ANDERSON, S.C. (Aug. 19, 2024) – Boater Matt O’Connell of Brooks, Georgia, won the MLF Bass Fishing League (BFL) two-day Super Tournament on Lake Hartwell on Sunday with a cumulative total of 10 bass weighing 30 pounds, 7 ounces. His daily weights were 14 pounds, 6 ounces on Saturday and 16 pounds, 1 ounce on Sunday. The tournament was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Savannah River Division. O’Connell earned $7,776, including the lucrative $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.
Though O’Connell said Hartwell is fishing a little weird right now, his winning pattern involved a mix of pretty typical summertime baits and tactics for a blueback herring lake.
“There is a typical blueback pattern going on where the fish are out on bait or on shoals and humps,” he said. “And there’s some schooling going on kind of intermittently throughout the day. I actually probably saw more schooling in the afternoon both days, but it was super tough to catch the schoolers.
“I essentially just got big bites both afternoons. I had 9 pounds at about noon each day and managed to catch about a 4-pounder yesterday (Saturday) out deep over timber. And that pretty much kicked my bag up with a bunch of 2 1/2-pounders. And then today (Sunday) I had probably 9 pounds at noon, and from probably 12:30 ’til 2:30, in about a two-hour period, I caught a 4-pound spot and 5-pound largemouth on the CAST The OG (Floater). It’s a big topwater.”
A couple factors flipped the switch in the afternoons. Part of it was the wind picking up, especially on day two, which made the fish more active. The other factor was timing. O’Connell located some fish during afternoon hours in practice and noticed they just weren’t on those spots in the mornings during the tournament. But come afternoon, they repositioned on brush or on areas where he could be target them more easily, versus roaming like they were in the mornings.
“Day two, I just started running more of the shallow stuff because it was windy,” he said. “Shallow being relative –25 feet or less. The conditions and the fish just combined to give me an opportunity. The fish were being much more aggressive in the afternoon at least.”
O’Connell relied on forward-facing sonar throughout the tournament to “scope” a mix of structure and cover, including brush piles, the ends of points and deep timber. In addition to the OG topwater, he fished a CAST Fishing Co. Echo soft jerkbait on an under-spin as well as a soft jerkbait without the jighead.
“I probably fished 60 spots today,” he added. “That’s pretty normal for the blueback herring deal. There was one area I spent probably an hour fishing that was over timber around bait, but that was the only time I settled in anywhere.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Matt O’Connell, Brooks, Ga., 10 bass, 30-7, $7,776 (includes $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd: Brandon Martin, Lula, Ga., 10 bass, 29-3, $2,238
3rd: Justin Tingen, Moore, S.C., 10 bass, 27-13, $1,492
4th: Spencer Sato, Gainesville, Ga., 10 bass, 25-13, $1,045
5th: Wesley Sandifer, Chapin, S.C., 10 bass, 23-11, $895
6th: Joe Anders, Easley, S.C., 10 bass, 23-5, $821
7th: Scooter Ligon, Dahlonega, Ga., 10 bass, 22-1, $746
8th: Alex Prince, Blue Ridge, Ga., 10 bass, 21-5, $671
9th: Daulton Smith, Martin, Ga., 10 bass, 21-0, $597
10th: Hayden Seabolt, Dawsonville, Ga., 10 bass, 19-12, $522
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Lucas Black of Saint Simons Island, Georgia, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces, and earned the Big Bass Boater award of $525. Chris Wilson of Easley, South Carolina, won the co-angler division and $2,500 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of eight bass to the scale for 13 pounds, 3 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Chris Wilson, Easley, S.C., eight bass, 13-3, $2,500
2nd: Corey Veal, Royston, Ga., seven bass, 12-11, $1,119
3rd: Colby Elliott, Blairsville, Ga., seven bass, 12-1, $748
4th: Mark Garrett, Walhalla, S.C., eight bass, 9-14, $622
5th: Mark Yarborough, Salem, S.C., eight bass, 9-10, $448
6th: Russell Woodson, Jonesville, S.C., six bass, 8-14, $410
7th: Chris Worley, Eastanollee, Ga., five bass, 7-13, $373
8th: Scott Gerbers, Blackstock, S.C., four bass, 7-9, $336
9th: Brian Heredos, Simpsonville, S.C., five bass, 6-15, $298
10th: David Allen, Mableton, Ga., four bass, 6-3, $261
Wilson also earned the Big Bass co-angler award of $262, catching a bass that weighed in at 3 pounds, 15 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
With the qualifying season now concluded, Joe Anders of Easley, South Carolina, is the 2024 Fishing Clash Savannah River Division Angler of the Year (AOY) with 1,325 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Todd Huntley of Inman, South Carolina, won the 2024 Fishing Clash Savannah River Division Co-angler of the Year title with 1,285 points and the $500 prize.
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