# @outdoor_life on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DHjYUHqz9AN
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/28067700-outdoor-life-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/32f551ad5d.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-03-23T19:00:36.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Outdoor Life (@outdoor_life) — https://gondola.cc/outdoor_life

## Caption

March 16 was the last day of tournament fishing at a Major League Fishing event on Lake Hartwell. Angler Chad Mrazek was fishing alone, easing along the mouth of a feeder creek and looking for pre-spawn bass.⁠
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“The bite was very slow, as the water temperature was only 56 degrees,” Mrazek says. “I had to keep the lure in front of their nose for a white to get a bite, and finally one of those three marks on my sonar to hit. It was a crushing strike, almost like a big catfish. That’s the way spotted bass are, like a freight train. Largemouths that day were very lethargic – you’d barely feel a bite. So, I knew it was a good bass by the way it hit and dogged deep during the fight. He fought so hard that for a while, I thought it might have been a striped bass. I took my time with that fish, got him in the net, and put him in the live well.”⁠
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The big spot rounded out Mrazek’s five-fish bag. He tried locating another school and fished for another 30 minutes, but eventually had to head back to the dock.⁠
Back at the weigh-in site that afternoon. Mrazek’s big spotted bass weighed 6 pounds, 4 ounces, which is a new lake record, according to Georgia Outdoor News. His fish tops the previous Hartwell Lake record of 5 pounds, 6.08 ounces set in 2007 by Raulie Bleech.⁠
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Tap the link in profile for the full story 🔗⁠
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#fishing #fishingtrip #fishingseason #bassfishing #spottedbass #bass #lakehartwell #outdoors #nature #outdoorlife #tournamentfishing⁠
📷: chad_mrazek⁠
Story by: Bob McNally

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 580
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## Tags

outdoors, nature, bassfishing, fishing, tournamentfishing, spottedbass, lakehartwell, fishingseason, outdoorlife, fishingtrip, bass

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