With one day remaining, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk could not be much tighter, especially at the top of the standings.
Veteran Oklahoma pro Jason Christie and third-year Alabama pro Kyle Welcher moved into a tie for the lead during Saturday’s second round on Lake Hartwell, and only 7 pounds separate first place and 25th place as the anglers prepare for Championship Sunday.
Christie pushed his total to 36-7 by adding 19-6 on Saturday to the 17-1 he caught Friday. Welcher reached the mark by adding 17-10 to his Day 1 catch of 18-13.
After leading two previous Classics on the final day — only to fall just short of a victory — Christie joked that he was almost happy not having the lead to himself.
“That’s the best you can have if you feel like leading is bad luck,” he said, laughing. “All week, I’ve just felt like it’s my time. If it’s not, I don’t know when it is. I’m getting older and the fish are getting harder and these young guys are getting better.
“So, if this is not my time, I don’t know if it ever will be.”
The fishing, Christie said, was not as good as his 19-plus bag suggested. While he said he believes he’s on the right fish to win, the bites came few and far between.
“Right now, you feel like you could go out and get two bites more or two bites less and change your whole day,” he said. “Today, for me, if it had been two bites less, I would have weighed in somewhere between 13 or 14 pounds instead of 19.”
Utilizing Garmin LiveScope for offshore fishing, coupled with his vast knowledge of shallow-water tactics, Christie used two unnamed lures to catch bass from depths ranging from 6 inches to 30 feet. Unlike many of the anglers fishing this week’s event, he said he hasn’t been able to dial in a pattern around the lake’s massive number of boat docks.
“I don’t know if there are just not that many fish there or if I’m just not around them or what, but I just still haven’t gotten into the groove on the dock deal,” he said. “I keep trying. Today, I even fished new water — went to a creek I haven’t even been in — and didn’t catch anything.
“Tomorrow, I’ll just go run the stuff that’s been working and we’ll see.”
Christie will share the leader’s spot with Welcher — one of the up-and-coming young anglers he referenced.
A 29-year-old pro from Opelika, Ala., Welcher cut his teeth on Chattahoochee River fisheries like West Point Lake, Lake Harding and Lake Eufaula. He said Hartwell reminds him a lot of West Point with clear water, plenty of clay and sand, the same types of rocks and the same depths of water close to the bank.
“I’m doing exactly the same stuff here that I would be doing on West Point — it’s almost identical,” Welcher said. “Since I fish those kinds of areas a lot, I just kind of know where the largemouth get. There’s way more spotted bass in this lake than largemouth, and if you can find those places where the largemouth continuously get, your weight’s usually going to be a little higher.”
On Friday, Welcher weighed in four largemouth and one spot. His ratio was a little off Saturday — three spots and two largemouth — but his two largemouth weighed 5-12 and 4-12.
He’s hoping for five largemouth on Championship Sunday.
“Whatever bites, I want to catch,” he said. “But I would sure like to have another 17 pounds. I think it would give me a good chance. In a perfect world, I’ll weigh in five largemouth — five big ones.”
South Carolina pro Bryan New, who caught 20 pounds on Day 1 to take the early lead, slipped to third after catching only 13-7 Saturday. The bright sunshine from the opening round was replaced Saturday by heavy cloud cover for most of the day, and New believes that killed the dock pattern that was so good to him Friday.
“I knew it was gonna be a little tougher because of the clouds,” New said. “But I didn’t expect it to be as tough. It was literally nonexistent.”
In scramble mode, New picked up a spinning rod and used several baits — including a Zoom Zlinky — to catch just enough weight to stay in the hunt.
“The Zlinky saved me today,” he said. “I caught a 4-4 with 30 minutes to go and a 2-8 that culled a 1-14 on my very last cast. I ran in and had about a minute to go.
“The sun came out at the end of the day today, so that should already help the docks some. If it stays out, I think it could go right back like it was Friday.”
New is holding the lead for Rapala’s Monster Bag prize, which will pay $7,000 to the angler with the heaviest single-day bag during the Classic.
