Carolina Favorite Prevails Again

Casey Ashley, 2015Bassmaster Classic Champion

Yesterday seemed familiar. As local favorite Casey Ashley hoisted the 2015 Bassmaster Classic trophy, I couldn't help but think about a similar scene, seven months ago, when Anthony Gagliardi won the Forrest Wood Cup on his home waters of Lake Murray. The sport's two championship events, both held on South Carolina waters, were both won not only by in-state anglers but by legitimate local anglers.

If you follow pro bass fishing at all, you already know all about Ashley's win, and you likely know the details of his pattern and quite a bit about his road to victory. Having gotten to watch it unfold and to be close to all that was happening, though, I have to offer a few impressions.

One of the coolest aspects, in my mind, is the fact that Ashley's preparation for this event has been going on since 2008. In a way it goes back even further, because he has fished tournaments with his dad since he was 8 years old and he can't even remember the first time he ever fished Lake Hartwell. However, in 2008, when the Bassmaster Classic was first held on Lake Hartwell, Ashley took note of the event's enormous success and became convinced it would return to Hartwell at some point. Since that time, he has been a student of the lake, and he was quick to point out that he's learned an enormous amount about it from many top local anglers over the past several years.

Ashley also talked about learning so much from his dad, who began handing over boat control and decisions for team tournaments when Ashley was in his early teens and who would question decisions to force Ashley to think about them and to learn. Ashley's dad also put also put together the locally popular spinner heads Ashley used to win the Classic.

I also enjoyed seeing Ashley's calm confidence and his patience in answering the same questions again and again throughout the tournament. It seemed everyone wanted him to feel the weight of being the local favorite, but he didn't allow that. He wanted to win and did all he could to prepare himself to win, but he never accepted the weighty notion that he was supposed to win. He said that it was only after he put his boat on the trailer on day three, when everything was taken out of his hands, that he got nervous.

Going back to those similarities with Anthony Gagliardi, Casey Ashley will be an outstanding champion who will represent the sport exceptionally well.

Upcountry Embraces Classic

I'm no more a fan of sitting in a traffic line waiting to park than is anyone else. That said, I like what it tells me about bass fishing fans in the South Carolina Upcountry, and it illustrates one of the reasons the Bassmaster Classic was back to Greenville and Lake Hartwell this year. I got within a mile of the TD Convention Center about five minutes before the expo was supposed to begin this morning, and traffic was lined onto the road. Some lots were already filled and others were filling quickly. By the time I got in the expo, at a little after 10:00 a.m., it looked like the show had been going full stream for half a day, with every aisle packed and all the booths hopping.

Every industry friend I've spoken with in the expo has been thrilled by the crowds. And not just by numbers. The South Carolina Upcountry crowd visits booths to talk fishing, check out stuff and buy stuff. They are fishermen and fishing fans.

In 2008, the only other time the Classic has been in this area, the Expo was similarly full (in fact, I'm pretty sure the fire marshal had to close entry for a while on Saturday), and the crowd excitement in the arena was some of the best I've witnessed at a Classic. I expect the same level of tonight. In fact, it might be more, with South Carolina's own Casey Ashley in legitimate contention. If he wins, they'll blow the roof off the place!

5 Who Should Win

It ought to be fun tomorrow.

With one day remaining in the 2015 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro, the top five anglers in the standings are separated by less than 2 pounds. Making things even more interesting, every angler in the top 5 is someone who you could say "should win" and make an excellent case for that assertion.

Leader Takahiro Omori is a past Classic champion, and his 2004 Classic victory came in the Carolinas (Lake Wylie, which straddles the NC/SC border). He likes to crank shallow, so the warmer temps and rain in tomorrow's forecast seem like they should play into his hand.

Dean Rojas, only 2 ounces back, hasn't won a Classic, but he has four B.A.S.S. wins and has proven repeatedly that he can get it done. He brought in a huge bag on day one and backed it with a limit today, but failed to get the same quality. Interestingly, his best previous Classic was fourth place in 2004 at Lake Wylie.

Mike Iaconelli has eight B.AS.S. wins, including victory in the 2003 Bassmaster Classic on the Louisiana Delta, and when he's on something, he is tough to stop. He's brought in two good bags, with toady's a little larger than yesterday's.

Randy Howell is the reigning Bassmaster Classic champion, so the sweet taste of victory is fresh, and of the three former Classic champs in the top five, he's the only one who won a February event. And apparently some live footage of him fishing shows that he's spending at least part of the time cranking bridges, which was how he won last year at Lake Guntersville.

Rounding out the Top 5 is Casey Ashley of Donalds, South Carolina, which is only about 1/2 hour from Lake Hartwell. Ashley was virtually everyone's pick going into the event, so it would be hard to discount him when he's less then two pounds out going into the final day.

Making things even more exciting, the super close weights don't end with the fifth spot. Bret Hite is only 7 ounces behind Ashley, and Coby Carden is only 7 ounces behind Hite. In fact, Skeet Reece, who is in 10th place, is only 4 1/2 pounds off the lead.

So what does all that say? You'd better be watching tomorrow when they bring the fish to the scales because pretty much anything could happen!

The Classic's Local Flavor

Casey Ashley had a crowd around him almost constantly during
Media Day for the Bassmaster Classic.

"My sponsors love it," Casey Ashley said with his typical relaxed smile in answer to what he thought about having so much focus on him going into the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro.



Casey Ashley

Ashley, one of two South Carolina anglers in the Classic field, is getting as much attention as the "favorite" to win the Classic as any angler I remember. Beyond living in Donalds, S.C., a half hour or so from the lake, Ashley showed his understanding of Hartwell bass about this time last year when he won an FLW Tour event on the lake with a similarly cold snap that had a lot of pros baffled.

