And it continued last year and again this year, although i did get big fish this year with a pretty 6.8 pounder!!

I seem to have a special jinx on Lake Hartwell. Last weekend, for the fourth Potato Creek Bassmasters tournament in a row, I came in one place out of winning some money. Every year I seem to come up just a little short. Last weekend was especially close.

In 17 hours of casting last Friday and Saturday 11 members of the club landed 91 keeper bass weighing about 142 pounds. There were 16 five bass limits in the two days and no one zeroed.

Glen Anderson won with ten bass weighing 21.37 pounds and Mitchell Cardell was second with ten at 18,64 pounds.  Third place went to Kwong Yu with eight bass weighing 17.12 pounds and his 5.31 pounder was big fish. Raymond English came in fourth with ten at 16.27 pounds.

I caught ten weighing 16.13 pounds for fifth. The club pays the top four places.

I camped at Hartwell State Park at exit 1 off I-85 in South Carolina, only 11.8 miles from the tournament ramp.  It was very peaceful and quiet until Saturday when some folks came to the site beside me. They had two dogs that barked constantly.

In practice I tried to find some kind of pattern but caught only a few small fish. And in the tournament, I never got on any kind of pattern.  On Friday I caught one on an underspin off a bridge piling, two on a Carolina rig on a gravel bank, and two on a whacky rigged worm on docks. 

On Saturday I saw some fish schooling on top and missed two on topwater but landed one on a Sebile swim bait.  Later I got two on a Carolina Rig on a rocky point, one on a shaky head on a rock pile and one on the whacky rig. Both days I landed my fifth keeper with less than 30 minutes to fish. 

My biggest fish was a pretty spot but it weighed only about 2.5 pounds. Both days my smallest fish were skinny spots that weighed less than a pound.  I just could not get a bigger bass to help out my weight.

Well, there is always next weekend and next year!