70s.
> Water temp: Low 50s in the mornings, warming into upper 50s in afternoon
> Water visibility/color: Mostly clear, especially on lower end, with some chalky stain in a few creeks.
> Water level: It's come up more than 8 feet since early January and with more than an inch of rain last weekend, it'll probably be right around full pool by the time the first cast is made Friday.
> Fish in: All depths
> Fish phase: All stages of spawn
> Primary patterns: Jigs, jerkbaits, swimbaits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, spoons, soft plastics, possibly sight-fishing
> Winning weight: 54 pounds
> Cut weight (Top 25 after 2 days): 24 pounds
> Fishing quality (1=poor, 5=great): 3.5 for Hartwell
> Biggest factors: The water temperature. To get the migration restarted, it's going to have to warm up. Otherwise the bigger fish will be random.
> Biggest decision: Where to start. There are bites to be had in many places. Finding a productive section of lake will be critical.
> Wildcard: A big shallow push during the tournament could create a near-shore vs. offshore showdown.

Everything's On Hold

FLW Tour pro Brian Latimer lives in Belton, S.C., and calls Hartwell his home lake. In fact, his personal-best largemouth - a 9-pounder - came out of the lake several years ago while he was using a pink methylate worm. Oddly enough, that bait has a been a local staple, especially around the time the blueback herring spawn once the water temperature gets in the middle to upper 60s.

While the water may not warm that much, Latimer believes if the water temperature gets back into the 58- to 60-degree range, those focusing on shallow-water areas could see a wave of fish come to them.

"The sweet spot is 60 to 65, but here's the thing I like most about Hartwell: When you get to late February, I don't care what water temperature is as long as it's going up," he said. "It could go from 42 to 45. As long as it's going up, they start to move once you get to late February and early March."

With the elevated water level putting more shallow and bank-related cover in the equation, Latimer thinks the largemouth crowd will trump those targeting spotted bass in the long run.

"You can chase spots or largemouth, but what that boils down to is you're either fishing the main lake or the river," he said. "You can do both, but you're probably better off when you can go one way. With the all the rain we had, there's a lot of good largemouth habitat now. Back in 2015, largemouth habitat wasn't abundant."

Either way, Hartwell is a lake tailor-made for versatile anglers.

"It has something for everybody all year, all the time," Latimer added. "There's always a shallow bite and always a deep bite and something in between. A lot of times at these clear-water reservoirs, you have to catch them deep or catch them with finesse baits. Not here. You can do whatever you're comfortable doing - and we're coming into the spring, which opens it up."

Rising Water Gets 'Em Moving

With more water in the lake, there's more shallow cover for the fish to explore and according to Rampey, they're not bashful this time of year. The lake is mostly void of widespread aquatic vegetation, but there are spots where some bank grass, or dog fennel as the locals call it, has upwards of six feet of water in it.

"We don't have any vegetation around here so when it does this, they go to the bank - every one of them," Rampey said. "With all this extra water, the fish are curious, too, because of all the new habitat."

Two weeks ago, Rampey caught 40 to 50 fish on a fun-fishing trip and none came out of water deeper than 5 feet.

"They've pretty much made their move," he said.

The majority of bass, though, seem to be waiting for the water temperature to start climbing into a more traditional range for them to make a significant push toward the bank.

Rampey says he's seen it get warm early in the year like it has, but it's rare for the warm-up to occur in conjunction with rising water.

"Everything a fish needs to go to the bank has happened," he said.

Find Your Comfort Zone

Rampey said he'd have the following assortment of baits at the ready this week if he were in the field: Zoom Fluke Stick, 5-inch paddletail swimbait, Zoom Horny Toad and a floating worm. For Latimer, it'd be a wacky-rigged soft plastic stick bait, a spinnerbait, a shakyhead and a TRD or Ned rig.

Rampey also said Hartwell is the kind of lake that will reward someone for being patient. That's why he wouldn't be quick to run all over the place chasing a pattern.

"Don't try to make a lot of moves," he said. "Find an area where you're comfortable and go with it. There's quality all over the lake."

He estimates 70 percent of the tournaments there are won within 10 miles of Green Pond Landing.

"That area holds a lot of fish and they're more consistent," he added. "They tend to bite more. The dam fish have a different personality. Maybe because it's so clear, but you'll kill them up the lake and say go catch a big one at the dam and then watch them swim around. It's a lot of wasted time."

Notes from the Field

Following are practice notes from a few of the anglers who'll be competing this week.

Matt Lee
"I can't get bit in the same places from one day to the next. The water and weather has them messed up, but there's one place to catch 17 pounds in eight throws and be done. You can go blue in the face trying to find it. On a lake this big, they're not spread out everywhere. They're grouped up somewhere. It's just hard to get dialed in.