Ashley, of course, discounts the hype. "You can't predict who is going to win a fishing tournament."

He doesn't deny that he knows the lake very well and that his chances of figuring out the right things are as good as anyone's He's fished tournaments in South Carolina since he was 10 years old, and he can't even remember the first time he fished Lake Hartwell. He's also paid extra close attention to Hartwell since 2008, the first time the Classic was held on this big impoundment of the Savannah River. That Classic was so well received that he was certain it would be back.

Ashley's contention is simply that fish are still fish.

"Any of these guys would tell you that you can't make the fish bite. If you're not in the right place or doing the right thing, it doesn't matter how much you know.

Andy Montgomery

Andy Montgomery, the other South Carolina pro in the field, has been able to fly a least a little under Blacksburg is a couple of hours away, and he considers Lake Wylie his home waters. Montgomery hasn't spent an enormous amount of time fishing Hartwell over the years, but he still knows the lake and South Carolina bass very well, and he believes he is well prepared for the competition, which begins tomorrow.
the radar. His hometown of

Ironically, Montgomery when to school at Clemson, which looks over Lake Hartwell, but he spent most of his play days fishing nearby Lake Keowee while he was in school. "Now I kind of wishh I'd spent more time fishing Lake Hartwell," he laughed.

Montgomery is thrilled about the opportunity to compete in the Classic on Lake Hartwell. He's also excited to help represent his home state of South Carolina.

Montgomery expects Hartwell to impress a lot of people, despite the doom and gloom talk related to the cold. He anticipates seeing a lot of big spotted bass and largemouths brought to the scales.

Ashley agrees. "Hartwell is a great lake, and it is the best it has been for a long time. It offers so much. You can fish deep in clear water or shallow in dirty water. I'm guessing there will be at least four completely different patterns in the top 10."

Classic Weather Coaster

B.A.S.S. photo by Seigo Saito.

Nothing brings on wacky weather quite like Bassmaster Classic week. After a winter with minimal cold weather and more than a few days in the 60s, this week suddenly turned cold in the area around Lake Hartwell. Competitors donned the layers during practice and tried to figure out how the fish would adjust as early daffodils got covered with snow. With an up-and-down forecast that features more downs than ups and an outlook that probably will change again in the next few days, that's a very good question. The forecast includes single-digit lows between now and Friday, when the competition begins, and a mix of rain and frozen precipitation.

Every angler faces the same conditions, but for Casey Ashley of Donalds, South Carolina and other anglers who feel like they understand the way Lake Hartwell's bass will react to tough conditions, a bad forecast is good news. Warm stable weather and active bass all over the banks sort of make it anyone's game and probably add a bigger element of chance. Tough conditions tend to favor local knowledge.

In another few days we'll all begin learning how the fish have moved and exactly which anglers have figured out those moves. Watch here for plenty of updates.

Packing, Tracking, Writing & More

Today was one of those sorts of days where I stayed moving all day and I know I accomplished a lot, but it seemed like my wheels were spinning some of the time. Nathaniel and I leave early tomorrow morning to drive 12 hours or so to Arkansas. I needed to do a mix of packing, getting stuff in order at home, writing what I could, running errands and more. Packing, of course, included gathering trout gear for the White River.

Meanwhile, I've been keeping an eye on the FLW Tour event going on at Lake Hartwell. I'd have loved to have ridden out to the weigh-in to visit with folks and watch it live, since the site is only an hour from home, but I just couldn't make it work time-wise. I did notice that Casey Ashley expanded his lead to 9 pounds with only one day remaining. I'm happy for him. I've only met him briefly, but he seems very well-liked and respected by everyone who knows him, and it's always fun to see someone local bring it together well on home waters.

Tomorrow we'll drive to Mountain Home, Arkansas, and on Monday morning, Nathaniel will fish Dry Run creek, his favorite special regulations stream, which I've talked about quite a bit in blogs over the years. Then we'll gather in the afternoon for a couple of days trout fishing at Gaston's White River Resort. It's an annual trip with a group of writer friends and one of our favorite adventures of the year.

Suppose I ought to sleep soon!

Tracking Hartwell With Asher

Asher endured some tough conditions yesterday, but had a big time tracking his first live tournament day with me. When we left home at 5:00 a.m., the truck thermometer said 36. The when we arrived at Clemson Marina, an hour later, it hadn't changed, and a swift breeze was blowing across the cold water pulling the wind chill down. Asher, 9, didn't complain. He was thankful for the opportunity to watch the FLW Tour pros launch and take-off for day 1 action on Lake Hartwell.

Asher also got to hear Casey Ashley sing the National Anthem (always a treat), and then later in the day watched Ashley bring 21 pounds 7 ounces to the scales to take the lead. Between the take-off and the weigh-in, we spent our morning running from one lake access to another, looking for pros out on the water. We spotted a handful (some nearer than others) and even got to watch Kellogg's Frosted Flakes pro Dave Lefebre swing one into the boat. Lefebre caught a good bag and sits in 19th, and it was extra fun for Asher to see Lefebre weigh his fish, and to look at his boat by the water and meet him a little later. Of course, Asher liked the big Tony the Tiger on Lefebre's boat and jersey.

If the take-off was cold, the weigh-in was colder. The actual temperature was about the same and the wind had subsided, but the rain had arrived and a cold rain fell steadily the whole time we were there. Asher had on plenty of layers, but the rain soaked through eventually, and I know he was pretty chilly by the time we got in the truck. Still, he held on until I suggested heading out, and I know he's glad that he did.

We'll have to track things from home this morning because of fish stories that need writing and other plans, but I know Asher's interest in and knowledge about pro bass fishing rose a big notch yesterday, and I'm glad we got to share a day of tracking the action.