BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The 2022 national championship for the hugely popular Bassmaster High School Series will be decided on the renowned waters of Lake Hartwell. The 2022 Abu Garcia Bassmaster High School National Championship presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors will head to Anderson, S.C., August 11-13.
2022 will mark the first time the Bassmaster High School National Championship has been held on Lake Hartwell, which has previously hosted four Bassmaster Classics, including the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk.
“To say that we’re excited about the opportunity to host the Bassmaster High School National Championship is an understatement,” said Neil Paul, executive director of Visit Anderson, which is hosting the event. “This championship event has been on our list of ‘must-haves’ for Anderson County, Green Pond Landing and Lake Hartwell for several years. The youth angler is our future, and our community is all about family. When you combine family, fishing and Anderson County hospitality, we look forward to hosting another winning event in our community.
“The leadership in Anderson County has made a significant commitment to our facilities — such as the legendary Green Pond Landing — and we look forward to hosting the next generation of anglers and their families in the same facility that hosted the record-breaking Bassmaster Classic.”
As many as 275 high school teams are expected to compete for the high school championship crown. Each two-angler team is accompanied by a coach who runs the boat and can give advice on fishing techniques and patterns.
Student anglers qualify for the championship through four High School Opens held on Florida’s Harris Chain of Lakes, Alabama’s Lewis Smith Lake, Arkansas’ Norfork Lake and Michigan’s Saginaw Bay.
“They are the best of the best among 13,000 high school B.A.S.S. members representing more than 1,300 high school fishing clubs nationwide,” said Glenn Cale, B.A.S.S. Nation tournament manager — College, High School and Junior. “We are thrilled to give these high school anglers an opportunity to tackle Hartwell — one of the most storied fisheries in Bassmaster history — as they compete for a national title.”
The Bassmaster High School Series debuted in 2013 and has grown immensely since its inception. The program emphasizes sportsmanship, academics and conservation while giving young anglers a chance to improve and test their fishing skills in competition among their peers.
Banks Shaw and Gage King, of Sale Creek (Tenn.) High School, won the 2021 National Championship on Chickamauga Lake. While King has moved on to college, Shaw was recently named to the prestigious Bassmaster High School All-American Fishing Team presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors. Shaw, now fishing with new partner BJ Collins, has already earned a spot in the National Championship on Hartwell by virtue of a second-place finish at the season’s first tournament on Harris Chain.
The 2022 Abu Garcia Bassmaster High School National Championship presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors is being hosted by Visit Anderson.
