Charlie Hartley, a former competitor on the Bassmaster Elite Series, earned his first B.A.S.S. victory by enduring hot weather all week in the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open at the James River.#
The Grove, City, Ohio, angler clinched the pro division title by catching a 13-pound, 11-ounce limit during Saturday’s final round to finish with a three-day total of 41-13. Hartley received the top prize of a $45,000 Skeeter ZX200/Yamaha VF200LA rig and $6,699 in cash and qualified for the 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro contingent upon him fishing the Northern Open finale at Lake Champlain in September.
Hartley said his final day went “very slow and tedious.” He recalled going an hour and a half without caching a fish, and his first keeper was only about 12 1/8 inches. The day got better — slowly. “There never was a flurry, or I was never thinking the day was going good,” he said. “I was actually frustrated.” With upgrades throughout the day, he eventually looked in his livewell and realized he had a good bag for as slow as the fishing had been.
His key lure for the week was a 7-inch ribbontail worm in a June bug color that he Texas-rigged with a 3/16-ounce weight pegged to a 4/0 Owner hook. Hartley targeted pilings, barges, concrete cover and cypress trees. “I fished 100 percent hard cover the whole tournament,” he said. Hartley caught all of his fish from 1 to 5 feet deep despite fishing in 90-degree weather every day.
Lure presentation was also crucial in the current. Hartley would pitch his worm behind the cover and let the current drift the worm back toward the front of the cover. Strikes would usually occur as the worm drifted to the front of his target. “It was really important to have that light weight so that the bait came by the fish the way they are used to seeing it flowing in the current,” he said.
Twenty-three-year-old Cody Pike of Powhatan, Va., finished as the pro division runner-up with 39-6. “I just started out running the low water, and I had one deep hole in a creek that had a bunch of wood, and the fish would just go to the shade there,” he said. He caught his limit each day in the hole using a ringworm and a medium-depth diving crankbait.
The other Top 5 finishers in the pro division were David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va., with 39-5, Matthew Sphar of North Java, N.Y with 39-4 and Brandon Palaniuk of Rathdrum, Idaho in fifth with 39-1.
High school senior Cody Bertrand of Dyer, Ind., and Francis Martin of North Chesterfield, Va., both finished with 24-8 in the co-angler division, but Bertrand won the division on a tie-breaker by having the heaviest single-day limit of 10-10. He earned the grand prize of a $30,000 Triton 179TrX/Mercury 115ELPT rig.
The Phoenix Boats Big Bass Award of $750 on the pro side went to Schoolcraft, Mich., angler Kendall Ulsh, who weighed in a 9-12 largemouth the first day. Earning the $250 Phoenix Boats Big Bass Award on the co-angler side was Bertrand with a 7-15 largemouth.
George Yund of Glenmont, N.Y., received the Livingston Lures Leader Award of $250 for finishing as the top pro on Day 2. Francis Martin of North Chesterfield, Va., won the Livingston Lures gift pack worth $250 for finishing as the top co-angler on Day 2.
2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops
2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Premier Sponsors: Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha, Berkley, GoPro, Huk, Humminbird
2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Supporting Sponsors: Power-Pole, Rapala, Shell Rotella, Shimano, A.R.E. Truck Caps, Carhartt, Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels, Livingston Lures, Lowrance
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About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 515,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster
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The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Strike King Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Team Championship, Yamaha Rightwaters Bassmaster Kayak Series powered by TourneyX, Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota.
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Media Contact: Helen White, 205-313-0944, hwhite@bassmaster.com or Dave Precht, 205-313-0931, dprecht@bassmaster.com.
2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open #2 James River 8/18-8/20
James River, Richmond, Va.
(BOATER) Final Standings
1. Charlie Hartley Grove City, OH 15 41-13 200 $52,199.00
2. Cody Pike Powhatan, VA 15 39-06 199 $16,409.00
3. David Dudley Lynchburg, VA 15 39-05 198 $11,932.00
4. Matthew Sphar North Java, NY 15 39-04 197 $10,676.00
5. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 15 39-01 196 $9,315.00
6. George Yund Glenmont, NY 15 37-09 195 $8,205.00
7. Kelly Pratt Williamsburg, VA 15 36-15 194 $6,699.00
8. Steve Miller Mechanicsville, VA 15 35-11 193 $5,338.00
9. Gerald Sensabaugh Kingsport, TN 13 35-00 192 $3,977.00
10. Chad Pipkens Lansing, MI 15 34-06 191 $3,663.00
11. Vince Troiano Chesterfield, NJ 11 31-13 190 $3,349.00
12. Rob Uzzle Hampton, VA 14 31-05 189 $3,140.00
PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Kendall Ulsh Schoolcraft, MI 09-12 $750.00
———————————————————————–
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 125 705 1503-06
2 92 597 1162-00
3 9 53 114-05
———————————-
226 1355 2779-11
(NON-BOATER) Final Standings
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Cody Bertrand Dyer, IN 8 24-08 200 $30,250.00
2. Francis Martin North Chesterfield, VA 9 24-08 199 $5,129.00
3. Jared Williams Hampton, VA 7 19-01 198 $3,873.00
4. Guy Fairweather Hayes, VA 9 18-11 197 $2,617.00
5. Mark Ludwig Chesterfield, VA 6 18-06 196 $2,407.00
6. Andy Simm Piney Flats, TN 9 18-04 195 $2,303.00
7. Richard Williams Jr Sandston, VA 9 18-01 194 $2,198.00
8. Mark Bartosch Clarksville, TN 9 18-00 193 $2,093.00
9. Lamar Spade La Plata, MD 9 16-14 192 $1,989.00
10. Tyler Purcell Townsville, NC 9 16-12 191 $1,779.00
11. Jack Pollio Chatham, VA 9 16-01 190 $1,570.00
12. Reginald Lynch Suffolk, VA 6 12-11 189 $1,465.00
PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Cody Bertrand Dyer, IN 07-15 $250.00
———————————————————————–
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 88 353 612-02
2 65 278 487-08
3 8 29 54-14
———————————-
161 660 1154-08
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