IYAOYAS

I have heard it said in many well respected circles...

To listen to some folks you would think a lake looks like a wasteland after the elites "have their way" with it. Well me and the wife went down to the lake (Hartwell) yesterday to test that theory and tried our luck at hooking a few decent bass and that was just not the case. First i show up to the ramp and evidently it was media day for a bunch of elites. I saw Benton, Welcher, Pirch, Cook and New, Logan and others there hanging out doing new tackle ads. I even saw this one REALLY SHADY looking fellow walking around the ramp that I'm pretty sure was trying to kidnap Drew Benton. I think somebody said his name was Glenn(1st pic), anybody know this character? 😂Anyways I went to Andersonville island to see if I could get in on some of the post tournament action. Threw a Chad Shad around shallow trying to get them to show themselves but no luck so I pulled anchor and went up into the Tugaloo and started seeing some action. Pulled one buck bass off of a rockpile between some docks but it was still sparse. Went to one of my favorite long points that usually hold some fish. I like to throw a spybait and bring it down the point to see if there are feeding fish so I took my little Spro spin John 80 and drug it down the point. BAM! 2 pound spot. Casted again bam! another. Evidently there was a seriously large school of spotted bass decimating herring off that point I could see dead herring floating in the water and I caught spots until my arm was tired. I caught them from 2 pounds to 2 ounces probably about 40 or so by the time I was done. I meant to look for beds but after I gave them a walloping off that point I completely forgot about chasing sight fish. lol I knew it had to be a giant school because about every 4th or 5th cast I would hook one in the back or the tail(A testament to how sharp the hooks Spro uses on the spin John are). After the wife treated me to Steak and Shake for some yummy eats. Oh and if you see that shady guy from the first pic sneaking around YOUR boat dock go up and say hi. He assured me he doesn't bite!😁

Livesay Hamner Fothergill Milliken Kennedy I know Steve Kennedy is a gamble but I talked to him at Hartwell and I feel like he's about to get back on track at Fork.

Thou shouldest.

I like the Strike King rage structure bug for a warm water trailer. Usually once I start seeing bass up shallow and the water is above 55. During the winter I use a Zoom super chunk or jr. chunk as situation dictates.

My insurance uses towboatus for their rescue tows. I have mine through GEICO

The Neko rig is quickly becoming my favorite way to fish docks. Hartwell is my home lake. I would not recommend anybody trying to get back into fishing and figuring things out to start on Hartwell. The herring make Hartwell a unique place that can drive the most experienced anglers mad. If ever there was a place to run and gun in fishing it would be Hartwell. Also if your boat has a 9.9 or smaller or you have a kayak then I suggest trying out Robinson or Cunningham in Greer. I've caught some huge bass out of both although Cunningham is alot smaller than Robinson it produces good fish just the same. It has just about every type of cover you could ask for and is a great place to reacquaint yourself with fishing different types of structure.

46 U.S. Code § 2304 - Duty to provide assistance at sea (a) (1) A master or individual in charge of a vessel shall render assistance to any individual found at sea in danger of being lost, so far as the master or individual in charge can do so without serious danger to the master’s or individual’s vessel or individuals on board. (2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a vessel of war or a vessel owned by the United States Government appropriated only to a public service. (b) A master or individual violating this section shall be fined not more than $1,000, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both. I don't think this applies to inland bodies of water but I don't see any reason why they should be treated any differently. I try to render aid to anyone I see that needs it because that is what I would hope someone would do for me if I were in need of assistance.

Met Brandon Cobb at the event yesterday and I wanted so bad to tell him he screwed me over on my fantasy team and I was never going to pick him again but I sucked it up and took a pic with him when he asked for my autograph anyways!

Got to meet alot of the elites yesterday and the wife and I had a great time! I have alot more pics but these were my favorites to share. Also I would like to thank Ben Milliken for letting me interrupt his getting dinner for him and his kid. I apologized for bothering him during mealtime and he took the time for an autograph and pic anyway thanking me for being a fan.

Rumor has it if he hadn't had to come weigh in he would still be there trying to catch that 5 pounder...

I spent 4 years in a wheelchair due to a broken back from when I was in the service. Some days the pain is so severe I can't get out of bed and some days I feel fairly ok. Even on my best day pain is still something I deal with it's just a matter of how much.

An ultravibe speed worm is one of my absolute favorites for dragging through cover. I use it on everything from weightless on top of grass mats to TX rigged with a tungsten weight dragging through laydowns.

Problem solved. I moved the reel to a medium moderate rod and it was night and day. Plus I was using too much muscle because the rod wasn't loading with that light little bait(Just like somebody mentioned above). Now that I've got the kinks worked out this Revo PRM is SOOOOO SMOOTH! I did however go with a bit longer rod to give me a little extra oomph on the cast. Thanks to everybody for their input. This may be one of my favorite reels from here on!

Gonna head down with the wife here in a few and check out the expo and watch the weigh in. Wife wants to talk trolling motors with a few reps since we are getting ready to upgrade soon. I love my wife! She is a keeper for sure. Especially since her philosphy is that if I'm going to be on the water I should have the best tools and equipment I need to be successful! Jokes on her though. Successful is relative. She calls a 30 pound bag successful I call a boat full of 9 inchers successful! LOL

I used to drive a tow truck and I grew up on a farm. I've backed many a trailer in my life and sometimes I get serious brain/body disconnect and can't back up to save my life.

A black and white one...😂

Agree to disagree I guess. I've been using it for years and never had any issues on any other reel.🤷‍♂️

Good job Papa! keep up the great work!

Zoom magnum baits are what I keep on hand.

I only use mono on topwaters. 12 pound Sunline sniper lays very well and has low memory. Just not a big fan of mono for any other application except crappie or catfishing.

Gonna swap out the rod since I'm kind of a goober an didn't realize it was a medium heavy. lol I usually use medium moderate for all my light crankbaits. I have a 13 fishing Black 7'1 med/moderate that will fit it nicely. Gonna put that Native rod on my large cranking setup that handles DT 16s and 20s for regular duty. I'll confess I'm not the most well versed person in rod selection sometimes.

My all time favorite bait to fish is a ned rig. I can catch fish swimming it, dragging it, hopping it, cover, no cover. I feel like if I can find them I can catch them on a ned. Of all the ned baits out there for me there are two that I prefer over eveything else. The Bassreaper tap that and the Crush city Ned BLT.

Magnum baits do better for me in dirtier water. Hartwell is very clear most of the time so I rarely get to use magnum baits. For me I'm most usually going in a more finesse direction and downsizing.

I like the fact that a flipping hook is alot more beefier than your typical worm hook. I also tuck the exposed hook back into the plastic. I use flipping hooks exclusively for flipping bushes and laydown and reserve my worm and ewg hooks for rock and more sparse cover. Haven't had many issues so far.