Two South Carolina pros finished first and second at the Bassmaster Elite Series tournament on Lake Murray in mid-May.
Casey Ashley of Donalds won the tournament by catching two 3-pound fish in the last 45 minutes to edge Davy Hite of Ninety Six.
Ashley had four consistent catches to finish with 61 pounds, three ounces. The win, worth $100,000, was the second of his 4-year career on the Bassmaster circuit.
“Now I know they’re hard to come by,” Ashley said of his win. “I glad I won, but I’m real glad I won in South Carolina in front of all my family and friends.”
Ashley worked a morning bite, catching schooling fish on points on a Lucky Craft Gunfish and a Zoom Super Fluke. Later in the day, he used a Shakey Head worm on flats.
Hite finished with 58-1, as did New Jersey pro Mike Iaconelli. Hite came from seventh place entering the final day with a 5-fish limit that weighed 16-7, and that was the tie-breaker that gave him second place and $25,000 ahead of Iaconelli, who closed with a 16-6 limit.
“I’ve fished hundreds and hundreds of tournaments from this same ramp, but never have any of them been as exciting as this was today,” Hite said.
Three more pros from South Carolina finished in the money. Marty Robinson of Lyman was 13th with 37-13; Britt Myers from Lake Wylie was 35th with 32-11, and Jason Williamson of Aiken was 48th with 29-11. All three won $10,000.
Rampey wins on Lake Hartwell
James Rampey of Liberty fished topwater baits and weighed in a 5-bass limit at 20.46 pounds to win the May 7 Bassmaster Weekend Series tournament on Lake Hartwell and $2,514.
“The fish hit early, until about 9:30 a.m.,” Rampey said. “I caught my fish on a Gunfish in about two to three feet of water. I tried a bunch of other lures but never got another bite. I pulled up at the right place at the right time, caught them and left.”
Jeremy Wilson took second with 18.13 pounds, and he had the tournament’s big bass, a 6.17-pound linker. He won a total of $1,537. Chuck Howard was third with 15.9, winning $838. Patrick Cook and Ryan McMurtry rounded out the top five with 15.49 and 13.87 pounds, respectively, winning $587 and $503.
In the Co-Angler Division, Travis Malphrus of Ridgeland won with three bass for 10.34 pounds and collected $1,181.
Michael Hanna was second with 10.34 pounds and won $591. David Cunningham was third at 7.13 for $394. Samuel Freeman and Thomas Hoffmeyer rounded out the top five with 6.35 pounds for $276 and 5.75 for $236.
Montgomery in Top 10 at West Point
Andy Montgomery of Blacksburg was the only South Carolina pro to finish in the top 10 in the 4-day BASS Elite Series tournament, but five others finished in the money.
Montgomery was ninth with 52-11, winning $12,000.
Casey Ashley was 26th with 35-3 over three days; Marty Robinson was 30th with 33-10; Davy Hite was 31st with 33-6; Jason Quinn was 38th with 30-1 and Britt Myers was 39th with 30-1. All five won $10,000.
Bain-Moore wins LBAA at Hartwell
Kim Bain-Moore captured the Lady Bass Anglers Association (LBAA) Lake Hartwell Tournament on May 5-6, and two South Carolina anglers finished in the top 10 in their divisions.
A native of Australia living in Pelham, Ala., Bain-Moore’s 2-day limit of 10 bass weighed 28.37 pounds.
In the Pro Division, Pam Martin-Wells of Bainbridge, Ga., was second with 21.77 pounds, and Heather Broom of Sylva, N.C., was third with 21.22.
Leslie Childers of Anderson finished seventh with 14.73. In the Co-Angler division, Renee Price of Seneca was seventh with 6.5.
Botts, Grice win charity event
Jonathan Botts of Honeapath and Chip Grice of Abbeville won the LBAA Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club charity event on Lake Hartwell in mid-May with a 5-fish limit that weighed 17.13 pounds. They took home first-prize money of $1,000.
Barton Aiken and Mark Rodney from Greenville took second with 14.53 pounds. Jeff and Josie Sykes of Taylors were the highest-finishing team with a child, bringing 13.96 pounds to the scales, including a 4.6-pound linker, to win $200.
Mark and Laura Gobel of Pendergrass, Ga., were the highest-finishing team with a female member, catching 14.34 pounds to win $200. Jim Smith and Aaron Crompton of Bowersville, Ga., had the day’s big bass, a 5.31-pound linker.
Roesch wins BLF Savannah River event
Matthew Roesch of Toccoa, Ga., won the April 30 BFL Savannah River Division Tournament on Lake Hartwell with a 5-bass limit that weighed 16 pounds, three ounces. He won $4,394.
The top finisher among South Carolina anglers was Brian Tidwell of Seneca, who finished third with 15-9 and won $1,464. Travis Moon of Belton was fourth with 15-8 for $1,025, and Jason Burroughs of Hodges rounded out the top five with 15-5 for $842.
On the Co-Angler side, Clay Wilson of Evans, Ga., caught a 5-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 14 ounces to win $2,197.
Michael Smith of Piedmont was the highest-finishing angler from South Carolina, taking fourth with 9-13 and winning $513.
Clemson fourth in college event on Eufala
Chase Stewart and Jonathan Ball of the Clemson Bass Fishing Team finished fourth at the April 30 FLW College Fishing Southeastern Division event on Alabama’s Lake Eufaula.
Stewart, from Woodruff, and Ball, from Clover, caught five bass weighing 6 pounds, 14 ounces. They won $500 for the university and $1,500 for the team.
“It was awesome, period,” Stewart said. “The fish were coming up for the shad spawn. We tried a bunch of baits, but the bass were only swiping at them.”
Stewart and Ball wound up catching 12 bass on lipless crankbaits, but only four met the 14-inch size minimum for the weigh-in. They caught their fifth fish on a frog bait just after lunchtime.
Only three of the 44 teams in the tournament weighed in a limit.
Chandlers win on Keowee
Larry Chandler and Mike Chandler won the Oconee AID Association tournament on Lake Keowee held May 14. The Chandlers finished with 8.93 pounds.
B.J. Bryson and Tim Kanaley took big-fish with a 4.26-pounder.
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