“The spotted bass are prevalent in December anyway, so most of the anglers will be trying to target them because they are the most aggressive,” said Morris, who added that spotted bass don’t have a lot of weight.

“We always have a lot of anglers who come in with less than 10 pounds for a sack, but then there are always one or two that come in with the right fish to win it,” he said. “It usually takes 15 to 16 pounds to win this time of year on Russell.”

Morris said the key tactic will likely be a drop-shot in 30 to 40 feet of water.

“That is how it is usually won this time of year,” he said. “I don’t know how cold it will get this week, but if it comes on strong and the temperature drops, that deep water bite will win it.”

Morris said the season has gone well since it kicked off with a tournament on Lake Murray in July. That was followed by a tournament on Lake Greenwood in August and then on to Clarks Hill in September. The Oct. 4 tournament on Lake Murray was canceled due to the torrential rains that swept across South Carolina that weekend, flooding homes and washing out roads and bridges, with the last tournament back on Clarks Hill in November. The schedule continues Sunday with the tournament on Lake Russell, followed by tournaments Jan. 3 on Lake Greenwood, Feb. 28 on Lake Murray, March 20 on Clarks Hill, April 10 on Lake Murray, May 1 on Lake Greenwood, with the two-day final May 21-22 on Clarks Hill.

“I’ve had 40 anglers fishing so far and we usually end up with at least 75 by the end of the season,”Morris said. “We are always looking for new anglers. We have several that come from North Carolina up around the Asheville area, some from down in Georgia and some from both the upstate and lower state in South Carolina.”

Anglers can register on-line or at the ramp. American Bass Anglers charges a $5 late fee to sign up at the ramp, but a lot of anglers take that route anyway for convenience, Morris said. There is no late fee for an angler who is active military, a lifetime ABA member, or if an angler fishes 15 ABA tournametns a year.

“There is no off-limits for the qualifying tournaments,” he said. “They can pre-fish the day before the tournament and then fish the tournament.”

 

American Fishing Tour – SC Greenwood Division

Sun, Dec 6, 2015

Lake Russell

Hwy 72 Ramp

Call Phil Morris at (864) 993-0346

http://www.americanbassanglers.com/districts2016.php?Division=96