“Feeding Time”
The term, “Feeding Time,” is often used in fishing when discussing the ideal times to fish based on the feeding patterns of the bass. Here at Lake Hartwell, where the main forage is the Blueback Herring, feeding time is based around the herring bite. As we write this most recent entry of, “Take the Fifth,” the bass are post spawn and making their annual move out to deeper water to set up around the cane piles and offshore structure where they will wait for the Blueback Herring and gorge themselves on one of the most interesting baitfish in our freshwater lakes.
The Legendary Green Pond Landing recently experienced its’ own version of, “Feeding Time,” when the hit television show, ‘Top Chef,’ aired an episode that was filmed at Green Pond Landing and Lake Hartwell. The episode aired in early May and was filed in September 2025. This marked the first time an event of this magnitude took place at the boat ramp that is a brand all its’ own.
We received a phone call from our friends at Visit Greenville in late November of 2024. They expressed an interest in partnering on a potential event. A couple of phone calls, emails, and a few signed NDA’s later, we were meeting and pitching Green Pond Landing and Lake Hartwell, to Top Chef, an opportunity to be a part of Top Chef Carolina’s and working with our friends at Visit Greenville. All the credit goes to our friends at Visit Greenville for allowing us to be part of this tremendous opportunity.
The project was a process. It renewed my appreciation for tournament organizers and hosting bass tournaments. Major television is no joke! Nearly every meeting involved a signed NDA for someone. The Hollywood folks don’t know anything about bass fishing. There were meetings where we had to explain and conduct a show and tell for a bass boat, bass angler, and bait and tackle.
The episode filmed at Green Pond Landing featured a Quickfire Challenge and an Elimination Cook. The Quickfire Challenge took place in the amphitheater where an onsite kitchen was set up for the competing chefs. The Elimination Challenge featured the competing chefs being taken out on boats with local anglers where they had a timed fishing tournament. The anglers caught fish and prepared their catch for the judges of the show. A huge shoutout to our local anglers and our friends at Palmetto Boat Center that provided the boats and anglers for the filming of television.
I mentioned above about the appreciation for tournament organizers and tournament organizations. We hosted the Bassmaster Elite Series in April of 2025 and the tournament team from Bassmaster featured less than 25 people between media, the tournament team, and production. The Top Chef team, when they all ascended on Green Pond Landing on film day, included over 150 people. They were all kind and very easy to work with, but I had no idea that making network television was so involved….and sometimes needy.
At Green Pond Landing and Lake Hartwell, we were so appreciative and enjoyed the opportunity to partner with Visit Greenville on a project such as, ‘Top Chef,’; however, that’s not the first time Green Pond Landing and Lake Hartwell has been part of the television scene or provided the necessary backdrop for television and high end media.
In January 2023 and 2024, Green Pond Landing and Lake Hartwell served as the desired location for Mark Zona and Zona’s Awesome Fishing Show. If you’re a fishing fan, you know all about Zona’s Awesome Fishing Show which airs annually on the Outdoor Network. Mark Zona brough the Death Star to Anderson County and filmed consecutive seasons for an episode to air. Zona and Brandon Cobb pulled back the curtain on techniques and ways to catch bass at Lake Hartwell during January, one of the coldest, and best times to catch bass at Lake Hartwell.
Kevin Van Dam, considered the GOAT of tournament bass fishing by many, brought his new television fishing show to Green Pond Landing and Lake Hartwell, where he filmed an episode of the Kevin Van Dam Experience in March 2025. KVD and Casey Ashley, 2015 Bassmaster Classic Champion, broke out the shakey heads for their day on the lake. KVD, a power fisherman extraordinaire, was forced to slow down and drag a worm to make television much to his dismay.
Lastly, Green Pond Landing and Lake Hartwell provided the perfect backdrop for Toyota when, in October 2024, our friends from Toyota brought the all-new Toyota 4-Runner to Anderson and shot content and photography for the new vehicle lakeside at Green Pond Landing. The Parks Department of Anderson County worked closely with the media team from Toyota to create a campsite scene and beach scene to highlight the versatility of Toyota’s newest offering. Those photos and content shots of the new 4-Runner have been seen in print advertising and signage in Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s all over America.
Someone once told me, “Own your moment!” Other people have said, “When it’s your time, eat!” At the Legendary Green Pond Landing and Lake Hartwell, we have owned our moments and our ‘Feeding Time.’