The father-son duo of Trevor and Alex Prince caught a mixed bag of spotted and largemouth bass weighing 17 lbs, 15 ounces to win the 13th Annual Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners Tournament on Lake Hartwell. This was the Prince’s first time fishing the Bonus Bucks Owners event, though the 2023 Tundra they drove to legendary Green Pond Landing in is the fourth Tundra Trevor Prince has owned.
“I’ve always liked the look of Toyota Tundras and you can’t beat the reliability,” the elder Prince said. “All you have to do is put gas in them and go! That’s why I’ve continued to buy one after another… they are rock solid. I’ve won some money through Bonus Bucks over the years, too, so it’s been great to finally fish a Toyota Owners event. It certainly lived up to the hype.”
Alex Prince drives a 2016 Tundra and echoed his dad’s praise of Toyota’s reliability and the towing power of their Tundras. Alex is set to fish the Bassmaster Opens in 2025 for the first time as a boater and relished the opportunity to win a tournament while standing on the Bassmaster stage.
This first-class no entry fee event feels equal parts family reunion as it does a hotly contested tournament. Toyota rolls out the red carpet for participants with catered meals, meet and greets with Team Toyota pros, and incredible registration prizes from brands like Strike King, Bass Pro Shops, Yamaha Outboards, and Costa Sunglasses on top of a truckload of Toyota Fishing Team swag.
Beautiful Lake Hartwell, Anderson County, and the unparalleled Green Pond Landing facility were a new destination for this event. They proved to be terrific hosts for this annual celebration of Toyota owners and Bonus Bucks members.
“This was such a well-run event and a great time to get to share together,” Trevor said. “I couldn’t believe all the great stuff we got at registration. I told Alex Saturday night that even if we didn’t get a check, we already cashed in with all the gear. I can’t wait to fish this again next year.”
The pair of Princes’ fish a lot of tournaments each year, sharing a love of competitive fishing coupled with the chance to spend quality time together. The Blue Ridge, Georgia natives consider Lake Lanier and Chatuge Lake their home waters, but Hartwell is less than two hours from their house and has always been a fishery they’ve gelled with.
The spotted bass aficionados employed forward facing sonar to find groups of bass chasing schools of bait in 15 to 50 feet of water, leaning on a unique hardbait – the SPRO Sashimmy Swimmer – to trick their fish into biting.
“We caught a few on jigs this morning but it was pretty slow until about noon,” Alex Prince said. “This afternoon the fish started setting up right, suspending over brush and getting in the right mood to bite. That’s when they started chewing the Sashimmy.”
The Prince’s bested second place by just three ounces to take home the tournament trophies, $5,000 in prize money, new Lew’s rod and reel combos along with the Costa Compete + Conserve bonus.
Toyota Bonus Bucks remains a premier contingency program whether you fish weekend tournaments or at the professional level. With over 620 supported events, you’re leaving money on the table if you don’t tow your boat with a Toyota tow vehicle. To learn more about Bonus Bucks or the annual Toyota Owners Tournament, follow this link: https://www.toyotatrucksbonusbucks.com/.