The most competitive circuit in professional bass fishing is coming to Green Pond Landing next week, with more than 170 anglers on the lake as part of the 2016 Walmart FLW Tour at Lake Hartwell presented by Evinrude.
The FLW competitors will usher in the event with a series of local appearances and events beginning this weekend.
On Saturday, FLW will feature Wal-Mart Pro Days, to be held at Wal-Mart stores in Anderson and Seneca. The Pro Days free events are scheduled from noon–2 p.m., and and will feature FLW Pro Anglers such as Matt Arey, Jeff Sprague, Greg Bohannon, Jimmy Houston, David Dudley, Scott Canterbury, Mark Rose and Nicole Jacobs. In addition, members of the Clemson University Bass Team will be on hand at the Seneca Pro Day.
At noon on Saturday, Grady’s Great Outdoors of Anderson will host the Lews Casting Challenge with David Fritts. The event will feature fishing tips from the Lews Pros who will also be givinig away a Lews Baitcasting Combo to one lucky attendee. Fritts is one of a few anglers to win the FLW Forrest Wood Cup and a Bassmaster Classic Championship.
Also on Saturday, the First Baptist Church of Belton will hold a “Meet the Pro’s” Night on at the church, located at 105 Brown Avenue in Belton. The event will begin at 5 p.m. with fishing seminars and breakout sessions given by FLW Pro’s followed by a BBQ dinner at 6 p.m. Among the pros scheduled to attend are Scott Martin, Mark Rose, Greg Bohannon, Glenn Chappelear as well as Anderson County native and FLW Pro Brian Latimer. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door.
On Tuesday, the Anderson County Museum will celebrate the opening of the new Lake Hartwell Exhibit, “62 Years in the Making,” with a reception from 5-7 p.m. The wine and cheese reception, sponsored by the Friends Board of the Anderson County Museum, is free and open to the public. The exhibit will feature a historical look at Lake Hartwell and will include such items as the 2015 Bassmaster Classic Trophy won by Casey Ashley of Donalds as well as some additional memorabilia from Ashley’s collection.
On Wednesday, as part of the FLW Tour’s community outreach initiative, FLW Tour anglers will visit students at Lakeside Middle School in Anderson from 8-9:30 a.m. to introduce students to fishing and outdoor activities in their community. During the presentations the pro anglers will reinforce how science, technology, engineering and math relate to outdoor activities as well as boating safety. The presentation will promote the sport of fishing and outdoor recreation and give youth the information they need to “Get Outdoors. Go Fish!”
The FLW tournament is scheduled for Thursday-Sunday, with boat launches beginning at 7 a.m. each moring at Green Pond Landing.
On Saturday, the FLW Foundation and Anderson County will hold a Unified Fishing Derby, designed for young anglers and the Special Olympics athletes (all ages) in the area, at Chris Taylor Memorial Park near the Civic Center of Anderson. The derby, set from 9-11 a.m., will be hosted by FLW Foundation Pro Cody Kelly. Special goodie bags will be given to the first 50 participants who sign up for the event. Rods and Reels will be available for use, however, children are welcome to bring your own. Bait will be donated by DMF Baits. First and Second Place awards for biggest fish caught will be given from the FLW Stage. For more information or to register, email Judith.allen@flwfishing.com
Hosted by the Anderson Convention & Visitors Bureau, the FLW tournament will bring many of the world’s best bass-fishing professionals and co-anglers casting for top awardsof up to $125,000 cash in the pro division and up to $25,000 cash in the co-angler division.