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College: Top Lures at Lake Hartwell 2024

See the top lures from the 2024 Strike King Bassmaster College National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shop.

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Photography by
Chase Sansom
Captions by
Chase Sansom
Summertime heat, shallow largemouth and deep spotted bass all were in play at the 2024 Strike King Bassmaster College Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops at Lake Hartwell. Lake Hartwell, known for its spotted bass fishing, delivered for an exciting tournament in the middle days of August. Photo: Tyler Bridges
Whether you’re searching the shallows for big largemouth or roaming the depths for suspended spotted bass, Bass Pro Shops has all the necessities to get the job done.
Hampton Shull (12th; 31-15)
Shull, who lead the event after the first day with 17 pounds, stuck with his gut choice to stay up shallow for a Top 12 finish.
He had two baits he rotated up shallow around bream beds, but his main bait was an Academy Topwater Popper he found pond fishing many years ago.
His other choice was a wacky-rigged Bass Pro Shops Stik-O deployed on single fish that were roaming a little deeper.
Merrick Diaz and Cade Hayford (11th; 32-2)
Merrick Diaz and Cade Hayford from Campbellsville University also relied on a shallow bite for a Top 12 finish.
Their first approach was with a 1/4-ounce Manly Custom Tackle buzzbait which they bought at a local gas station in Anderson paired with a Zoom Horny Toad. They threw this around shallow bream beds.
The second bait they put to use was a 3/8-ounce War Eagle spinnerbait with a trailer hook.
Evan Mabrey and Andrew Oswalt (10th; 33-7)
Evan Mabrey and Andrew Oswalt from the University of Montevallo relied on some old-school techniques this week as they took the dirty shallow water approach.
The first couple hours of the morning, they were throwing a Reaction Innovations Vixen over the top of long points and shady banks with wind on them. 
Once they pulled away from the topwater their first choice was a 5-inch Yamamoto Senko around any structure up shallow.
Followed up by a 3/8-ounce Dirty Jigs Scott Canterbury Flippin’ Jig.
Brantley Anders and Reece Keeney (9th; 34-10)
Reece Keeney, who claimed victory on Lake Hartwell in the 2022 Bassmaster High School National Championship on Lake Hartwell, found himself and partner Brantley Anders inside the Top 12 with a shot to win again this week.
Keeney and Anders spent their tournament offshore over top of the main river channel throwing at suspended fish with a 3/8-ounce Dirty Jigs Guppy Head paired with a ZMan Scented Jerk ShadZ.
They also tossed a Storm Rattlin’ Chug Bug over fish that were in less than 15-feet of water they located on forward-facing sonar.
Lane Stephens and Ethan Fields (8th; 37-4)
Stephens and Fields from McKendree University also relied on the offshore bite over top of the main river channel with a combination of baits.
They targeted big schools of spotted bass first with a Picasso Lures Swimbait Head paired with Berkley Flatnose Minnow that they used to “burn away” from the fish as they approached it.
When the minnow wasn’t working they opted for a different look with a Geecrack Imo Kemushi Cue Bomb on a 3/8-ounce short leader drop shot.
The Jackall Counter Back Spoon was something fun they mixed in to get those bigger bites in the open water.
Nathan Reynolds and Banks Shaw (7th; 37-4)
Reynolds and Shaw from the University of North Alabama gave some humor to the Top Lures gallery with their three-bait approach.
First, they kept a 3/8-ounce Picasso Lures Jighead for suspended fish they were targeting. They rigged it with an undisclosed bait.
Then we get to the goods, they used a “custom made diving perch from a man in Canada“.
And when the perch wasn’t working they opted for a “handmade balsa wood monster pike“.
As the weather begins to cool down, the bass fishing is about to heat up. Be sure to head to Basspro.com to get geared up for fall fishing.
Drake Hemby and Ewing Minor (6th; 38-9)
Carson Newman University’s Drake Hemby and Ewing Minor took to the offshore bite this week on Lake Hartwell.
They were floating around over top of the main river channel targeting single fish and groups of fish around bait balls with their first selection being a Nichols Lures 5-inch Lake Fork Flutter Spoon.
And when they spotted any fish on their forward-facing sonar higher than 15 feet they would throw the Storm Chug Bug over top of them.
Chase Cary and Dylan Akins (5th; 41-12)
The Emmanuel duo took to the offshore game this week targeting offshore brush and schools of fish chasing blueback herring with one simple tactic that led to a fifth-place finish and clinched the 2024 Bassmaster College Series Team of the Year win.
The duo used a weightless Zoom Super Fluke in a few different colors rigged on a 4/0 hook.
…
Bryson O’Steen and Seth Jones (4th; 42-9)
Florida Gateway College pair Bryson O’Steen and Seth Jones stuck it out in the shallows this week with a mix including a little bit of everything.
The 1/2-ounce Z-Man JackHammer ChatterBait with a Rapala Crush City Freeloader as a trailer was a big player for them around shallow structure, rock, laydowns and grass.
They also utilized a 3/8-ounce Boogerman Buzzbait way up the Tugaloo River around clay banks and small pockets off the main river around bream beds.
Finally, in their rotation they were throwing a chrome 105 Evergreen Shower Blow as a backup pattern when the buzzbait wasn’t working.
Lane Clark and Tallis Morrison (3rd; 45-3)
These Erskine College anglers who might as well call Lake Hartwell home delivered in a big way using their local knowledge to navigate both the offshore bite for spotted bass and shallow bite for largemouth.
In the mornings they were running around after offshore herring fish suspended over brush, timber and points with a weightless Zoom Super Fluke …
… and a SPRO Sashimmy Swimmer.
By the afternoons, the Erskine duo would move to the shallows with a buzzbait tipped with a Zoom Horny Toad.
Parker Guy and Tyler Campbell (2nd; 47-13)
Favorites coming into this National Championship on their home lake, Guy and Campbell ran a selection of their offshore honey holes for a second-place finish.
The Zoom Super Fluke rigged on a 4/0 Berkley Fusion round bend did the trick most of the time for the local duo…
… as well as the new Berkley Krej.
Lastly, they threw a Lucky Craft Wander 110 in chrome over schooling fish and fish they couldn’t reach with the fluke.
Andrew Blanton and Garrett Smith (1st; 49-0)
Lander University’s Andrew Blanton and Garret Smith kept the shallow bite honest around bream beds up the Tugaloo River to become the new 2024 Strike King Bassmaster National Champions presented by Bass Pro Shops.
Their first weapon of choice was a True South Custom Lures V-Twin buzzbait with a Zoom Horny Toad they used to cover as much water as they could.
Once the sun got up they would alternate to a homemade prop bait to pull over top of bream beds in smaller pockets.

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