By Jody White MLF Invitationals Press Release
ANDERSON, S.C. – The final day of Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 2 Presented by Suzuki Marine on Lake Hartwell turned out to be a classic. Big spotted bass and largemouth hit the scales left and right, and the event went down the wire, as all the leaders struggled to put it away.
Going out with the lead, Dustin Smith weighed an even 13 pounds on the final day for a 53-11 total, which was not quite enough to hold off young Mitchell Robinson. Starting the day in second, Robinson never caught more than 20 pounds any day of the week, but he managed to scrape up 17-5 on Day 3 for a 53-13 total to earn his first win above the high school level. For the win, Robinson takes home the trophy plus $115,000, which is a lot of money to win at 19 years old.
Through two events, Drew Gill has the lead for Fishing Clash Angler of the Year, with rookies Banks Shaw and Dustin Smith in second and third. The next event of the Invitationals season is Stop 3 Presented by Phoenix Boats at Smith Lake.
Honed LiveScope approach helps Robinson prevail
In July 2023, Robinson and partner Cody Abbott won the Bassmaster High School National Championship at Lake Hartwell – at the time, it was the culmination of years fishing Hartwell and Keowee, the home lakes for the Robinson family. Robinson and Abbott split $5,000 in scholarship money in that one – not insignificant, but maybe not a huge factor for someone diving headlong into the family plumbing and fishing businesses.
Top 10 Below
This week, Robinson made some real money, combining knowledge he learned fishing with family and top-tier skills with forward-facing sonar. His best days, Day 1 and Day 3, Robinson was allowed full use of forward-facing sonar, and he ran a pattern that relied on moving fast and looking for fish off the beaten path.
“Those fish have always been there, but they’ve never been fished for,” Robinson said. “So, now with LiveScope, you can target them, because these fish are a cast off the bank. They’re under people’s boats. It’s probably the fish they used to see on 2D. So, that little ‘Scope pattern panned out really good for me.”
Keeping the trolling motor moving, Robinson scanned banks that might not look like much but had the right characteristics for him.
“These banks are either sand, clay or pea gravel – any sort of flatter bank, but not like a big, long flat,” he said. “A lot of times it is just it’s a little flat, but then it has a drop or a ditch running by it. And transitions, too – if you see some rock and then it switches to sand real quick and then back to rock.
“You want something for them to ease up there and just cruise around and eat. That’s about all they’re doing is feeding. I think it’s the same fish you see cruising down the bank that you try to catch. There’s a group that cruises shallower and then a little deeper and a little deeper. I think that’s all these fish do on this lake.”
The beauty of the mid-depth cruisers is that Robinson could catch them at a much higher rate than he could have on the bank. Though they’re not hidden anymore, Robinson still thinks that they’re more willing to bite.
“When they see your boat, you’re done with the ones way up shallow. They’re already skittish to be up there because they know they can be seen by everything,” he said. “But these I’m fishing for, they know they’re a little hidden.”
Putting his boat in about 10 feet of water, Robinson panned to each side, looking as deep at 20 to 25 feet and as shallow as he can see. He likes to run his forward range at about 80 feet, his color gain at 55 and his gain at 70. Today, because of the pollen washed in from overnight rains, he ran his noise reject on medium.
Pollen is often the bane of forward-facing sonar, and really one of the few environmental conditions outside of wind that can slow the experts down. It looked for a bit like it might end Robinson’s comeback bid.
“The pollen and the wind ruined my entire area I caught 20 pound of spots Day 1,” Robinson said. “So, I went back today, I got one bite. It was a good one, but literally one bite there, and it kinda spun me out a little bit.”
Staples and history do the rest
To catch his fish, Robinson used the same things that have been working for spotted bass for years – a shaky head and a Neko rig.
For both, he used a 5-inch Yamamoto Senko, putting it on a light shaky head or using a 1/16-ounce nail weight. The key for both baits was to go light, so he could keep it out of the low and sticky grass and moss growing on the bottom. For his shaky head, he used a 7-foot, 2-inch, medium Phenix M1, and he used a 7-1, medium-light Phenix K2 Torzite for his Neko.
On Day 2, fishing without forward-facing sonar, Robinson used the shaky head to catch two big fish from a little bridge – no ‘Scope needed. Even with ‘Scope, the fishing wasn’t point and shoot – according to Robinson, even the easier ones he’s targeting aren’t easy.
“I think I’ve seen five bass for 30 to 35 pounds a day on ‘Scope,” Robinson said. “That big one had 25 or 30 with him, and most of them were the same size. To show you how finicky they are, seven or eight went down. ‘Donk.’ I set the hook. Nothing. ‘Donk.’ He drops it. And then ‘donk,’ he swims off with it, and then I get that 5 1/4. You know he don’t have no trouble sucking that 5-inch Senko in, so they just don’t want to bite.”
Of course, if you give yourself enough opportunities and convert at an above average rate, you can overcome a finicky bite.
With father Marty and older brother Marshall fishing on the Bass Pro Tour, Mitchell looks to be on track to join the duo in short order. That’s a goal for the future – in the present, the youngest Robinson got the job done on the home pond again.
“Winning here might be a little less impressive than winning somewhere else, but it definitely feels the best winning on the home pond,” Robinson said. “I put in a lot of time here, so I think winning here is probably the best feeling ever.”
Based on the reaction of the crowd of friends and family at weigh-in, he’s probably right.
Top 10 pros
1. Mitchell Robinson – 53 – 13 (15) – $115,000 (includes $35,000 Phoenix Bonus)
2. Dustin Smith – 53 – 11 (15) – $30,000
3. Chad Mrazek – 51 – 13 (15) – $20,000
4. Drew Gill – 51 – 7 (15) – $18,000
5. Marshall Robinson – 50 – 7 (15) – $17,000
6. Jayme Rampey – 50 – 0 (15) – $16,000
7. Kyle Cortiana – 49 – 13 (15) – $15,000
8. Ken Thompson – 49 – 8 (15) – $14,000
9. Banks Shaw – 49 – 1 (15) – $13,000
10. Brian Latimer – 48 – 15 (15) – $12,000
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