Bass Tournaments Taking Place This Month on Lake Hartwell

The 2024 national championship for the popular Bassmaster College Series will be played out on the waters of Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina this weekend.

The 2024 Strike King Bassmaster College National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops will showcase the nation’s best college anglers beginning today through Sunday.

Anglers will launch from and weigh in daily at Green Pond Landing and Event Center in Anderson as they scour the lake’s 56,000 acres of water and more than 960 miles of shoreline for three days to bring Hartwell’s biggest bass to the scales to claim the title of national champion.

“We’re so excited to host the Bassmaster College Series National Championship in Anderson County, Green Pond Landing, and Lake Hartwell,” said Visit Anderson Executive Director Neil Paul. “The leadership of Anderson County has provided us with a championship-caliber facility in Green Pond and the resources to recruit events such as the national championship.

Lake Hartwell is no stranger to Bassmaster events. In 2023 Hartwell hosted a Yamaha Rightwaters Bassmaster Kayak Series scored by TourneyX event, the Bassmaster Junior National Championship, the Strike King Bassmaster High School Championship and the Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Championship presented by Lowrance. Later in 2024, the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Hartwell presented by SEVIIN will be held Oct. 10-12.

Last weekend, local anglers took home top prizes in last weekend’s BFL Savannah River Division Super Fishing Tournament on Lake Hartwell.

Hosted by the Anderson Convention & Visitors Bureau and presented by Suzuki Marine, the tournament was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Savannah River Division and drew more than 65 of the region’s top competition fishers to the event.

Lake Hartwell is no stranger to tournament bass fishing, hosting events at all levels every month of the year.

The South Carolina-Georgia border fishery is home to a healthy population of both largemouth and spotted bass.

This past weekend, several local and area fishermen earned recognition with top-10 finishes in the Bass Fishing League, or BFL, two-day Super Tournament on Lake Harwell, a part of the Major League Fishing season.

In the ranking of the top 10 boaters to finish the tournament Daulton Smith of Martin placed 9th with 10 bass weighing 21 pounds 0 ounces, and earning prize money of $597.

Other area boaters to compete in the tournament included Brad Benfield (21st) of Demorest, Tim Watson of Martin (33rd), and Brendan Smith of Lavonia (44th).

Daulton Smith has competed in 44 events with 3 top-10 finishes and earnings of $3,908.

Benefield has competed in 109 events with 1 career win, 12 top-10 finishes, and earnings of $21,571.

Watson has competed in 61 events with 2 career wins, 8 top-10 finishes, and earnings of $61,010.

Brendan Smith has competed in 29 events with 1 career win, 2 top-10 finishes, and earnings of $4,742.

In the tournament’s Top 10 Strike King co-anglers ranking, Corey Veal of Royston, Ga., took second with seven bass and a cumulative weight of 12 pounds 11 ounces and earnings of $1,119 and Chris Worley of Eastanollee finished 7th with five bass and a cumulative weight of 7 pounds 13 ounces and earnings of $373.

Other local and area co-anglers competing in the tournament included Justin Lemaster of Royston (31st), Richard Thomas of Martin (63rd) and Andy Ronemus of Clarkesville (64).

Next up for the Savannah River Division, the top 45 boaters and co-anglers based on season point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will compete in the Oct. 3-5 BFL Regional tournament on Pickwick Lake in Tennessee.