How the FLW Tournament Pros Fished Lake Hartwell

Fisherman are generally very secretive about their fishing, but professional anglers do no mind telling you what, where, and how they caught their fish, but after the tournament is over. Now that the FLW Tour on Lake Hartwell is over, the winners from across country share the different patterns and techniques that they used.

Jason Christie, who won the FLW Tournament, found several areas that fit his style of fishing; especially in the backs of the creeks that contained what he called “Oklahoma water.” The best water that he found in practice was located in Beaver Creek where the largemouths were staging and spawning. Christie knew that there would be “some prespawn fish, some fish that are spawning and maybe some postspawn fish.”

Christie's main lure last week was a 1/2-ounce Booyah spinnerbait (white and chartreuse) with a single gold Colorado blade. He also caught several keepers by sight-fishing with a Yum F2 Mighty Bug. Christie tied these baits to 25-pound Silver Thread fluorocarbon. With a four-day total of 70.11 pounds, Christie must have liked what he saw and made it work for him..

Second place finisher, Brent Ehrler from Redlands, California, fished different patterns and different water each day of the tournament. Ehrler preferred the clearer water and his key areas were the three major creeks near the dam. Ehrler sight-fished and made casts to bass suspended under docks by skipping a weightless wacky-rigged Senko, a Yamamoto Kut Tail worm, shaky head/Kut Tail worm, or a Swimming Senko. He would mix it up with a jerkbait.

Now that the tournament is over, these patterns and techniques that worked for the pros can be revealed. It is just like South Carolina FLW Pro Todd Auten said, “Find the area that your style of fishing fits, but sometimes you have to adapt to the lake. In finding fish, you have to give a a different presentation; the fish may hit on one lure but not on another.”

South Carolina Sportsman Field Reporter
Capt. Glenn “Teach” Corley
captain@captteach.com