"I didn't want it to be full blown sight-fishing deal, but now I wish they were up on the bank. Water temperature isn't a factor, but the high water with the temperature falling as much as it did in last two weeks is.

"It could change hour to hour out here. That's the crazy part. How much is it going to change? If the sun helps your bite, do you wait until noon or is the key time 9:30?"

David Walker
"I live 200 miles from here and it's been crazy the amount of rain and flooding there's been. I assumed the same thing here. I expected it to be full and dirty. It's fuller, but not full. It's stained, but it's not dirty. It's not what I expected.

"You can tell by fishing that there doesn't seem to be a dominant deal. They're not all out deep and they're not all up against the bank. When they're in that middle range suspended in front of the bank, they're getting ready to do one thing or another. I've caught them in 14 inches of water out to 40 feet. There is so much going on they're spread real thin and something has to change. I don't see it staying how it has been."

Brandon Coulter
"I truly don't think - and I could be dead wrong - the guy who wins figured out where he'll win during those first three days (of practice). It was too far ahead of time and the weather is going to change. That's what's cool about it. I'm not stressed about it. I just tried to gather information. I could be way off, but I don't think (the winner) found the pocket or the way he's going to catch 'em yet.

"As a general rule, the dirtier water will warm quicker when we get some sun and the chances will be good in the dirty water if we get some sun. I like that we're supposed to get some sun and not a ton of rain between now and (Friday). I see myself fishing a mix of dirty and clear water. For me to do well, it'll be a mixed bag based on my fishing style. I think the sun is as important as it being 80 degrees right now. The difference is it's getting cold at night. That keeps them in flux more than you want.

"I'm known for way more 20s and 30s than 10s and 70s so it's been a week that's different from what I normally do. I'm not worried about 12 to 13 pounds or how to get going and get a check. It's been a nice week for me. I really didn't stress whether I found them or not. We all have anxiety. That's our nature as anglers."

Mike McClelland
"I definitely feel like the 3 days were extremely important to me and probably most of the anglers. This being the time of year it is and the fact that the temperatures were what they were, it made me feel like the fish would be further along. When I showed up in the area, I went to Lake Russell and the water was 59 or 60 degrees and that made me feel like fish would be shallow. Then with the weather changing and it getting cold and rainy, it opened my eyes to what is really going on.

"I want to be in the section of the lake that has a slight tint. I don't want to be in clearest water or the dirtiest. If we were going into a strong warming trend, I'd be more focused on the dirty water, but with it being stable and not warming, I want to be in slightly stained water.

"The beauty of what's going on this week is it sets up so much like many events I've had success in this time of year. The fish make a push, then the weather puts them in a holding pattern. I should be able fish my strengths and I think a jig will be a big player this week.

"There's no denying largemouth will be the key to whomever wins. I don't know if you can win without largemouth in your bag. Fortunately, I have caught some largemouth and have a handle on what they're trying to do, but I can mix it up with spots, too, if needed."

John Cox
"Practice has been normal for me. It's not a time to catch them. I never seem to get anything great going. I covered a lot of water and tried to make the lake smaller than it is. I wanted to have some key areas to work where I could try to unlock some key pieces.

"I didn't kill them, but the water should be warming up and the fish should be coming to us. What's similar this year (to the past) is the water is a little lower than previous years. The difference is there is so much growth from when the water was down. It's overwhelming the amount of shoreline structure now and it's hard to break it down because there's so much. That scatters the fish more, so I'm not sure if this can be won off a spot because of that. When I won here, nobody had that spot and that excites me. It's got me excited to see how it unfolds even if I don't get it done."

Dustin Connell
"I really want the fish to be biting better. It's not fishing the way I'd like it right now. It's exciting, though. I've been to 10 or 12 of these as a fan watching. It's a big deal.

"I didn't get much value out of practice. The tournament is still (a few) days away and this time of year, that's a long time with all the fronts coming in and out. The biggest thing I wanted to do is ride around and gauge water temperatures and clarity to see if there were any fish up, and get a feel for what it'll take to win.

"The downside is I don't think there's a big wave of fish up right now. No matter how good it looks, I do not think there are many in there right now. Some will get caught there, though, because there's so much of it.

"As far as water temperature, I hope it stays cold. I don't want it to warm up because it opens up more doors. Later in the day, there will be some fish caught shallow. I've seen it before. When they're not up, they're not up and it won't be won shallow."

