ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. — Approximately 200 anglers had their sights set on South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell for the final St. Croix Bassmaster Open presented by SEVIIN tournament of 2024.
Unfortunately for those in the Anderson, S.C., area, and so many others throughout the eastern United States, Hurricane Helene paid a visit, as well.
The massive Category 4 storm made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend area but ravaged states as far north as West Virginia as it made its destructive romp up the East Coast. In the end, dozens of lives were lost and untold billions in damages were incurred.
And though it was on the edge of Helene, Green Pond Landing at Lake Hartwell (where takeoff and weigh-ins for the final Open tournament of 2024 were to be held) wasn’t without damage. Given the circumstances, as well as the difficulty with finding key resources such as fuel and electricity throughout the southeastern U.S., B.A.S.S. made the decision to move the tournament.
In an effort to respect the resources and be sensitive to the difficulties storms have created in the Lake Hartwell area, the pros now are headed to Alabama where they’ll close the Opens season Oct. 10-12 at the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Martin presented by SEVIIN.
Martin lies just northeast of Montgomery, near the Alabama/Georgia state line. It’s a 44,000-acre reservoir of the Tallapoosa River that’s not dissimilar from Hartwell. Anglers can find healthy populations of both largemouth and spotted bass in both, and there’s forage to chase (primarily blueback herring and some threadfin shad). There are ample docks and brushpiles for bass to cluster around as well, giving competitors ready-made habitat to search for the best bites.
Bassmaster Elite Series pro Will Davis, Jr., who lives in Sylacauga, Ala., about 30 miles from Lake Martin, had been looking forward to fishing at Lake Hartwell again after successfully defending his B.A.S.S. Nation title last season on Hartwell to become the first-ever back-to-back B.A.S.S. Nation champion.
However, the Alabama pro is just as comfortable at Martin. His family had a cabin on Lake Martin when he was a teenager, and he spent many an afternoon chasing bass on the lake. He only fishes Martin a couple of times a year now, though, so he doesn’t consider himself as much a home-water expert as some others in the field.
He noted the similarities between the two fisheries, but said the lakes do fish differently, at least in his experience.
“Bass fishing at Martin will challenge the best of the best,” Davis said. “You can pattern the fish there, but finding the pattern can be hard to find. You’ll have to do a lot of different deals. It could be bass on the docks one day, then on brushpiles tomorrow. Or you could be in 8 inches of water one day and fishing rocks the next day.
“The trick really is lucking out and catching a good one,” Davis said.
That could make the Open at Martin a power-fishing game, which plays to the run-and-gun style. Davis, 32, is perfectly fine with that — it’s what he does just about every place he fishes, anyway.
“I like the way it’s set up right now,” he said. “And I have a history there. Still, you have to catch ’em. The place can burn you if you’re not careful. It’s a very random place. I mean, you can catch them up the lake, down the lake, anywhere in between. You just don’t know until you see what it’s like when we get there.”
About 200 pros and 130 co-anglers were expected to compete at Hartwell, though that number dipped, no doubt, due to the widespread destruction Helene brought to the heart of America’s bass-fishing communities in the southeastern U.S. Total registration figures at Lake Martin were not available at the time of this writing.
Regardless of how many anglers are able to make Martin, nine Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers (EQ) competitors are guaranteed to earn invites to the 2025 Elite Series following the derby. The Top 9 in the points standings will be announced after the Martin Open.
The EQ Angler of the Year will win $45,000 — the same amount as entry fees into the 2025 Elite Series. The next nine in the points race also will split $65,000 in additional EQ prize money.
The winner at Martin could earn as much as $50,000 cash, depending upon the number of pros that compete. A cash prize of up to $17,000 will go to the top co-angler.
The tournament will begin at 6:30 a.m. CT with weigh-ins scheduled for 2:30 p.m., both at Wind Creek State Park, located at 4325 Alabama Highway 128 in Alexander City, Ala. Live coverage will air on FS1 Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m.-noon ET and on Saturday from 8-11 a.m. Additional stories, photos and analyses can be found throughout the tournament on Bassmaster.com.
Lake Martin-Tallapoosa Country Tourism and Alexander City are hosting the event.
