“Take the Fifth” The Road Less Traveled
“Why in the world are they going to fish on Lake Hartwell and weigh those fish in Greenville?” It’s the gift that keeps on giving each time we announce another Classic.
When we announced the 2015 Bassmaster Classic at Lake Hartwell in 2014, we took it for granted that the community understood the methodology behind hosting the Classic since the first Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell took place in 2008.
Simple things like why there were multiple communities involved in the process, multiple financial partners and so on. The Classic is not a one-horse town. We spent much of our time and efforts focused on the event details such as hospitality and volunteer assistance, and making sure we followed the guidelines set forth by the contract.
By the completion of the 2015 Classic, it was apparent to me that, if we were granted the opportunity to host another Classic, we would need to spend more time and effort on educating the community on the why, when, where, and how.
A few short years after that record-breaking 2015 Bassmaster Classic, we were granted the opportunity to host the third Classic on Lake Hartwell in 2018. It was then that we began the education process of why B.A.S.S. would hold a fishing tournament on Lake Hartwell and transport the anglers, their boats, and the fish a whopping 38 miles (Green Pond Landing to the BS Arena according to Google Maps) for the daily weigh in.
It’s important to note that in the Bassmaster Classic, the bass are retrieved by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) as soon as they are weighed, placed in their fisheries transport vehicles and returned safely back to an undisclosed location on Lake Hartwell.
Remember in our last blogpost, I mentioned the phrase, “Location. Location. Location.?” Same applies here. The fact that Anderson County and Greenville County are neighbor counties, share a tremendous working relationship, and have been loyal partners to B.A.S.S. over the years is why this works so well. Also, note that the 38-mile voyage from Green Pond Landing to the Bon Secours Wellness Arena is among the shortest trips the anglers and their catch make for a Classic. In fact, until B.A.S.S. carried their crown jewel event to Knoxville, Tennessee, where the entire event takes place downtown and the drive from the boat ramp to the arena is a mere 2.7 miles, the distance from Green Pond Landing to the Bon Secours Wellness Arena was the shortest distance traveled by the anglers.
If we take a minute a look back at some of the most recent Bassmaster Classics and the distance between the lakeside facility and the weigh-in arena, you’ll again see what makes us so inviting.
2026 Knoxville, Tennessee (McWherter Boat Ramp to Thompson-Boling Arena) 2.7 miles
2025 Ft. Worth, Texas (Lake Ray Roberts State Park to Dickie’s Arena) 57 miles
2024 Tulsa, Oklahoma (Wolf Creek Park to BOK Center) 91 miles
2020 Birmingham, Alabama (Guntersville Boat Launch to Legacy Arena) 77 miles
2017 Houston, Texas (Lake Conroe County Park to Minute Maid Park) 48 miles
In the cases of Ft. Worth and Houston, the 57-mile and 48-mile pilgrimage from the lake to the weigh-in arena took well over an hour due to large city traffic and congestion.
In February, when we announced the return of the Bassmaster Classic to Lake Hartwell for a record fifth time, the calls and questions started to surface like feeding time on a school of herring. With that, I’ve learned that I must be a terrible teacher of methodology since we will have done this now more than anyone in the world and the questions or logistics that were asked in 2014 are still prevalent today.
On a more serious note, I don’t mind the calls and questions. Each one gives me the opportunity to engage with someone that may not know about the Bassmaster Classic or what this great event brings to our community and the Upstate of South Carolina. So please, don’t hesitate to reach out. I am excited to meet you and talk with you.
The benefit of the logistics to Anderson County and Visit Anderson is that the 38-miles from Green Pond Landing to the Bon Secours Wellness Arena serves us well in that we are close enough to get a lot of traffic for the event in our community. Our hotel rooms are more affordable, our restaurants will see traffic, and people associated with the tournament will stay in our community due to the familiarity with the community and distance to everything.
