Casey Ashley Wins the 2014 FLW Tour Lake Hartwell Event.

Texan Redington wins co-angler title, $25,000

FLW Press Release

SENECA, S.C. – Pro angler Casey Ashley of Donalds, S.C., brought the largest stringer to the scale on Sunday – for the third time in four days of competition – to win the Walmart FLW Tour at Lake Hartwell presented by Ranger Boats. Ashley weighed in a five-bass limit worth 15 pounds, 10 ounces to win the $100,000 prize after leading wire-to-wire in the four-day event that showcased 176 of the best bass-fishing professionals in the world.

Casey went wire to wire to win this event by 15 pounds!
(Photos: FLW)

Ashley’s four-day total of 20 bass weighing 68 pounds, 5 ounces gave him an impressive 14-pound, 8-ounce margin of victory over second-place finisher Livingston Lures pro Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn., whose four-day total of 20 bass weighed 53 pounds, 13 ounces and earned him $30,000.

“This week has been magical,” said Ashley, who earned the first Walmart FLW Tour victory of his career. “I’m not taking away from any major tournament that I’ve won, but it really means a lot to win at home. When you win at home, everybody you know is here. A lot of times my family gets to travel to my closer tournaments, but at home everybody gets to be there. A lot of them were out on the water watching me. I think the whole town of Donalds is here. It’s just an awesome feeling.”

Ashley said that he concentrated his efforts this week fishing the lower end of Lake Hartwell in the clear water. He targeted deep brush piles from 25 to 40 feet deep.

2014 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Hartwell Day 3: Casey Ashley Advances with 10 Pound Lead!

Fog shortened day 3 makes for difficult day.

FLW Press Release

SENECA, S.C. – Walmart FLW Tour competitors arrived to Lake Hartwell early Saturday morning only to find a thick blanket of fog that forced FLW Tournament Director Bill Taylor to delay takeoff. After approximately a three-hour delay, anglers were allowed to start day three of the Walmart FLW Tour at Lake Hartwell presented by Ranger Boats. Local pro Casey Ashley of Donalds, S.C., increased his lead after again bringing the largest five-bass limit of the day to the scale weighing 15 pounds, 7 ounces.

Casey working his first bass of the day to the boat.
(Photo: FLW)

Ashley’s three-day total of 52 pounds, 11 ounces gives him a commanding 9-pound, 10-ounce lead over pro Clent Davis of Montevallo, Ala., heading into the fourth and final day of competition in the tournament that features the world’s best bass-fishing anglers casting for the top cash award of up to $125,000.

“I was really worried because we had such a short day today,” said Ashley, who is seeking his first Walmart FLW Tour win. “I’m not catching a lot of fish in one place, and I’m having to move around a lot. I’ve still got some stuff that I haven’t even fished yet, just because of time. It takes some time to keep fishing how I have been, and there is just not enough time in the day, especially today.

Ashley said that he wasn’t really doing anything special, and most of his fish were still coming on a jig and a shaky-head rig. After weighing in all largemouth bass on day one and mostly spotted bass on day two, Ashley brought a mixed bag to the scale on day three consisting of two largemouth and three spots.

2014 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Hartwell Day 1: Ashley Breaks 20lb Mark as Pack Averages 10.

by Brett Carlson
FLW Press Release

SENECA, S.C. – Casey Ashley may be fishing his first Walmart FLW Tour season, but he’s no stranger to big-time tournaments on Lake Hartwell. One in particular still sticks with him and not for good reason. Today, he put some big-time revenge on the Hartwell bass – catching a 21-pound, 7-ounce stringer on a day where less than half the field cracked double digits.

Casey, uses local experience on Hartwell
during cold, wet day 1.
(Photo: FLW)

With temperatures in the mid-40s and a steady 20 mph northeast wind, the conditions made a tough bite even tougher. Right as the day-one weigh-in commenced, the rain started and isn’t supposed to let up until Friday afternoon. None of this affected Ashley, who fishes Hartwell often and knew the bite was screwy thanks to a cold and unpredictable spring.

“Four weeks ago the lake was on fire and you could catch them any way you wanted to, from 2 feet to 50 feet,” said the 30-year-old pro leader. “ Now they are just roaming. I had some good stuff that I found in practice and I caught some pretty good fish. I fished some stuff that had gone well in practice and didn’t get bit today. I caught my better fish today on stuff that I didn’t even practice. And the wind was so bad I didn’t get to fish all my stuff. I really only hit what was protected.”

2013 Walmart FLW Lake Okeechobee Day 2: Smashing 30 Pound Bag Sends Cotton to Lead.

FLW Press Release
CLEWISTON, Fla. – In the days leading up to the Walmart FLW Tour on Lake Okeechobee presented by Mercury, many pros lamented the tougher fishing conditions and most predicted that no one would break the 100-pound mark this year. Rick Cotten of Guntersville, Ala., ignored the dock talk and now leads a full field of 174 of the world’s best bass-fishing pros in the four-day event that has competitors casting for a top cash award of up to $125,000.

Massive catch sends Cotton into lead.
(Photo: FLW outdoors)

Cotten weighed in the first 30 pound stringer of the tournament Friday – a five-bass limit weighing 30 pounds, 3 ounces – to vault to the top of the leaderboard after finishing day one in second place. After two days of competition Cotten has weighed in 10 bass totaling 54 pounds, 3 ounces and is well on pace to break the 100-pound mark. Cotten now holds a 7 pound, 3 ounce lead over Drew Benton of Panama City, Fla., who caught five bass today weighing 23 pounds, 9 ounces. Benton has weighed in 10 bass totaling 47 pounds even after his first two days on the water.
“There’s a lot of work left to do,” said Cotten, who has one previous top-20 finish on the FLW Tour – a 12th-place finish on Kentucky Lake in 2012 . “If I had a 20-pound lead I’d be tickled. But, I don’t. I placed third in an EverStart event on Guntersville last year and finished 12th at Kentucky (Lake). I’ve never led a tournament this big before.