Seth Feider
"I liked what I saw and I didn't see even half of it. It seemed like there are key areas that were better than others, but that may change. I saw water temps from 49 up to 58. I'd like to be in the mid 50s, but it if gets down to the low 50s or high 40s, it'll push them back farther than I'd like them to be.

"I'm banking on the 12 feet or shallower deal. I could see lot of top 10s coming offshore or deeper, but at the end of the day, big largemouths will win in 12 feet or less. If there's a 20-pound bag it'll be shallow. I think the 15- to 17-pound bags will come out deep."

Jason Williamson
"The water has come up and the fish are scattered. The tournament could be won several different ways. It's one of those Classics that's setting up where someone on the final day could come in with a big bag and make up some ground. The fish that did pull up and backed off are going to come and the fish that never came in will start coming. The ingredients are there for a big final day.

"There's a lot of structure that's come into play because the water came up. There is the dog fennel that's flooded in 5 to 6 feet in some places. You can carefully fish to your strengths, but it can bite you.

"It will come down to making the right adjustments each day and being good in the moment and changing on the fly. I'm not excited or nervous. At the end of the day, I'm going to fish my way. I know what it takes on these herring lakes. I need it to warm up to have a shot. I'm ready to go fish the moment."

Jamie Hartman
"I'm struggling. I'm trying to set myself because I can't catch them up now and I can't catch them deep. I can catch some fish, but I can't catch size. I know what's going on - they pulled back out and they're being stubborn.

"It's a big lake so you're going to run across something. Somebody's going to run across something. I, unfortunately, didn't. What I've been doing is trying to set myself up for the next three warm days so when they hit and if they hit hard enough I'm hopefully setting myself up to be where they're going to come quick, which is still deep stuff. I'm predicting that's the only way I can catch big fish. If not, my best case scenario is between 13 and 14 pounds."

Steve Kennedy
"I'm catching a lot of fish, but just little spots. The bigger fish are either random or if they'e blueback fish, you have no confidence they're going to be there. I fished four different areas and still don't feel like I've touched the whole lake.

"The place is absolutely huge. Catching fish shouldn't be a problem. I just don't know if I'm going to get the right bites."

Jacob Wheeler
"The theme of my practice was scattered. With the conditions we had and the water coming up plus a warming trend before we got here followed by the cold front, it scattered the fish. They're doing a lot of different things so it made itdifficult to figure out what the winning deal was going to be.

"Overall, I feel good about it. I know the lake fairly well but this event is going to be all about decisions made during the tournament. More than likely, it'll be a guy who goes out and fishes new water the last day or maybe every day."

Brandon Palaniuk
"I'm not that confident. It was confusing for me. I feel like the fish are super spread out. I can see a bunch of fish out deep, but they're hard to catch and it doesn't seem like the majority of fish have made a real big push up yet.

"I do feel like I have a little bit of an idea of a way that I could win. It's just a matter of if the fish want to play that way."

Aaron Martens
"It wasn't that good today. It's hard to say. My biggest bag was about 14 pounds and those were spotted bass. I just don't know this lake well enough and I didn't find enough in practice and the conditions were wrong. I just didn't get anything going and it's too tough to keep at it.

"I got some largemouth bites, but they were 2 1/2-pounders. I know they're out there somewhere or they're in some pockets with 4s and 5s in them. I might still go for them, but I might try to get 13 or 14 pounds and if I get that the first two days, I should make the cut, but I don't think I'll win with what I have. If I can get a decent bag early, I'll go for big ones because the weather is going to be better for the tournament."

Ryan Butler
"It's a new lake to me so I tried to look at everything and get dialed in on one or two patterns that I could focus on during the event. I was trying to think ahead with the warming trend that's coming this weekend so those fish could make a big move.

"I had a couple good days. Today, I did a lot of looking. It wasn't as good, but it's a hurry up and wait thing. At this point, everybody has a game plan and you have to swing for the fence."

Launch/Weigh-In Info

> Anglers will take off at 7:30 a.m. each day from Green Pond Landing (470 Green Pond Road, Anderson, S.C.). Doors to the Bon Secours Wellness Center (650 N. Academy Street, Greenville, S.C) will open at 3:15 p.m. each day for weigh-ins. The Classic Expo will be held at the TD Convention Center (1 Exposition Drive, Greenville, S.C.) Expo hours are: Noon to 8 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m to 6 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Weather Forecast

> Fri., March 16 - Clear - 71°/44°
- Wind: From the W at 10 to 15 mph

> Sat., March 17 - Chance of Rain - 54°/45°
- Wind: From the NE at 5 to 10 mph

> Sun., March 18 - Partly Cloudy - 67°/46°
- Wind: From the W at 5 to 10 mph