Patrick Walters of Summerville put together a solid final-day catch Friday and captured the Bassmaster Eastern Open tournament fished on Lake Hartwell. Walters, a regular on the Bassmaster Elite circuit, had the third-largest catch of the 12 competitors who fished the final day with five bass that weighed 13 pounds, 11 ounces and finished the three-day event with a total of 44-5. He earned $42,267.

Jayme Rampey of Liberty placed second, almost two pounds behind Walters with a total of 42-6, and earned $20,287. Andy Ricker of Pomaria was third at 40-12, winning $14,320.

This is Walters’ third Bassmaster victory. He and fellow University of South Carolina angler Tyler All won the 2017 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Southern Regional presented by Bass Pro Shops at Winyah Bay. Walters also won the 2018 Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Open on the Red River.

“I really didn’t know how this week was going to pan out,” Walters said. “You can’t predict it; you just have to go fishing every single day and fish as hard as you can.

“That Red River definitely solidified that I could do it. But to do it here in Anderson, S.C., on Lake Hartwell, I absolutely love this lake. This means the world to me.”

Mark Grizzle of Cumming, Ga., won the co-angler division with a total weight of 21-10 and won $18,927. Cody Wilson of Ladson was third in the co-angler division with a catch of 18-5 and won $3,340. J.W. Smith of Goose Creek won the $250 Phoenix Boats Big Bass prize among co-anglers for his 6-0 catch.

Courtesy Tommy Brawell  Special to The Post and Courier www.postandcourier.com

ANDERSON COUNTY, SC (WSPA)–The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Campground on Lake Hartwell, will get a massive face-lift after being

closed for decades.

Anderson County will work with Lake Hartwell Development Group, LLC to revamp the old Asbury Park and Campground, which will soon be called the

‘Shores of Asbury’. When you think of big water attractions in Anderson County, Green Pond Landing comes to mind first. However, only a few miles away, the rebirth of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ campground is underway. “It has been sitting idle for more than 20 years,” said Burriss Nelson, Director of Anderson County Economic Development.

“We think this is a great opportunity to revitalize a recreational area on Lake Hartwell and there’s a demand for it,” Nelson said. “My father-in-law lived here for quite some time and so I think it could be a good thing,” said Emily Vickery, resident.

The more than 40 acre campground will have a floating water park with inflatables, slides, and floating cabanas. The inflatable water park will be the first of its kind along Lake Hartwell. Off shore, there will be other fun things too. “They’re talking about multiple things like glamping, just general camp sites, tent camping, opportunities to have little mini cabins. We’re even talking about putting up yurts that people can camp out of, as well as tree houses,” Nelson said.

The campground will be open to the public, but people will have to pay for the attractions. Some frequent park-goers aren’t too happy about the potential traffic this could bring.

“You get too many people here, you can’t enjoy yourself,” said Paul Nichols, park-goer. 7-News also asked Nelson if this will cost taxpayers, and he said there will not be an impact, but it will be good for the County’s tourism.

“There will be some income that will come out of this for the county in the lease agreement,” Nelson said. While this project has been in the works for nearly two years, Anderson County hopes the new development will finally give life back to the once idle park.
“I would love to see some development here,” Vickery said. “If we can garner business and bring folks to our community and bring them here for recreation opportunity, we certainly prefer that over any other thing,” Nelson added.

Nelson said the project should start within the next six weeks, and they expect it to be completed by April of 2021.

Anderson County is seeking public comment about the project through September 9th. They will have a public presentation on August 27th at the Anderson Civic Center beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Courtesy Asia Wilson www.wspa.com