Will the third time be the charm? Sumrall aims to win Classic at Hartwell
Caleb Sumrall’s eyes are only on the prize that goes with winning the most prestigious bass tournament on the planet, the 40-pound Bassmaster Classic trophy.
“Nothing else matters in this tournament but winning. My mindset is to fish to win, for sure,” the fifth-year Bassmaster Elite Series angler from New Iberia said Wednesday afternoon before leaving for Lake Hartwell in South Carolina, site of the 52nd Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic.
Going into his third Bassmaster Classic, Sumrall said he isn’t nervous, “just excited.” His family and friends are just as excited. His wife, Jacie, and their daughter, Clélie, and their son, Axel, are scheduled to leave New Iberia this week to join him in Greenville.
Sumrall, 34, rolled out of New Iberia on Thursday morning for the 10- to 11-hour drive to Lake Hartwell. The Elite pro angler planned to stay in a house on the lake during practice days Friday, Saturday and today. Official practice day for is Wednesday.
The Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk begins Friday and ends Sunday.
He’s going to a familiar venue for this world champsionship of bass fishing. He got his start as a Bassmaster Elite thanks to winning the B.A.S.S. Nation championship in 2017 at Lake Hartwell.
Sumrall returned to Lake Hartwell for the 2018 Bassmaster Classic, finishing 49th, and for a Bassmaster Elite Series tournament in 2019, finishing 50th.
Bryan Brasher, Bassmaster Magazine editor, recently established odds on a favorite to win this week’s Bassmaster Classic. Sumrall is at 15-1, as are Matt Herren of Ashvillle, Alabama; Chris Zaldain of Fort Worth; Lee Livesay of Longview, Texas, and Matt Robertson of Central City, Kentucky.
Brasher’s top pick is Brandon Cobb, who will be right at home on the 56,000-acre fishery. The South Carolina bass pro came in at 3-2.
Sumrall, who easily qualified for this year’s Bassmaster Classic by finishing seventh in the Angler of the Year standings in 2021, planned to cover a lot of lake while scouting for the Bassmaster Classic.
“I’m going to stay open-minded. It’s got a lot to offer — go down deep, go shallow. It’s a diverse fishery, for sure,” he said, noting the spotted bass and largemouth bass should be in prespawn mode.
Will past experience there be a plus?
“It’s hard to say. I mean, it’ll help for sure, knowing kind of where I want to be on the lake and areas that I favor,” he said, adding he’s partial to the entire lower lake area and the Tallulah area. “There’s no certain area I want to stay in, for sure. I plan to cover most of the lake.”
The winning bites could come shallow on crank baits or 30-feet deep or flippin’ a jig around docks, he said. He’ll have to find the key(s) to unlock the bite.
“There are so many variables. It’s such a diverse lake,” he said.
After the Bassmaster Classic, Sumrall has some climbing ahead of him on the tournament trail to make the cut for the Bassmaster Classic in 2023 scheduled recently for March 24-26 on the Tennessee River lakes of Fort Loudoin and Tellico out of Knoxville.
The all-around outdoorsman was above the cutline after the regular-season opener Feb. 10-13 on St. Johns River at Palatka, Florida. He fished on Semifinal Saturday and finished 15th with 39 pounds, 13 ounces, for $10,000.
One week later, however, the bass didn’t cooperate for him on the Harris Chain of Lakes farther south in Florida, where he finished 89th with 18 pounds, 5 ounces, and slipped to 55th in the AOY standings with 98 points.
“It’s still too early to worry about. There’s still a lot of fishing to do,” he said, noting he’s putting that recent tournament behind him.
In a shoutout to local fans who cheer him on each time out, particularly going into the Bassmaster Classic, he said, “I thank them for all the support. It makes me want to win one for them.”
Third time could be the charm.