FLW Tour Recap: Lake Hartwell

Kellogg’s team pro Dave Lefebre provides an inside look at the latest FLW Tour Open event in South Carolina

(Editor’s note: Veteran bass pro Dave Lefebre has agreed to take time to share his insights into each FLW Tour event of the 2012 season. After every event, Lefebre will give his thoughts on tournament strategy, winning techniques and other behind-the-scenes stories/information that is compelling to our readers. The following blog represents his second installment of the season. Lefebre ultimately finished the Lake Hartwell event in 11th place with a three-day total of 45 pounds, 8 ounces and walked away with $12,500 in winnings.)

We just wrapped up the first FLW Tour Major of 2012 on Lake Hartwell in South Carolina and it certainly lived up to its reputation. There were a ton of fish caught and the weights were up there, similar to last season when the Tour visited Anderson. My family and I love this part of the country in the springtime and are hoping, along with most of the other touring pros, that FLW will make this a common stop on our Tour. We are on our way home to Erie, Pa., sitting in a vacant parking lot with a blown out tire on the camper as I type this blog, lol. Only five more hours to go after being on the road for almost two months!

The great thing about Lake Hartwell is that it’s so huge and there are so many different ways to catch fish. There are both big spotted bass and big largemouths in Hartwell. You can basically find water that suits your style and you always have a good chance to catch a solid limit of fish. It’s just an awesome place – especially this time of year. Last year the water was high and in the bushes, but this year it was completely different with the water levels being about 7 feet lower. However, the fishing was still tremendous. (FLW freelance writer) Rob Newell joked that it was the dirt dobbers versus the clearwater guys this time around and I thought that was a good comparison.

You could label me as one of those dirt dobbers during this event. I was running way up the river in the muddiest water I could find. The coolest part of my tournament was that I never had a bite during practice in the areas I wound up catching all of my fish during the tournament. The rain before practice made the creeks and rivers way too muddy to get bit in, which I felt played right into my hands as the event got underway. I basically fished the same general area where I made the top 10 last year. I again had the bites over the three days to easily make the top-10 cut, but as many of the touring pros mentioned on stage, losing fish seemed to be a definite problem in this one. In my area I strongly think it was because the bass were beginning to spawn and were just swatting at the bait and not really wanting to feed. I wound up in 11th place, just 2 ounces from making it to the final day and I promise you, that is one of the worst feelings you could have in this sport.

Being versatile and keeping an open mind was extremely important to my success at Hartwell this year. My best baits were things I did not even have rigged on the first morning. A bright chartreuse Phoenix Vibrating Jig and a Kinami D-Shad turned out to be my two main weapons. My top baits were supposed to be a Terminator spinnerbait, a Rapala Fat-3, and a Sworming Hornet. And though I caught some fish on each during competition, oddly, none of my bigger fish were caught on them. On day one, after getting a quick limit in the clearer water, I went through my best muddy area with the spinnerbait without a bite. So I actually tied on the Phoenix jig, lost a 5-pounder on my third cast and then caught a 3 1/2-pounder two minutes later (this all happened on camera by the way). That gave me the confidence to keep throwing that bait,and I went on to catch all my better fish on it that day. Then on day two (in the clearer water) the fish wouldn’t bite the Sworming Hornet or several other offerings, so I dug out my D-Shad box and tied a weightless 4/0 hook. After 30 minutes of nothing, I immediately caught three big fish in a row on the D-Shad which all made the weigh-in stage. One day 3, the crankbait came back to life. Sometimes you just never know how things are going to play out and that is what I truly love about this game!

The clear water guys reigned supreme this week as Brent Ehrler notched his fourth FLW Tour level victory, an impressive feat. You can read about Brent’s pattern here on flwoutdoors.com, but he was obviously spending most of his time out in super deep clear water in the dam end of the lake. He was targeting spotted bass with a spinning rod. Todd Auten, Marty Stone, myself, and others where catching most of our fish (largemouth bass) in 3 feet of water or less around stumps, docks, rocks, and laydowns. Chatter-type baits, spinnerbaits, jigs, and shallow crankbaits were all king in these shallow water areas, while football jigs, drop shots, and shaky-head worms worked best out deep. Several guys I spoke to backstage, fishing both clear and muddy water, also employed some type of swimbait throughout the event, including myself. Docks were also important when the sun was out and the clear and muddier ones all seemed to hold fish.

Umbrella rigs, which I strongly oppose in pro tournaments, played for most of the top 10, but the event was not exclusively won with it – surprisingly. Anthony Gagliardi attributed that to the majority of the fish being on or close to the bottom instead of being suspended like they should be this time of year. With the water level being down and the amount of standing timber in the lake, this doesn’t make much sense, but that’s bass fishing I guess. Had the fish been suspended better, umbrella rigs would have dominated as I expect to happen at our next FLW Tour event on Table Rock Lake, Mo.

We always look forward to going to Branson and were disappointed when this event was cancelled due to flood conditions last year. This time around we are fortunate it was not cancelled again because of the recent tornadoes. But we’ve been told it’s a go and I can’t wait! We’ll talk to you again following that event. In the meantime, you can follow me on my Facebook fan page, or by downloading my new free app from the Adroid Market.

To read more about Dave’s life on the road, check out On Tour With Dave and Anne, sponsored by Chevy. Throughout the 2012 FLW Tour season, Dave and his wife, Anne will be keeping a detailed blog of their experiences while traveling the country in their Chevy Trucks.