Hartwell Tournament Practice

Well I finally have a plan for where I am going tomorrow. I have decided to go to Hartwell and see if I can find any fish shallow in the backs of creeks. The lake has been up all year with all the rain and with the warmer temps of late there is chance there will be some shallow fish in the backs in dingy water on wood or rock. Andy Greene of Anglers Choice has a CATT tournament there Saturday and needs a fill-in partner. If he is able to work things out to go, I plan to fish with him so tomorrow will be a practice day. Going to concentrate almost totally on flipping a jig (with a bent hook so I don't catch one we might need Saturday) in shallow cover. I will be using the jig I started making in the late 80s and have had so much success with over the years. I believe the bulky profile of the square rubber makes a big difference in colder water. A big meal moved slowly should appeal to a lethargic bass in colder water. I will report back tomorrow night on how the day went.

I am also looking forward to seeing how my boat does in skinny water. I have fished these backs for years and know where my 461 would go based on water level. Tomorrow is a big test for my boat from my perspective. It is really important for my style of fishing that I am able to get the boat into  the areas I plan to fish tomorrow. I am also very curious to see how the Ultrex does in the shallow water. One trick I have used for years with a Motorguide was to pull up the motor about half way and  place a small piece of wood on the bracket and then let the motor back down on top of the wood. This keeps me from going too fast (and making too much noise) because the motor will come up off the wood. I am looking forward to seeing how the Ultrex works with this trick.