10 ounces for $26,000? Son of Fort Mill residents reeling in a dream

They didn’t pack their bags for Tennessee to watch people fish. They set out for Cherokee Lake to watch their boy chase his dream.

“It’s been a rough road for him,” Cindy Kilroy said of son Jamie Hartman, 44, a Bassmaster Elite Series rookie in 2017. “It hasn’t always been easy for him. He was fishing since he could hold a fishing rod in his hand. It’s been a lifelong dream of his.”

On Sunday Hartman wrapped up his first Elite Series tournament in second place, just 10 ounces behind winner Jacob Wheeler. Hartman caught 69 pounds, 3 ounces of bass over four days. He earned $26,000 for his efforts.

“I’d have taken that deal in a heartbeat,” Hartman told the crowd at Sunday’s weigh-in, moments after learning he’d finish no worse than third place.

Cindy and husband Bob moved to Fort Mill four years ago. Between them they have five boys. Two of their eight grandsons — they also have two granddaughters — live with them. With Jamie, the middle son, there was never any doubt what he’d do if he could just catch his break.

He was hooked from the time he had a creek in his backyard up in New York. Cindy’s dad was an avid fisherman, so maybe it was genetics.

“I think it’s in the blood,” she said. “I enjoy it, but my husband doesn’t enjoy it, so we don’t do it.”

Still, it took a lot of tournaments entered to get to perhaps the biggest name bass fishing series in the world.

“He’s had to win a lot of tournaments,” Bob Kilroy said.

Two years ago Hartman finished 12th in a feeder series, needing top five for an invite to the Elite Series. He was in 12th again this past year heading into the final event, where a strong finish won him the invite.

“It was a big accomplishment, for sure,” Hartman said. “It was something I’d been striving for.”

Most all Elite Series anglers have major sponsorships. Some have several. Events have the most expensive entry fees in fishing, even for people who qualify. It could be tempting for Hartman to play it safe as a rookie, taking few chances to make sure he cashes a few checks.

“I’m not looking to do that,” he said before the event, foreshadowing his strong start to the rookie season. “I’m looking to dive in head first.”

Hartman gave up a career as a truck driver to fish full-time. He started a gofundme.com campaign and put most everything he has in storage.

“He doesn’t even have a home anymore,” Cindy Kilroy said. “His home is his truck.”

Not that he would much need a home this year. The series will take him to at least seven states.

“The competition is great,” Cindy Kilroy said. “We’re hopeful he makes it, because he put everything he has into it.”

Hartman isn’t the only top flight angler with local ties. Some live in Lake Wylie. Others practically live in a boat atop it, calling other Carolina communities home, but making a home lake of Wylie.

“Shane Lineberger, Hank Cherry, Britt Meyers and David Williams are all local guys who fish the Elites,” said Adam Fillmore, owner of Hunt Fish Paddle in Lake Wylie. “The FLW Tour is its counterpart. Ron Farrow, Todd Auten, Bryan Thrift, Matt Arey and Bryan New all fish that series and are local. Both are top tier tours.”

Myers, the only Lake Wylie resident in this year’s Elite field, is looking to build off his strongest result in 2016 as he eyes a breakthrough campaign.

"Last year I got my first major win on the Elite Series,” Myers said.

“Obviously that's a goal always to try to win at least one event. Your ultimate goal is the Angler of the Year race. That's the most coveted prize in professional fishing, for sure."

Not that he’d mind a season-making paycheck or two.

"That, and win as many events as possible," Myers said.

Unlike recreational tournaments, top anglers have to fish well to qualify for and keep their seats at the big table.

"If you don't perform well,” Myers said, “you don't get to keep doing it.”

With seven top-10 finishes in 127 pro events since 2005, Myers sits a few ounces shy of hauling in 5,200 pounds of bass in his career. Good for more than $600,000 in career winnings. He didn’t get the bite he wanted in the first Elite event this year, finishing 83rd out of 110 boats.

Lake Wylie resident Todd Auten fishes FLW events now, but he spent time as an Elite Series angler, too. In a dozen years as an FLW pro Auten has more than $600,000 in career earnings. His third place finish in last year’s Forrest Wood Cup alone won him more than $50,000.

Auten caught eight bass at more than 22 pounds at the first FLW Tour stop on Lake Guntersville in Alabama, good for 53rd place out of 165 anglers. Also good for $4,000. Finishing in the money was a rare highlight in an event where fishing was tough, and his in-laws totaled a vehicle on the way to watch him.

“Everything that could have went wrong went wrong,” Auten said. “It's been a wild week.”

He has reason for optimism. Auten has three top-15 finishes in his last three tries at the biggest event on tour, the annual Forrest Wood Cup. This summer the event comes to familiar waters, at Lake Murray in Columbia.

“That's the goal,” Auten said. “If I get on a good bite somewhere I'm definitely going to try to win, but the main goal right now is just to try to make the Cup. If you have a bad tournament, that’s what gets you.”

Auten doesn’t “like to sit still,” so he fishes patterns more than locations. In bigger events the strategy can hurt him since more anglers are out there on potential sweet spots. The middle tournaments in the series, often with smaller fields, are where Auten often makes his move.

“On the tour and all, it’s just try to stay consistent up in the check range,” he said. “I really don't want to fall behind there, and usually if you stay in the money, then you’ll qualify for the Cup.”

He isn’t the only one looking to cash out each tournament, or the only one who did at the first. Shelby, N.C., residents Thrift and Arey, both regulars on the local tournament scene on Lake Wylie, finished second and 29th respectively. Thrift brought home $30,200 and Arey $10,000.

The FLW Tour runs through the Aug. 11 Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Murray, its biggest payout each year. The Elite Series runs from its Feb. 9-12 date on Cherokee Lake through August.

There are several FWL events planned for Lake Wylie this year, including Bass Fishing League stops on April 1, June 17 and Sept. 30. BASS, the organization sponsoring the Elite Series, doesn’t have any planned.

For more, visit bassmaster.com and flwfishing.com.

This story was originally published February 13, 2017 at 9:29 AM with the headline "10 ounces for $26,000? Son of Fort Mill residents reeling in a dream."