The 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk will be held for the fourth time at Lake Hartwell from March 4 to March 6.
The tournament was previously held at Lake Hartwell in 2008, 2015 and 2018.
The event, which will be hosted by Visit Anderson and VisitGreenville SC, will have takeoffs to fish from Green Pond Landing & Event Center in Anderson, and daily weigh-ins will be held at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville. The annual Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo will also take place at the Greenville Convention Center.
“Everything about Lake Hartwell and the city of Greenville make them the perfect setting for the Super Bowl of professional bass fishing,” said Bruce Akin, CEO of B.A.S.S., the organization that owns the Bassmaster tournaments. “The Bassmaster Classic is not only a chance for the best anglers in the world to showcase their abilities, it’s an annual celebration of the sport itself. Lake Hartwell provides the perfect site for amazing competition, and the city of Greenville provides the hotels, restaurants and other facilities you need for an event the size of the Classic.”
In its last appearance at Hartwell in 2018, a then-record crowd of 143,323 fans attended all of the Classic-related events. The tournament won a Sports Destination Management Innovation in Sports Tourism award for its ability to have two destinations working together for such a large economic impact.
“The Upstate of South Carolina is thrilled to welcome the Bassmaster Classic back to Lake Hartwell for the fourth time since initially hosting back in 2008,” David Montgomery, VisitGreenvilleSC’s vice president of sales, said. “Not only has the Classic set attendance records each year it has returned, but it has proven to be one of our largest economic impact events for the Greenville region.”
Since the 2018 event, Lake Hartwell, a 56,000-acre man-made reservoir encompassing portions of the Savannah, Tugaloo and Seneca rivers, has hosted several other high-level B.A.S.S. events, including a 2019 Bassmaster Elite Series tournament.
The 2022 Classic will feature 55 qualifiers who will earn their berths through the Elite Series, the Opens, the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation circuit, the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops and the Bassmaster Team Championship as well as the defending Bassmaster Classic champion and winner of the final Elite Series event of the 2021 season. They will compete in the no-entry-fee event for their share of a $1 million purse, with the champion earning $300,000.
For more information, visit bassmaster.com.
