Story by Todd Goade | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
Our last NPFL event of the year was our Championship at Lake Hartwell. I love the lake and have been there many times over the years with a lot of success and a lot of heartbreaks. I love fishing offshore and deep for the lake’s spotted bass, and if they’re in the right mood you can get rich quick. If not, the struggle is real!
Our official practice started on Monday September 29 and in three short hours of fishing offshore I quickly had almost 19 pounds, and man was I stoked! They were where I wanted them to be and they were biting. I purposely did not fish about 20 places knowing I was going to fish them in the event. That was probably my first mistake.
I was catching them on a shaky head with a Zoom Mag Shakey head worm in Green Pumpkin and an Albino 3/8 ounce Pulse Fish Pulse Jig targeting brush piles and timber in 30-35 feet of water. I did fish a few shallow places but only caught a few small ones.
Day 2 of practice was much slower and I only managed a few bites, I could see the fish there on my Lowrance Active Target 2 and they would follow my bait down and not bite. The lake started turning over and certain areas of the lake had weird colored water and a few places had foam on the surface, a tell-tale sign. Once that happens the fish get really hard to catch, and I went back shallow where I got a few bites but not any bigger ones. Day 3 was the same and I spent most of my time in the driver’s seat looking for new places.
The Champions dinner after Day 3 of practice was awesome, and we had a great time. I was honored to be there when they awarded Chad Poteat the Circle of Honor Award. He is an inspiration to us all and we need to send prayers to him and his family every day for peace and comfort. Longtime friend and sponsor Neil Paul also welcomed us to the lake and legendary Green Pond Landing and Event Center. They’ve been a sponsor of mine for a long time, and I’m proud to represent them across the country.
Then it was time to go fishing!
Day 1 of the event started quick as I caught a 3.70 on the first deep water stop. I was thinking “Maybe this deep thing is going to work out!” I caught a 2.67 pretty quick on the next stop and things were looking good.
Then it got tough. At every stop I made I could see the winning fish follow my bait all the way to the bottom and not bite. I fished probably 50 places and managed to weigh in 12-04. Not too bad. I figured one of the three days I would catch 18-19 pounds and that would get me right back in the thick of things.
Day 2 started even tougher. I watched fish after fish follow my bait and not bite. I tried all my spotted bass tricks and they didn’t work. I guess I need new tricks! I did fish shallow a little but only managed to catch little ones. I finished Day 2 with a disappointing 10-06 and knew my chance at a win was over. I regrouped at the camper that evening with my wife and told her I was going to stay shallow all day in the final round and see what that would do.
Well, I didn’t start off Day 3 shallow. I started on the deep spot where I caught the 3.70 and quickly caught a 2.89. It was the only bite I had there. I fished 4 other deep places with no bites and said the heck with this I’m going to the bank. I went to a sneaky little place I’ve caught them for years and proceeded to catch five 2 1/2 pounders in about 15 minutes. I was kicking myself in the butt for not fishing this place earlier in the event. I went to another shallow place later in the day and caught a 3 1/2 pound largemouth to cull and ended Day 3 with 13-04 to finish the event in 24th place.
One of these days we’ll go to Hartwell and the lake will set up like I like to catch them, but it wasn’t this time. I watched the winning fish swim all around my bait the first two days and not bite which was frustrating but also fun and challenging at the same time. We’ll get ’em next time!
All in all, it was a great year. I qualified for my third consecutive NPFL Championship and had a great time at this one. It’s an event I hope I never miss!
Tight Lines!
Todd Goade – Angler Profile
