Lake Hartwell Elite Series (Bassmaster Elite Series)

The Bassmaster Elite Series stages at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina, April 16 through 27, 2026, with daily takeoffs at 7 AM from Green Pond Landing and afternoon weigh-ins at 3 PM at the same facility, one of the most purpose-built professional tournament venues on the circuit’s southeastern rotation. The free public Expo at Green Pond Landing runs Saturday April 25 and Sunday April 26 from noon to 5 PM, presenting exhibits from Whataburger, Toyota, Bass Pro Shops, Skeeter/Yamaha, and Ranger/Nitro/Mercury alongside official Bassmaster merchandise and local food vendors in a format that converts the tournament’s final weekend into a family-accessible festival event independent of the competitive programme.

The Expo Weekend Programme

Military and First Responder Appreciation Day on Saturday, April 25, offers free Bassmaster hats to the first 100 attendees presenting military identification. B.A.S.S. Member Appreciation Day on Sunday, April 26, distributes free hats to the first 100 B.A.S.S. members presenting membership credentials. The BassmastHER workshop on Saturday, April 26, from 10:30 AM to 2 PM, provides a structured networking and skill development session for women anglers that has become one of the Elite Series Expo’s most substantive educational offerings. Demo rides from Skeeter/Yamaha and Ranger/Nitro/Mercury allow the public to experience tournament-calibre boat performance from a passenger position, providing context for the equipment that the professional field deploys daily during competition.

If You’re Going With Kids: Green Pond Landing’s infrastructure at 470 Green Pond Road in Anderson is one of the Elite Series’ most spectator-functional venues, with paved access, covered weigh-in staging, and shoreline viewing space that accommodates family groups without the crowd management friction that underbuilt tournament venues create. Clemson University’s campus, approximately 20 kilometres northeast on US-76 along the Lake Hartwell shoreline, provides the post-weigh-in family destination whose combination of collegiate architecture, athletic facilities visible from the lakefront, and the independent Clemson town restaurants extend an Anderson tournament visit into a broader Upstate South Carolina afternoon.

Lake Hartwell and the Upstate South Carolina Corridor

Lake Hartwell’s 56,000 acres and 962 miles of shoreline span the South Carolina-Georgia border across Anderson, Oconee, and Hart counties, making it one of the American Southeast’s most geographically expansive tournament reservoirs. The lake’s largemouth and spotted bass populations are among the most consistently competitive in the Bassmaster Elite Series’ full annual schedule, and its spring timing at Green Pond Landing captures the pre-spawn through spawn transition that produces the weight concentrations that both professional anglers and spectators find most dramatic. For families and visiting anglers building a Lake Hartwell stay around the Elite Series week, Lake.com lists several lakefront properties in the area, including the Hartwell Waterfront Home with Game Room and Boat Slip, the Hopewood Retreat near Clemson, and the Zoka Luxe Modern Retreat near Clemson with Hot Tub.