Lake Hartwell is a great fishery that boasts both quantity and quality when it comes to catching bass. The lake spans 56,000 acres and is made up of a variety of fish holding habitat. Different types of cover in the lake include wood, rock, docks, offshore structure, and more. Each of these areas and types of cover hold fish year-round, making them key targets for anglers to fish during tournament competition.

A strong population of baitfish and forage is another contributing factor to Lake Hartwell’s healthy fish population. One of the unique baitfish present in this fishery is blueback herring. These baitfish are like filet mignon for bass. While they may be somewhat evasive for bass to track down, blueback herring provide a filling meal for fish.

Taking into account the fish holding habitat and prevalent baitfish population in Lake Hartwell, anglers can use a variety of patterns and techniques to get bites during the early summer. Starting with the early morning bite, anglers can likely find success with topwaters and shad/herring impersonation baits. Those baitfish will be active up shallow during the low light conditions. Long bars and shallow points will be popular areas for these baitfish to be congregated on.

Once the sun gets up, anglers will likely have to downsize their presentations and even mix in finesse tactics to get bites. The baitfish will begin to move deep and spread out. The bass will then follow them, as they hunt for an easy meal throughout the day. Utilizing their electronics, like Garmin LiveScope, anglers can track these bass throughout the day and present their baits with success to get bites.

The current weather forecast projects a slight warming trend through practice, leading up to the start of tournament competition. High temperatures will average in the mid to upper 80’s, with partial clouds, varying winds, and an occasional chance for thunderstorms. Warming temperatures and sunshine will continue to push bass into their typical early summer patterns, making them set up in a manner which anglers should be able to predict and strategize a successful gameplan.

The Association of Collegiate Anglers (ACA) is a division of CarecoTV that was created twenty years ago to facilitate growth, development, and structure within competitive collegiate bass fishing, with emphasis on competitive fishing events nationwide. The ACA created the original BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship which has now evolved into the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, which is now recognized as the longest-running consecutive collegiate bass fishing series in existence. The ACA has also created various other programs such as the Collegiate School of the Year Rankings system, College Bass Fishing Open, Collegiate Big Bass Bash and the College Bass Fishing Springtime Slam.

The ACA lineup of major college fishing events includes a variety of nationwide tournaments that are multi-day tournaments, all of which are televised and streamed on several networks, as well as streamed on a variety of connected platforms. These major events have no entry fees and no membership costs associated with them. The ACA also provides support to numerous schools operating regional events nationwide which is an effort to provide more opportunities to grow the exposure and awareness of college fishing.

The ACA owns the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, Bass Pro Shops School of Year presented by Abu Garcia program, and associated assets which is widely regarded as the most comprehensive and prestigious collegiate bass fishing title today.

Thanks in part to the large diversity of media exposure the ACA provides, the series boasts the largest amount of televised and streaming coverage of any collegiate fishing series. This includes a dedicated television series on numerous television networks and streaming platforms, as well as additional coverage of select events inside other programs.

This combination includes coverage from national and regional television networks as well as being streamed online on various apps and connected devices. You can also find coverage via video on demand online at any time of past events thanks to coverage on OutdoorActionTV.com and PursuitUp.com

For more information on the ACA or the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, visit www.CollegiateBassChampionship.com.

For more information on CarecoTV, visit www.CarecoTV.com

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