Coffee’s Hoyt English and Jake Grantham win the first qualifying tournament of the season at Lake Oconee

Coffee’s Hoyt English and Jake Grantham punched their ticket to the state finals with a win, in the first tournament of the  2025 season at Lake Oconee. In the GHSA’s second attempt to hold the first qualifying tournament of the season, 38 qualified for the state championship tournament.

The tournament saw much more success this year than last. This year, 33 teams weighed in a bag of more than 10 pounds, compared to just five last year. Only two teams exceeded 11 pounds in 2023, where 21 teams did this year. Better weather proved to be the difference. Last year’s tournament was bitterly cold, causing the fish in the shallow lake to stop feeding leading to a difficult day for the competing anglers. This past Saturday, however, was unseasonably warm, leading to more active fish and better conditions that competitors are more accustomed to.

Coffee’s Hoyt English and Jake Grantham won the tournament with a bag weighing 17 pounds, 10 ounces, the largest ever recorded in the five qualifying tournaments held on the lake. The previous record was set in 2022 by Hunter Shuman and Logan Sehri from Bryan County, who weighed in a 16-pound, 15-ounce bag.

The series will now head to the state’s largest lake, Clarks Hill. Oconee and Clarks Hill couldn’t be more different. Clarks Hill, completed in 1954, is one of the oldest lakes in the state, while Oconee, finished in 1979, is one of the newest. Clarks Hill spans a massive 71,100 acres, whereas Oconee covers just 19,071 acres. Anglers will need to adapt to vastly different waters, employing new techniques and strategies compared to those used at Oconee.

Additionally, this will be the first time Clarks Hill has not hosted the championship tournament since it was added to the schedule in the 2022 season. Most of the knowledge gained from past four tournaments at the lake, typically held in May, will be far less useful for this year’s March event. The tournament will most likely be before the spawn, but could get into the early parts of the Spawn, a time normally considered to be the best time to fish.