Lake Hartwell served up a combo of spotted bass and largemouth on the latest stop of Major League Fishing’s Bass Pro Tour.
As these pro anglers descended upon the popular reservoir on the Georgia/South Carolina line, we saw them utilize a wide variety of tactics and techniques to catch them. But overall, the pattern was pretty consistent… scope in the morning, maybe some crankin’ after that, and a Chatterbait bite in the late period. We saw minnow shakin’, Chatterbaits, crankbaits, jerkbaits, lipless crankbaits and more play, as many anglers broke out the shallow, dirty water largemouth power fishing techniques… a rather unusual sight for Lake Hartwell where spotted bass usually dominate
So let’s look at the top 10 baits from the winning anglers on Lake Hartwell:.
10. Justin Cooper — 13-12 (5 bass)
XPS Rock’n Shad, XPS ChatterBomb
Justin followed the most popular pattern of the tournament, as you’ll see here shortly…. He used forward facing sonar in the early morning, fishing a minnow in deeper water. And then later in the day, Cooper picked up a white XPS ChatterBomb vibrating jig with a Bass Pro Shops Super Shad trailer and ran to the very backs of creek pockets, where fish were set up on docks in that dirty, warmer water.
Key baits: 4-inch XPS Rock’n Shad on 1/4-oz tungsten head; white XPS ChatterBomb vibrating jig with Bass Pro Shops Super Shad trailer
9. Ott DeFoe — 14-7 (6 bass)
Rapala DT6& DT4, XPS ChatterBomb, Rapala PXR Mavrik 110
It’s no secret that Ott DeFoe is one of the best shallow crankbait masters in bass fishing, and Hartwell set up perfectly to play into his strengths. DeFoe had a monster Day 1, catching 19 bass for 52 pounds to take the early lead. He threw a Rapala DT6 and a XPS ChatterBomb vibrating jig, but had to pivot in the later rounds. Later in the tournament, he caught fish on a Rapala PXR Mavrik 110 jerkbait, a small swimbait, and a Rapala DT4.
Key baits: Rapala DT6 and DT4 in dark brown crawdad; 3/8-oz white XPS ChatterBomb with XPS Speed Shad; Rapala PXR Mavrik 110 jerkbait
Shop the Rapala PXR Mavrik Jerkbait at Tackle Warehouse
8. Jacob Wheeler — 14-14 (6 bass)
Rapala CrushCity Mooch Minnow, Rapala DT8, CrushCity Bronco Bug
Defending champ, Jacob Wheeler, followed a similar pattern to most anglers, opting for LiveScope in the early morning, and then a combo of crankbaits and Chatterbaits in the later periods. For the deep bass sitting in 30 to 50 feet, he used his signature Rapala CrushCity Mooch Minnow in electric shad. After that, the pattern was speed crankin’ clear water in the late morning, and then shallow, dirty water Chatterbaitin’ in the afternoon. He also caught a few pitching a CrushCity Bronco Bug, one of my personal favorites, into heavier cover.
Key baits: Rapala CrushCity Mooch Minnow in electric shad on 1/8- to 1/2-oz VMC Redline Tungsten jigheads; Rapala DT8 in dark brown crawdad and mule; 1/2-oz Jackhammer in spot remover with CrushCity Freeloader; CrushCity Bronco Bug
Shop the Crush City Mooch Minnow at Tackle Warehouse
7. Jesse Wiggins — 19-6 (5 bass)
Jackall MC60 MR, Rapala DT6, Chatterbait
Like many others, Jesse fished crankbaits on main-lake points in the middle section of the lake, and then as the tournament went on, he picked up a ChatterBait with a Jackall Rhythm Wave trailer to hammer shallow docks in 2 to 5 feet of dirty water.
Key baits: Jackall MC60 MR crankbait; Rapala DT6; green pumpkin shad ChatterBait with Jackall Rhythm Wave trailer in prism shad
Shop the Jackall MC60 MR at Tackle Warehouse
6. Spencer Shuffield — 22-6 (9 bass)
Z-Man Jerk ShadZ, Yo-Zuri Rattl’n Vibe
Spencer Shuffield put together the biggest bag of the knockout round, and he did it by pairing up a morning LiveScope bite with an afternoon lipless crankbait bite. He targeted main-lake drains in the morning, and fished the lipless across across points with rock and clay later in the day.
