Rampey Dominates on Lake Hartwell

Jayme Rampey of Liberty, South Carolina, brought a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds even to the scale Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Savannah River Division event on Lake Hartwell. For his win, Rampey took home $5,148.

Rampey said he focused on the herring spawn to catch his limit. He said he worked through a 3- to 4-mile stretch on the main lake and was able to catch 60 fish throughout the day.

“It’s a little early for the herring to spawn, but the weather has been warm so I capitalized on bass that were heading out to points to feed on them,” says Rampey, who earned his fifth career-win in BFL competition. “I ran through about 15 points and didn’t even burn seven gallons of fuel.”

Rampey said he used a white Zoom Super Fluke to catch fish in the morning. After 10 a.m. he said he began mixing in a Hitch-colored Zoom Swimmer Paddle Tail Swimbait with a Buckeye Lures J-Will head.

“I caught a couple of my bigger fish with a Buckeye Lures jig rigged with a Zoom Creepy Crawler as well,” says Rampey. “My most productive baits were the Super Fluke and the swimbait, but it was steady all day.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st: Jayme Rampey, Liberty, S.C., five bass, 22-0, $5,148

2^nd: Heath Pack, Ellijay, Ga., five bass, 18-6, $2,474

3^rd: Troy Morrow, Eastanollee, Ga., five bass, 18-0, $1,649

4^th: Hunter Smith, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 17-4, $1,155

5^th: William Shipes, Williston, S.C., five bass, 16-7, $1,090

6^th: Nick Rubio, Greer, S.C., five bass, 16-2, $907

7^th: Franklin Ramey III, Abbeville, S.C., five bass, 15-14, $1,580

8^th: William Fordree, Six Mile, S.C., five bass, 15-13, $742

9^th: Derek Lehtonen, Woodruff, S.C., five bass, 15-6, $660

10^th: Scott Chatham, Kingston, Ga., five bass, 15-4, $577

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.  

Ramey caught a bass weighing 6 pounds, 1 ounce – the largest of the event in the Boater Division – which earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $755.

Tony Everhart of Gaffney, South Carolina, won the Co-angler Division title and $2,674 Saturday after weighing in five bass totaling 13 pounds, 13 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st: Tony Everhart, Gaffney, S.C., five bass, 13-13, $2,674

2^nd: Tim Whitaker, Fairview, N.C., five bass, 13-3, $1,237

3^rd: Wayne Smelser, Rural Retreat, Va., five bass, 12-8, $750

3^rd: Rusty Smith, Six Mile, S.C., five bass, 12-8, $700

5^th: Scott Roberts, Asheville, N.C., five bass, 12-4, $474

5^th: Jason Whitfield, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 12-4, $474

7^th: Brian Nappier, Huntersville, N.C., five bass, 12-2, $391

7^th: Harold Grizzle, Gainesville, Ga., five bass, 12-2, $391

9^th: Evan Benton, Davidson, N.C., five bass, 12-0, $309

9^th: Jimmi Leuthner, Tamassee, S.C., five bass, 12-0, $309

Tim Holbrooks of Franklin, North Carolina, caught the biggest bass among the Co-anglers, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 9 ounces. The catch earned Holbrooks the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $377.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 19-21 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Georgia. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.