The herring pattern is on – but it does not last very long, said Josh Rennebaum, one of the University of South Carolina collegiate anglers in the tournament.

“The first hour and a half of the morning it’s typical schooling with fish blowing up on the herring, but by about 8:30 that bite is gone,” said Rennebaum Thursday after the first day he and teammate Patrick Walters had to practice on the lake. They caught the schooling fish on a rainbow shad fluke and a Lake Murray Clear Dunfish topwater.

“We caught two or three decent largemouths on the topwater,” he said. “Then we went to the drop shot and caught some decent spotted bass on a green pumpkin worm out on the points.”

Rennebaum said he and Walters fished the main lake area Thursday, mostly around the Gum Branch launch site, but they plan to spend their second day of practice Friday upriver in search of some larger largemouth bass.

With the fishing tougher than expected, Rennebaum said he expects it will take about 16 to 17 pounds to win the third and final qualifying tournament for the Southeastern Conference Saturday.

“I would guess it will take about 12 pounds to make the cut,” he said.

Rennebaum, of Chapin, and Walters of Summerville, actually qualified for the Southeastern Conference Championship to be held on Pickwick Lake Sept. 26 after finishing 8^th in the tournament at Guntersville May 2.

“We are fishing mainly for points at Hartwell,” he said. And, of course for a top prize of $2,000. The top 15 teams in Saturday’s tournament will qualify for the championship at Pickwick.

Anglers will take off from the Gum Branch Park ramp located on Vanna Waller Road in Hartwell at 6:30 a.m. Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 2:30 p.m. Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.

Schools are allowed to register up until the morning of the tournament. Entries may be made either by phone or at CollegeFishing.com.

 

FLW College Fishing Series

Sat, May 30, 2015

Lake Hartwell

Gum Branch Mega Ramp

www.flwoutdoors.com