The Association of Collegiate Anglers is set to host its first event of 2026 on the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series. The CrushCity Hartwell Slam presented by Sufix will take place March 28-29 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, SC. More than 270 of college fishing’s top teams will be on-hand to compete in the no-entry-fee, nationally televised event vying for more than $20,000 in prizes and contingencies, as well as double points to count towards the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. In this latest article, the ACA will provide a preview of Lake Hartwell, the playing field for this weekend’s upcoming tournament.
We will start by taking a look at the ACA’s past history at Lake Hartwell. 2026 will mark the fourth time in which the ACA has contested an event at this prestigious fishery. Here is a look at the winners, and overall winning weights from each of the past three tournaments:
2025 Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops
Peyton Harris & Dalton Head – University of Montevallo
Total Weight: 37.14 pounds
2024 Hartwell Slam
Nicholas Dumke & Easton Fothergill – University of Montevallo
Total Weight: 34.48 pounds
2023 Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops
Tucker Smith & Hayden Marbut – Auburn University
Total Weight: 35.24 pounds
The average winning weight across those three events is 35.62 pounds. The 2024 Hartwell Slam was the first time the ACA contested a tournament at Lake Hartwell during this time of the year. The winners of that particular event, Easton & Nick from Montevallo, weighed in 18.56 pounds on Day 1, and 15.92 pounds on Day 2. Cason Price & Brayden Ruckman with Carson-Newman led after Day 1 by bringing in a limit weighing 19.56 pounds.
The 2026 edition of this event will be taking place approximately two weeks earlier than the last springtime event hosted by the ACA at Lake Hartwell. This mean bass will likely be more in the pre-spawn phase than spawn. Weather conditions and temperatures will also play a key role in how the fish set up. Two cold fronts are set to impact the Lake Hartwell area this week. One will move in tomorrow, dropping high temperatures by nearly 20 degrees and low temperatures will dip into the mid-40’s. While temperatures are projected to warm up Thursday and Friday, another front will impact high temperatures on both tournament days. For Saturday and Sunday, highs are in the mid-60’s with lows dipping down near 40.
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