Lake Hartwell, South Carolina was the chosen fishery for the 2022 Abu Garcia Bassmaster High School Championship presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors held August 11-13, 2022. The top 314 teams from 39 states including Canada were represented. The field was stacked with the best of the best! Team Florida had its best 32 teams fishing this event and Seminole Junior Anglers had 3 teams included in team Florida.
Your SJA teams finished the best for team Florida and nearly made the top 12. Team Kam and Drew Bradstreet finished in a tie for 12th place out of the 314 national teams. The largest bag on Day 2 would break the tie and Team Bradstreet got bumped to 13th place. Their weight was just over 24 lbs. for two days. Team Lawrence and DiMauro was the 2nd best team for Florida and finished in 21st place overall out of 314 teams. Their two-day total was right at 22 lbs. for both days. The key was to get a big bite each day. A four- or five-pound largemouth bass was a huge help to your bag.
Hartwell was stingy for many fishing the lake. Everything about this fishery said you should stay deep. The dropping water and the water temperature being in the high 90’s, said to fish deep brush or main lake points. But the fish seemed to be in the rivers or in pockets of main lake in the shallow areas. Many teams caught their entire bag by 9:00 am and tried to upgrade all day. If you caught 6-7 fish, you did really well. It was a memorable trip for SJA and a terrific learning experience. We can’t wait to go back next year. Our new year starts next month with school back in session. We have a lot of work in front of us to repeat as Florida’s Club of the Year.
We’d like to thank all our sponsors who continue to trust and believe in our program. We truly couldn’t not do what we do without all the partnerships and support of our valued friends and corporate sponsors. Seminole Junior Anglers is a 501 3C corporation. We are seeking donations to help us get through this next tournament season. Please contact Dave DiMauro, Director, 407-353-4575, or Phil Wolf, Coastal Angler Magazine, 407-790-9515.
