ANDERSON, S.C. — When Brandon Cobb realized the bass might be spawning for this week’s Bassmaster Elite at Lake Hartwell, he grimaced just a little bit.

Cobb is a South Carolina native who grew up fishing Hartwell, and he knows things about the lake that others don’t. He was afraid the spring spawn would bring the bass into clear view for the entire field, neutralizing his home-field advantage.

Turns out, they are spawning.

But so far, his advantage seems to be intact.

Cobb brought five bass to the scales today that weighed 19 pounds, 9 ounces and took the Day 1 lead at the third Elite Series event of the season. He has a 2-pound advantage over North Carolina pro Hank Cherry and Georgia pro Micah Frazier, who each caught 17-9.

“There are a lot of fish on bed out here right now,” Cobb said. “But I know what this lake looks like when there’s an all-out spawn going on, and it’s just not happening.

“There have been some fish caught on beds, and there will be some more caught off the beds. But judging from today and from what I saw in practice, the spawn is not in full swing.”

Cobb said he caught a couple of bass on spawning nests himself today, but he also caught prespawn and postspawn fish.

His experience on the lake played a big role in his first-round success — just as he’d hoped it would.

“I didn’t really have a specific pattern today,” said Cobb, a former member of the Clemson University bass fishing team who holds a degree in wildlife and fisheries biology. “I basically just ran a lot of stuff where I’ve caught them in the past. Since practice was so bad, I just fished a lot of stuff I was familiar with.”

Just as Cobb wouldn’t offer specific details about how he caught his bass, Cherry was vague about how he ended up in second place. The seventh-year Elite Series pro weighed in four solid largemouth and one impressive shoal bass that weighed just over 3 pounds.

“I sight fished a little bit,” Cherry said. “I threw a wacky worm around a little bit. Then I did some damage later on in the day, doing what I do best.”

He wouldn’t elaborate on his final point, but he was obviously pleased with his results.

“That shoal bass was one of the biggest ones I’ve ever caught,” Cherry said. “I caught three of those today. It was just a good day all the way around.”

After what he described as “terrible practice,” Frazier said he tried some new areas today and found what he believed to be prespawn bass. He used the popular term “junk fishing” to describe the conglomeration of tactics he used.

“I caught some sight fishing, some on topwater and one or two on a dock,” Frazier said. “It was just ‘Junk Fishing 101,’ but that’s what you do here sometimes because there are a lot of ways to catch them on this lake.”

The tournament could take an interesting turn during Friday’s second round with a strong band of storms expected to hit the Lake Hartwell area around sunrise. Winds and heavy rains could make it nearly impossible for anglers to fish for the few bass that are spawning in shallow water.

A steadily falling lake level could take the spawning element even further out of the equation.

“The weather is not going to let us do any sight fishing tomorrow, and I kind of threw that out the window today already,” said North Carolina pro Matt Arey, who placed fourth with 16-15. “We’ll just change it up tomorrow. I was slow and methodical today, and I’ll probably pick up a few more moving baits tomorrow.”

Mississippi pro Brock Mosley took the early lead for the Phoenix Boats Big Bass award with a largemouth that weighed 5-9.

The tournament will resume Friday with takeoff at 7 a.m. ET from Green Pond Landing and Event Center and weigh-in back at the same site at 3:15 p.m. Only the Top 35 anglers will advance after Friday’s round.

                      2019 Bassmaster Elite at Lake Hartwell 4/4-4/7
                             Lake Hartwell, Anderson  SC.
                            (PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 1

   Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$

1.  Brandon Cobb           Greenwood, SC            5  19-09  100
  Day 1: 5   19-09
2.  Hank Cherry Jr         Lincolnton, NC           5  17-09   99
  Day 1: 5   17-09
2.  Micah Frazier          Newnan, GA               5  17-09   99
  Day 1: 5   17-09
4.  Matt Arey              Shelby, NC               5  16-15   97
  Day 1: 5   16-15
5.  Scott Canterbury       Odenville, AL            5  16-14   96
  Day 1: 5   16-14
6.  Todd Auten             Lake Wylie, SC           5  16-13   95
  Day 1: 5   16-13
7.  John Crews Jr          Salem, VA                5  16-09   94
  Day 1: 5   16-09
8.  Bill Lowen             Brookville, IN           5  16-00   93
  Day 1: 5   16-00
9.  Brad Whatley           Bivins, TX               5  15-14   92
  Day 1: 5   15-14
10. Matt Herren            Ashville, AL             5  15-10   91
  Day 1: 5   15-10
11. Jason Williamson       Wagener, SC              5  15-07   90
  Day 1: 5   15-07
12. Brock Mosley           Collinsville, MS         5  15-06   89
  Day 1: 5   15-06
13. Clifford Pirch         Payson, AZ               5  15-05   88
  Day 1: 5   15-05
13. Tyler Rivet            Raceland, LA             5  15-05   88
  Day 1: 5   15-05
15. Jeff Gustafson         Keewatin Ontario CANADA  5  15-04   86
  Day 1: 5   15-04
15. Garrett Paquette       Canton, MI               5  15-04   86
  Day 1: 5   15-04
17. Cory Johnston          Cavan CANADA             5  15-00   84
  Day 1: 5   15-00
18. Patrick Walters        Summerville, SC          5  14-15   83
  Day 1: 5   14-15
19. Clark Wendlandt        Leander, TX              5  14-12   82
  Day 1: 5   14-12
20. Shane LeHew            Catawba, NC              5  14-10   81
  Day 1: 5   14-10
20. Chad Pipkens           Lansing, MI              5  14-10   81
  Day 1: 5   14-10
22. Drew Benton            Panama City, FL          5  14-09   79
  Day 1: 5   14-09
23. Harvey Horne           Bella Vista, AR          5  14-08   78
  Day 1: 5   14-08
24. Brandon Lester         Fayetteville, TN         5  14-06   77
  Day 1: 5   14-06
25. Drew Cook              Midway, FL               5  14-04   76
  Day 1: 5   14-04
26. Skylar Hamilton        Dandridge, TN            5  14-03   75
  Day 1: 5   14-03
27. Chris Johnston         Peterborough Ontario CA  5  14-02   74
  Day 1: 5   14-02
28. Jake Whitaker          Fairview, NC             5  14-01   73
  Day 1: 5   14-01
29. Gary Clouse            Winchester, TN           5  14-00   72
  Day 1: 5   14-00
29. Chris Zaldain          Laughlin, NV             5  14-00   72
  Day 1: 5   14-00
31. Jamie Hartman          Newport, NY              5  13-15   70
  Day 1: 5   13-15
32. Tyler Carriere         Youngsville, LA          5  13-11   69
  Day 1: 5   13-11
33. Stetson Blaylock       Benton, AR               5  13-10   68
  Day 1: 5   13-10
34. Steve Kennedy          Auburn, AL               5  13-08   67
  Day 1: 5   13-08
35. Jesse Tacoronte        Kissimmee, FL            5  13-07   66
  Day 1: 5   13-07
36. Clent Davis            Montevallo, AL           5  13-04   65
  Day 1: 5   13-04
36. Seth Feider            New Market, MN           5  13-04   65
  Day 1: 5   13-04
38. Keith Combs            Huntington, TX           5  13-03   63
  Day 1: 5   13-03
38. Bernie Schultz         Gainesville, FL          5  13-03   63
  Day 1: 5   13-03
40. Koby Kreiger           Alva, FL                 5  13-01   61
  Day 1: 5   13-01
40. Mark Menendez          Paducah, KY              5  13-01   61
  Day 1: 5   13-01
40. Jay Yelas              Lincoln City, OR         5  13-01   61
  Day 1: 5   13-01
43. Rick Clunn             Ava, MO                  5  12-13   58
  Day 1: 5   12-13
44. Caleb Sumrall          New Iberia, LA           5  12-11   57
  Day 1: 5   12-11
45. Yusuke Miyazaki        Forney, TX               5  12-08   56
  Day 1: 5   12-08
45. Randy Pierson          Oakdale, CA              5  12-08   56
  Day 1: 5   12-08
47. Brian Snowden          Reeds Spring, MO         5  12-07   54
  Day 1: 5   12-07
48. Paul Mueller           Naugatuck, CT            5  12-06   53
  Day 1: 5   12-06
49. Luke Palmer            Coalgate, OK             5  12-05   52
  Day 1: 5   12-05
50. Ed Loughran III        Richmond, VA             5  12-00   51
  Day 1: 5   12-00
50. Hunter Shryock         Newcomerstown, OH        5  12-00   51
  Day 1: 5   12-00
52. Mike Huff              Corbin, KY               5  11-13   49
  Day 1: 5   11-13
53. Chris Groh             Spring Grove, IL         5  11-11   48
  Day 1: 5   11-11
54. Rob Digh               Denver, NC               5  11-07   47
  Day 1: 5   11-07
55. Brett Preuett          Monroe, LA               5  11-04   46
  Day 1: 5   11-04
56. Robbie Latuso          Gonzales, LA             5  11-03   45
  Day 1: 5   11-03
57. Quentin Cappo          Prairieville, LA         5  11-02   44
  Day 1: 5   11-02
57. Brandon Card           Knoxville, TN            5  11-02   44
  Day 1: 5   11-02
57. Lee Livesay            Gladewater, TX           5  11-02   44
  Day 1: 5   11-02
60. Cliff Prince           Palatka, FL              5  11-00   41
  Day 1: 5   11-00
61. Randy Sullivan         Breckenridge, TX         5  10-14   40
  Day 1: 5   10-14
62. Frank Talley           Temple, TX               5  10-13   39
  Day 1: 5   10-13
63. Kyle Monti             Okeechobee, FL           5  10-12   38
  Day 1: 5   10-12
64. Kelley Jaye            Dadeville, AL            5  10-09   37
  Day 1: 5   10-09
65. Chad Morgenthaler      Reeds Spring, MO         5  10-06   36
  Day 1: 5   10-06
66. Ray Hanselman Jr       Del Rio, TX              5  10-03   35
  Day 1: 5   10-03
67. Shane Lineberger       Lincolnton, NC           5  10-02   34
  Day 1: 5   10-02
68. David Fritts           Lexington, NC            5  10-00   33
  Day 1: 5   10-00
69. Rick Morris            Lake Gaston, VA          5  09-12   32
  Day 1: 5   09-12
70. David Mullins          Mt Carmel, TN            5  09-08   31
  Day 1: 5   09-08
71. Bill Weidler           Helena, AL               5  09-05   30
  Day 1: 5   09-05
72. Greg DiPalma           Millville, NJ            5  08-03   29
  Day 1: 5   08-03
73. Dale Hightower         Mannford, OK             4  06-12   28
  Day 1: 4   06-12
74. Carl Jocumsen          Queensland TX AUSTRALIA  3  06-11   27
  Day 1: 3   06-11