Key baits: 3-inch Z-Man Jerk ShadZ in Tennessee shad and electric shad on 1/8-oz ball head; 5/8-oz Yo-Zuri Rattl’n Vibe in red crawfish
Shop the Yo-Zuri Rattl’n Vibe at Tackle Warehouse
5. Jacob Wall — 23-15 (9 bass)
Rapala Jigging Rap, Keitech Swing Impact FAT
Jacob Wall started out fishing deep… really deep (35-55 ft)… in the mornings, where he used a jig and minnow, as well as a heavy Jigging Rap, to catch fish gathered near the bottom. After the FFS period, he used a combo of Carolina rig and paddle tail to get fish to come up and bite.
Key baits: 4-inch minnow on 1/2-oz tungsten jighead; 5/8-oz Rapala Jigging Rap (modified with #6 EWG treble); 3.8-inch Keitech Swing Impact FAT on 1/4-oz Dirty Jigs Guppy Head; Carolina rig with Zoom Z-Craw Jr. in green pumpkin
Shop the Keitech Swing Impact Fat at Tackle Warehouse
4. Banks Shaw — 27-9 (10 bass)
Rapala CrushCity Mooch Minnow, Rapala DT6
Shaw started every single day with forward-facing sonar, shakin’ a minnow around ditches and flatter points. Later int he day, he picked up a crankbait to cover as much water as possible.
Key baits: 3.5-inch Rapala CrushCity Mooch Minnow in green shad on 3/16-oz VMC Redline Tungsten jighead; Rapala DT6 in hot mustard
Shop the Rapala DT 6 at Tackle Warehouse
3. Matt Becker — 29-4 (11 bass)
Yamamoto Hinge Minnow and Ned Senko, Bill Lewis Hammer Flat
Matt Becker focused on the morning LiveScope bite with a 3.5-inch Yamamoto Hinge Minnow in green gizzard on a 3/16-ounce jighead. After that, Becker utilized the one-two punch of a crankbait and a Ned rig depending on how the wind stacked up. Windy conditions got the crank, calm conditions got the Ned.
Key baits: 3.5-inch Yamamoto Hinge Minnow in green gizzard on 3/16-oz jighead; Bill Lewis Hammer Flat in shad patterns; Yamamoto Ned Senko in green pumpkin magic on 3/16-oz Ned jighead
Shop the Yamamoto Hinge Minnow at Tackle Warehouse
2. Jacob Walker — 33-12 (12 bass)
Deps Sakamata Shad, Megabass S-Crank
Like many anglers, Walker’s mornings belonged to forward-facing sonar and a featherlight LiveScope presentation: 3- and 4-inch Deps Sakamata Shads on a 3/64-ounce Owner Range Roller jighead. He followed it up with a shallow water approach to the backs of the creeks with a chartreuse and black Megabass S-Crank 1.5 squarebill and a rotation of vibrating jigs.
Key baits: 3- and 4-inch Deps Sakamata Shad on 3/64-oz Owner Range Roller jighead (5-inch on 1/4-oz head); Megabass S-Crank 1.5 in chartreuse and black; 3/8-oz Z-Man JackHammer; Raid Japan MAXXBLADE
Shop the Deps Sakamata Shad at Tackle Warehouse
1. Takahiro Omori — 36-6 (12 bass)
Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait JackHammer
Believe it or not, Takahiro Omori never turned on his forward-facing sonar. Not once during the entire tournament. In an era where LiveScope dominates the tactical conversation on the Bass Pro Tour, the Japanese legend chose to ignore it completely — and won his first Bass Pro Tour event by doing exactly what he’s always done: fishing shallow, casting to visible targets and trusting his instincts. Omori threw a 3/8-ounce ChatterBait Jack Hammer with a 5-inch Z-Man Diesel MinnowZ trailer at everything in front of him. Docks. Rocks. Laydowns… just covering every ounce of shallow water he could.
Key bait: 3/8-oz Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer in chartreuse and white with 5-inch Z-Man Diesel MinnowZ in pearl or hot chartreuse
Shop the Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer at Tackle Warehouse
*This post contains links through the Tackle Warehouse Affiliate Program. While all products are independently selected by our expert Riff Outdoors team, if you use these links to make a purchase, we may earn a commission.
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