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College Fishing’s best and brightest have assembled in Anderson, South Carolina for the 2024 Strike King Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops on Lake Hartwell. Over 300 anglers who qualified from schools all around the country will battle it out over the next three days to see who will become National Champions on Saturday, as well as which eight anglers will advance to the College Series Classic Bracket.

Who better to give their expectations for this tournament other than Easton Fothergill, the 2023 Classic Bracket champion, who competed in the 2024 Bassmaster Classic and become only the fourth college angler to qualify for the third day of bass fishing’s biggest tournament.  He’s been logging lots of miles in his alma mater-wrapped 2024 Toyota Tundra and putting plenty of bass onto the deck of the Z20 Nitro Boat he won full use of in 2024 thanks to winning the Classic Bracket last fall. Fothergill has had an incredible season as the Classic Bracket champion. He’s currently leading the Bassmaster Open EQ points race going into the seventh tournament on the body of water he considers his home pond, Leech Lake.

Easton and his partner Nick Dumke have continued to represent the University of Montevallo in several college events in 2024 as well. They double-qualified to fish the National Championship this year thanks to their second and fourth place finishes on Kentucky Lake and Saginaw Bay, respectively, but Fothergill is having to miss this tournament so he can handle his business in the Opens. Dumke is competing solo this week, so we caught up with Fothergill to get his predictions.

Q – While I’m sure it’s good to be fishing a Bassmaster Open on your home lake, you are having to miss the National Championship. How are you feeling and what would you tell your college fishing peers regarding the opportunity they have in front of them?

“It’s definitely bittersweet… this is my last Bassmaster College Series National Championship and I would love to go out with a bang with Dumke (tournament partner),” Fothergill admitted.  “But on the plus side, it’s been an absolute dream season fishing the Opens and still getting to fish a lot of college tournaments, too. Part of me wishes I could be there, but the chance to fish this Open on a lake I have spent so much time on is such a cool opportunity. I’m blessed for sure.

“I would tell college anglers to have fun and enjoy it, but know what is potentially at stake and do everything you can to get yourself into the Classic Bracket. This whole program really has been life-changing for me and I know it will be for the next person as well. I’m looking forward to following along and seeing who is going to represent college fishing in the 2025 Classic.”

Q – I know your focus has been on the Leech Lake, but how would you plan to fish Lake Hartwell this week?

“I haven’t fished Hartwell since April, when Dumke and I won the ACA Hartwell Slam,” Fothergill said. “We were targeting the herring spawn back then, catching both largemouth and spotted bass. While the herring won’t be spawning right now, I do think it’s the tail end of the herring deal and they will be the dominant forage still. I would be targeting bass chasing herring around brushpiles or just roaming open water. I could see that pattern winning or at least excelling in this tournament.”

Q – If you were tying up baits right now to fish Lake Hartwell tomorrow, what would you make sure to have tied on?

“I would have a hodge-podge of your typical herring staples,” Fothergill offered. “A Strike King Caffeine Shad, or something like a fluke-style bait is a must have. Definitely would have a walking topwater tied on… I doubt they’d smash it all day but there should be some windows that you could get some bites. Lastly would be a spoon. A spoon is a great baitfish imitator and is something a little different to fire those pressured brushpile bass to bite.”