South Carolina pro Brandon Cobb, who was one of the favorites coming into the event, missed the Championship Sunday cut in 34th place. But he took the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the week with a 6-12 largemouth that now ranks as the biggest bass caught in any of the four Classics held on Hartwell.
The tournament concludes Sunday with the Top 25 anglers taking off at 7 a.m. ET from Green Pond Landing and Event Center. They will be competing for a $300,000 first-place prize, a portion of the $1 million total purse and the most coveted trophy in pro fishing.
Fans can catch all of the action with streaming coverage on Bassmaster.com. The Classic will also feature four hours of live Championship Sunday coverage on FS1 beginning at 8 a.m.
Sunday will mark the final day of the annual Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo presented by Marathon at the Greenville Convention Center. Exhibitors will be on-site from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. selling a variety of merchandise for fishing, hunting, camping and more.
The Bassmaster Classic is being hosted by Visit Anderson and VisitGreenvilleSC.
2022 Bassmaster Classic Title Sponsor: Academy Sports + Outdoors 2022 Bassmaster Classic Presenting Sponsor: Huk
2022 Bassmaster Classic Platinum Sponsor: Toyota 2022 Bassmaster Classic Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2022 Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo Presenting Sponsor: Marathon 2022 Bassmaster Classic Hosts: Visit Anderson, VisitGreenvilleSC
About B.A.S.S. B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 515,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series presented by Mossy Oak Fishing, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Abu Garcia Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Team Championship, Yamaha Rightwaters Bassmaster Kayak Series powered by TourneyX, Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk.
2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk 3/4-3/6 Lake Hartwell, Anderson SC.
(ANGLER) Standings Day 2
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Jason Christie Park Hill, OK 10 36-07 0 Day 1: 5 17-01 Day 2: 5 19-06
1. Kyle Welcher Opelika, AL 10 36-07 0 Day 1: 5 18-13 Day 2: 5 17-10
3. Bryan New Saluda, SC 10 33-07 0 Day 1: 5 20-00 Day 2: 5 13-07
4. Lee Livesay Longview, TX 10 33-06 0 Day 1: 5 16-14 Day 2: 5 16-08
5. Justin Hamner Northport, AL 10 33-02 0 Day 1: 5 16-08 Day 2: 5 16-10
6. Stetson Blaylock Benton, AR 10 32-12 0 Day 1: 5 17-05 Day 2: 5 15-07
7. David Mullins Mt Carmel, TN 10 32-09 0 Day 1: 5 15-13 Day 2: 5 16-12
8. Luke Palmer Coalgate, OK 10 32-06 0 Day 1: 5 15-00 Day 2: 5 17-06
9. Taku Ito Chiba JAPAN 10 31-13 0 Day 1: 5 13-06 Day 2: 5 18-07
10. Patrick Walters Summerville, SC 10 31-12 0 Day 1: 5 18-02 Day 2: 5 13-10
11. Hank Cherry Jr Lincolnton, NC 10 31-09 0 Day 1: 5 12-00 Day 2: 5 19-09
12. Joey Nania Cropwell, AL 10 31-09 0 Day 1: 5 16-10 Day 2: 5 14-15
13. Caleb Sumrall New Iberia, LA 10 31-00 0 Day 1: 5 14-11 Day 2: 5 16-05
14. Chris Johnston Otonabee Ontario CANADA 10 30-15 0 Day 1: 5 13-07 Day 2: 5 17-08 1
5. Scott Martin Clewiston, FL 10 30-13 0 Day 1: 5 15-09 Day 2: 5 15-04
16. Gerald Swindle Guntersville, AL 10 30-09 0 Day 1: 5 17-06 Day 2: 5 13-03
17. Taylor Smith Valleyford, WA 10 30-06 0 Day 1: 5 13-13 Day 2: 5 16-09
18. Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 10 30-02 0 Day 1: 5 18-09 Day 2: 5 11-09
19. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 10 30-01 0 Day 1: 5 18-09 Day 2: 5 11-08
20. Buddy Gross Chattanooga, TN 10 29-14 0 Day 1: 5 14-07 Day 2: 5 15-07
21. Matt Arey Shelby, NC 10 29-13 0 Day 1: 5 15-12 Day 2: 5 14-01
22. Wes Logan Springville, AL 10 29-13 0 Day 1: 5 14-03 Day 2: 5 15-10
23. Brandon Card Salisbury, NC 10 29-11 0 Day 1: 5 14-05 Day 2: 5 15-06
