ANDERSON, S.C. – The six anglers who’ve advanced to the Bassmaster Classic Fish-Off taking place Friday and Saturday on Lake Hartwell have quite a bit in common.
Chief among their similarities is that five of the six live in the immediate area and their knowledge of this fabled fishery can’t be underscored enough in their rise above the cut, from 500 anglers to six.
Hometown anglers Collin Smith and Brady Kimbrell won the Team Championship portion of this event with a two-day total of 30 pounds, 13 ounces. Tyler Campbell and Joe Mitchell live 30 minutes away in Martin, Ga., which is just across Lake Hartwell from Green Pond Landing and Events Center where the week’s weigh-ins are being held. They finished second in team standings with 30-4 over two days.
Jeremy Strong and Chris Nelson teamed to finish third with 29-15. Strong is from Elberton, Ga., about 40 minutes from Anderson. Nelson is the outlier here, but not much of one, as Social Circle, Ga. is only two hours from the action this week.
The top tandems have already had a field day at Hartwell, with Smith and Kimbrell splitting a $25,000 cash prize for winning the team tournament. Campbell and Mitchell collected $8,500 each for finishing second, while Nelson and Strong each won $6,000 with their third-place win.
That’s ancient history now, though. The weights have been zeroed and the six anglers will fish individually in the Bassmaster Classic Fish-Off. The one with the highest two-day total in the fish-off will earn the final berth into the 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic when it’s held March 24-26 on the Tennessee River in Knoxville.
But first things first as the remaining six anglers will have to master Hartwell once more to reach Classic heights.
Let’s take a closer look at each of the Bassmaster Classic Fish-Off competitors.
Age: 27
Hometown: Anderson, S.C.
BASS Trail: 5 Alive Sunday Series
Occupation: Grounds foreman for Anderson County, S.C.
Heaviest bass ever caught: Between 8 and 9 pounds.
Favorite fishing style: Hard to pick a favorite because I like to be flexible, but I like fishing deep timber. I also love to run the banks.
Projected winning weight: 27 ½ pounds.
He said it: “No matter what happens, (Brady and I) will be best friends and we won’t let fishing get in the way of our friendship. Even if we want to pull up on the same place and bump boats, I’m OK with that because of how good a friend he is.”
Age: 34
Hometown: Anderson, S.C.
BASS Trail: 5 Alive Sunday Series
Occupation: Machinist in medical industry
Heaviest bass ever caught: 8 pounds
Favorite fishing style: I like running the banks with a frog.
Projected winning weight: 26 to 27 pounds.
He said it: “Collin’s been bass fishing his whole life, but I didn’t start bass fishing until I met my wife. Her whole family fishes and got to fishing tournaments with her grandpa and her uncle out here in 2014.”
Age: 21
Hometown: Martin, Ga.
BASS Trail: 5 Alive Team Trail
Occupation: Student at Emmanual College in Franklin Springs, Ga. Studying marketing and business administration. Member of school bass fishing team.
Heaviest bass ever caught: “The biggest ever was a 10-8, out of Joe’s pond. I caught a 6.92 in a tournament here on Hartwell about a month ago.”
Favorite fishing style: Shallow power fishing.
Projected winning weight: 28 pounds
He said it: “Winning this would be a dream come true. It would be a footstep through the door of making a long career out of this. I want to graduate college and go to the Opens.”
Age: 21
Hometown: Martin, Ga.
BASS Trail: 5 Alive Team Trail
Occupation: Chicken farming
Heaviest bass ever caught: “I caught one a little over 9 pounds.”
Favorite fishing style: Shallow fishing is where it’s at. It’s what I like to do.
Projected winning weight: 28-29 pounds
He said it: “I’d love to make a career out of this, but I had to put it on hold for a bit because of life. But hey, if it happens, I’ll take off with it. Winning the fish-off would be a great way to kick start it all.”
Age: 45
Hometown: Social Circle, Ga.
BASS Trail: Palmetto Boat Center Team Trail
Occupation: Works for Georgia Department of Natural Resources,
Heaviest bass ever caught: “I caught an 11-pounder in a small lake in Georgia, Lake Varner.”
Favorite fishing style: I like to fish shallow with spinners or a chatterbait.
Projected winning weight: 29 pounds.
He said it: “I won’t say I’ll go crazy if I win this thing, because that’s not really my style. But let’s say I’ll be extremely happy if I can pull it out.”
Age: 36
Hometown: Elberton, Ga.
BASS Trail: Palmetto Boat Center Team Trail
Occupation: Makes granite monuments
Heaviest bass ever caught: “I caught a 10-2 at Clark’s Hill, not far from here.”
Favorite fishing style: “I like to ‘power-finesse’ fish”.
Projected winning weight: 31 pounds.
He said it: “This is unreal, just keeping the dream alive. I’ve always wanted a chance to fish in the Classic. Now I’ve got a 1-in-6 chance of doing that.”