Bass Schooling On Lake Hartwell For Carolinas Bass Challenge Sc Division Championship
By the time the weigh-in is completed and prizes have been awarded in the Carolinas Bass Challenge South Carolina Division Championship on Lake Hartwell Saturday anglers will have earned well over $250,000 in the S.C. Division this year, said Brett Collins, tournament director.
With $8,000 guaranteed for first place, the average total payback at each S.C. qualifier was well over $39,000. First place averaged over $10,000 at each event, he said.
And that will not be the end of potential earnings for S.C. Division anglers this year, he added.
The full field at Lake Hartwell will qualify for the 2013 CBC Classic on Oct. 26-27 at Lake Murray, along with the teams that qualified for the North Carolina Division Championship Sept. 21 at Lake Wylie.
“First place at the CBC Classic on Lake Murray will take home a 2013 Skeeter ZX200/200YamahaSHO valued at $50,000,” said Collins. “With the teams from the North Carolina Division, we are going to have well over 200 teams for the CBC Championship at Lake Murray.”
At Lake Wylie last weekend, 126 teams competed for more than $60,000 in cash and prizes, he noted.
“Chris Wagner and Chase Deal had a special day on Lake Wylie bringing in five bass weighing 15.20 pounds, anchored by a nice 5.33 bass, to win first place which was a 2014 Skeeter TZX190/Yamaha 175 HPDI.”
They also were the Skeeter Bonus winners, taking home an additional $5,000, plus another $1,000 they earned under the Skeeter Real Money Program.
First place at Lake Hartwell will also be a 2014 Skeeter TZX190/Yamaha 175 HPDI boat package valued at more than $30,000, Collins said.
“Fishing has been picking up at Lake Hartwell, with bass starting to school. The trick is to find the schools with the largemouth bass. Spotted bass will help, but the team with some hefty largemouths will take the boat home,” Collins said.
“Flukes, Spooks and Pencil Poppers will all work on the schools. I look for 17 to 19 pounds to take first place – and there will be a lot of limits weighed in.”
Collins said Dwight and Bradford Beavers earned $1,000 as the South Carolina Division points champions, despite only one top 10 finish all season. They were 31st at Lake Murray Feb. 9, moved up to 11th at Lake Wylie March 2, then went down to 23rd at Santee Cooper March 10 and 32nd at Lake Wateree April 13. But they scored a 3rd place finish at Clarks Hill May 4 to end the season and grab the points title.
Ronnie Mueller and Wayne Frierson finished second and won $500 while Clay and Clayton Lowder earned $250 for third place in the points.
“South Carolina was our largest division, with over 380 teams fishing at least one S.C. event this past spring and we averaged 168 boats per qualifier,” Collins said. “Next year looks great for the CBC in South Carolina and we are attracting a lot of Georgia anglers to the division.”
Carolinas Bass Challenge – South Carolina Division Final
Sat, Sep 21, 2013
Lake Hartwell
Call Brett Collins 803-413-7521
www.carolinasbasschallenge.com