24. Brock Mosley Collinsville, MS 10 29-09 0 Day 1: 5 18-07 Day 2: 5 11-02
25. Nick LeBrun Bossier City, LA 10 29-07 0 Day 1: 5 13-12 Day 2: 5 15-11
26. Marc Frazier Newnan, GA 10 29-06 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 17-01 Day 2: 5 12-05
27. Cory Johnston Cavan CANADA 10 29-06 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 15-06 Day 2: 5 14-00
28. Bryan Schmitt Deale, MD 10 29-05 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 13-02 Day 2: 5 16-03
29. Hunter Shryock Ooltewah, TN 10 29-02 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 16-03 Day 2: 5 12-15
30. Chris Zaldain Fort Worth, TX 10 29-00 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 16-13 Day 2: 5 12-03
31. Daisuke Aoki Minamitsurugun Yamanash 10 28-12 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 15-01 Day 2: 5 13-11
32. Matt Herren Ashville, AL 9 28-11 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 4 09-00 Day 2: 5 19-11
33. Tyler Rivet Raceland, LA 10 28-10 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 09-08 Day 2: 5 19-02
34. Brandon Cobb Greenwood, SC 10 28-04 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 10-14 Day 2: 5 17-06
35. Tristan McCormick Burns, TN 10 27-14 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 14-01 Day 2: 5 13-13
36. Jacob Powroznik North Prince George, VA 10 27-10 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 11-04 Day 2: 5 16-06
37. Joshua Stracner Vandiver, AL 10 27-05 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 11-00 Day 2: 5 16-05
38. Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 10 27-03 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 13-15 Day 2: 5 13-04
39. Chad Pipkens Dewitt, MI 10 26-00 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 13-15 Day 2: 5 12-01
40. Austin Felix Eden Prairie, MN 10 25-15 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 16-01 Day 2: 5 09-14
41. Jeff Gustafson Keewatin Ontario CANADA 10 25-12 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 12-12 Day 2: 5 13-00
42. Jared Miller Norman, OK 8 25-05 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 16-11 Day 2: 3 08-10
43. Drew Benton Blakely, GA 10 25-04 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 11-12 Day 2: 5 13-08
44. John Cox Debary, FL 10 25-02 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 16-09 Day 2: 5 08-09
45. John Crews Jr Salem, VA 10 23-09 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 11-12 Day 2: 5 11-13
46. Matt Robertson Kuttawa, KY 10 23-06 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 13-07 Day 2: 5 09-15
47. Seth Feider New Market, MN 10 23-02 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 11-11 Day 2: 5 11-07
48. KJ Queen Catawba, NC 10 22-13 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 09-06 Day 2: 5 13-07
49. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 10 22-09 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 12-01 Day 2: 5 10-08
50. Shane LeHew Catawba, NC 10 22-07 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 11-01 Day 2: 5 11-06
51. Drew Cook Cairo, GA 10 22-04 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 10-14 Day 2: 5 11-06
52. Ray Hanselman Jr Del Rio, TX 8 20-00 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 3 07-07 Day 2: 5 12-09
53. Shane Powell Dothan, AL 10 19-07 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 12-14 Day 2: 5 06-09
54. Matty Wong Honolulu, HI 10 19-07 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 08-14 Day 2: 5 10-09
55. Keith Tuma Brainerd, MN 7 11-09 0 $10,000.00 Day 1: 2 04-04 Day 2: 5 07-05
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 52 269 775-01 2
2 54 273 768-10
106 542 1543-11
By: Emily Harley, B.A.S.S. Communications Manager, B.A.S.S. Communications
