The Bassmaster Classic field is made up of past winners, veteran pros with great resumes, and some newcomers. Among the new crowd is Alabama angler Justin Hamner, who qualified for the Classic with a 33rd place placement in the points standings during his rookie year on the Elite Series. He's eagerly waiting for the festivities to begin and is happy the venue is Lake Hartwell, a lake he's comfortable with that also fits his style as an offshore angler.
Classic Thoughts
A lifelong dream, the thought of fishing the Bassmaster Classic has Hamner ready for the first of what he hopes is many more qualifications during his career. During the 2020 season, he was fishing the Bassmaster Opens to qualify for the Elites and finished 23rd when they visited Lake Hartwell.
"I'm excited, and I really like Lake Hartwell," he said. "I went over and did a pre-practice before the off-limits and it was pretty good fishing. My favorite way to catch fish is offshore and there are plenty of spotted bass out deep and they will still be there if the weather stays cool."
Hamner has done his research on the lake and the previous Classics held here. What he's learned is the weights tend to be the same no matter what the weather is doing.
"It was during a warming trend when Jordan Lee won and the average weight per day was fifteen and a half pounds," he said. "When Casey Ashley won, it was very cold and his average was still fifteen pounds. I think that will be the case again this year with whoever wins having an average weight in that range."
Deep Spotted Bass
For the deep bite, Hamner will scour the water with his electronics looking for baitfish activity and the fat spotted bass that follow the schools around. He likes a small swimbait, Damiki Rig, and ice jig for catching fish he sees on his graphs.
"The Freedom Tackle Turnback Shad ice jig in the one-ounce size gets down to them quickly and you can get them to bite it right away when the school is fired up," he said.
Hamner likes to fish the ice jig on baitcast tackle and 7'2 medium heavy Halo KS II Elite rod. "I like to fish it on 15-pound test and get them in quickly and boat flip them instead of risking them getting off next to the boat," he added.
He'll also cast a Netbait Little Spanky Swimbait on a ¼-ounce Freedom Tackle Swimbait Head and use the same jighead for the vertical "Damiki Rig" technique with an STH 4.8" Dart Shad. He fishes both on spinning gear, 7' medium Halo TI Series rod.
"That jighead has an excellent keeper that works with all types of plastics and it has the super sharp 2/O Gamakatsu hook," he added. "It works great for the Damiki technique because it keeps the bait perfectly horizontal. I'll switch to this if they get tired of seeing the ice jig and the bite slows down."
Shallow Spots and Largemouth
While Hamner is hoping for a deep bite, he'll also look shallow for both largemouth and spotted bass. He knows a jerkbait will be a player for just about everyone in the field for the spotted bass.
"The jerkbait bite will be a player, for sure," he said. "I like the Yo-Zuri 3DB deep jerkbait and like to fish it on a 7' medium Halo Scott Canterbury Series cranking rod."
For largemouth, he believes a shaky head could be an excellent way to catch largemouth on docks and brush piles, with a good chance of still catching some spotted bass.
"It always seems to be a mixed bag that wins on Hartwell and you'll likely need some largemouth and spotted bass to contend," he said. "It's a little easier to get a three-pound average if you have a couple of big largemouth in your bag. The spots have gotten bigger, though, with so many blueback herring in there."
He likes the Netbait T-Mac worm for his shaky head fishing, a proven straight tail design. He fishes it on the same Halo rod that he uses for the small swimbait and Damiki Rig.
"That bait just gets bit, and I'm comfortable fishing it everywhere; it should be great around the docks on Hartwell," he added.
Justin Hamner is preparing for his first ever Bassmaster Classic and he's looking to do more than just show up on a lake that he says fits his style. He's done his research, visited the lake before it went off-limits and packed everything he thinks he'll need to do well and contend in the event.
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