By Walker Smith

With a lot of tournaments under my proverbial belt, I can’t believe it took me so long to check out the Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners Tournament. As it turns out, that short ride to Lake Hartwell started a tradition my wife and I can’t wait to continue. 

I’ve been working in this industry for roughly 18 years. I’ve attended countless tournaments as a fan in my younger years, then later as both an angler and a media member. If I had a dollar for every weigh-in or registration I’ve photographed and attended, I’d have a few-hundred acres and a big house to boot.

I’ve seen poorly run events, decently run events and well-run events. And I want you to understand that. I’ve seen a lot in my career thus far. I know what resonates with anglers and what doesn’t.

When my wife and I learned that the 2024 Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners Tournament was coming to Lake Hartwell, we just had to drive over to check it out. With it being just a short, three-hour jaunt from our rural, sleepy Georgia town, it was a no brainer.

I’ve heard about it for years and several close friends always talked highly of it. So, we loaded up the grocery-getter and headed northeast for the weekend.

As you’d probably agree, first impressions are everything; they are for me, at least. When we finally made it through the “goat roads” and came upon the beautiful registration venue, I figured we’d have to deal with the mess of finding a parking spot, dodging crooked boat trailers and the like. If you’ve ever attended a large tournament, you know exactly what I’m talking about. If not run correctly, even the parking and logistics can turn into a real booger.

We were first struck, however, by the pure kindness of the parking attendants. I’m not sure of their names and I don’t know quite where they came from. But every single individual had the biggest smile on their face. We’d roll the drivers-side window down and ask where to park and they’d just smile to high Heaven and give us the nicest instructions. It felt like they knew us their whole lives. They’d wave, thank us for being there and wish us a good time and we slowly pulled off.

In today’s world, that’s rare. And I take notice of things like that. Maybe we all should. But I digress.

Then, when we were pulling up to our designated parking spot, I heard a quiet rumble and the garble of gravel behind the car. I look into the rearview mirror and guess what? It was a volunteer golfcart driver, following us to our parking spot, ready and waiting to give us a ride to the registration venue.

We had camera gear to unload and some things to straighten up before we headed to the registration. And the driver, a local high-school football coach, waited very patiently as he watched Saturday college football games on his iPad. I won’t lie, I gravitated towards him and watched the Ole Miss game and talked ball while my wife tidied up the car and our gear.

Again, another smiling face and fantastic interaction. This dude ended up being my “buddy” for the whole day. I’d get score updates and free rides to the car when I needed more memory cards for my camera and things of the like. I wish I had a better memory and could remember his name. But I sure do wish him well and Lord willing, he’ll read this and know I appreciated his kindness.

Now, let’s take a golfcart ride down the hill, through the hayfield to the wedding venue-turned-registration site.

We got there early to create a bunch of content before the majority of the anglers showed up. We walked into the banquet hall and the smells filled our noses; just wonderful smells of food filled the air.

To our left started a line of free merchandise tables full of goodies for the participating anglers. Hoodies, hats, beanies, keychains, decals, fancy water bottles… they had it all. As a professional media member, I’ve always tried to stay clear of getting a bunch of free stuff. It’s just a “thing” I’ve got. But I messed up this time and broke my own rule. I had to grab an AFTCO Toyota Fishing Team hoodie. I hope that doesn’t make me unprofessional. But it just looked too good.

With the hoodie acquired, it was time to get to work. I tucked the hoodie behind my camera case in the corner behind a table and got all my fancy gear ready. The garble of the gravel outside was growing louder and more frequent as the anglers were starting to pour in.

Show time.

I could look at you dead in the eyes and tell you that I’ve never experienced a family atmosphere like this at any, and I mean any, bass-fishing tournament. Folks who haven’t seen each other since last year’s event shaking hands, hugging, getting caught up on life… what a beautiful thing to experience. Whether it’s a bass derby or not, how awesome is that? The love, respect and excitement was palpable.

We went through and took about three billion photos for several hours and it didn’t even seem like work. Perhaps my favorite part of registration was seeing my old buddy Mark Daniels Jr. and getting a big hug. He is just the greatest.

After a fantastic supper, great fellowship and a thorough but succinct pre-tournament raffle and meeting hosted by none other than Mike Iaconelli and Mrs. Lisa Talmadge from Bassmaster, everyone dispersed to get ready for derby day.

Sunday morning, it was chilly but you could feel the anticipation in the air. That might sound a little extreme, but there was a nervous excitement humming throughout Green Pond Landing in Anderson, S.C. The local fire department hoisted one of the largest American flags I’ve ever seen, local folks had their dogs on leashes to check out the action and the anglers had their game faces on.

Every single face I saw was wearing a smile. My wife and I did not see anyone not having a good time.

As we walked down the hill to the boat dock and launch site, with that Old Glory loudly whipping in the brisk wind, we heard the music over the loudspeakers. We saw the anglers begin to get a bit more serious. And I turned to my wife and said, “Man, this smell reminds me of my childhood,” as I referred to the nostalgic scent of two-cycle exhaust in the air.

The Team Toyota pros were all lined up at the end of the dock wishing every single angler good luck and making small talk. The pros were excited, engaging and you could absolutely tell they wanted to be there. They were having a ball, as were we. They wished everyone well and off into the South Carolina sunrise the anglers went. It was truly a sight to behold.

Absolutely beautiful.

Come weigh-in time, I was shocked by not only the efficiency, but the quality of interactions in such a short amount of time. I’ll be honest; I’ve seen enough weigh-ins in my lifetime to last me another 10 lifetimes. I love the sport but the weigh-ins can get a little dull to me at times.

But here you have none other than Gerald “G-MAN” Swindle emceeing the event. As you read that last sentence, you probably smiled. If he weren’t so good at catching bass, he could be on a nationwide comedy tour putting folks into stitches.

The back-end Bassmaster staff was unbelievably quick, moving anglers through the line efficiently and while Swindle got through the massive line of anglers quickly, he also gave them plenty of facetime and entertaining interaction. I was fairly shocked by how quickly the weigh-in went. It may have been the most efficient weigh-in I’ve seen. And remember, I’ve seen a lot throughout my career.

As we loaded up our camera gear and shared some well-earned goodbye hugs with industry friends, it’s only fitting that we noticed Swindle surrounded by a group of high-school fishing team volunteers, sharing fishing tips, mentorship, smiles and laughs.

It was almost a shame to hop into our SUV and head back home. We sat in our car for about 15 minutes, ate a free (and delicious) barbeque sandwich and brownie and just smiled, reflecting on our weekend.

What a blessing it was to be around so many fantastic and positive outdoorsmen and women. And of course, as we pulled out of Green Pond Landing, we were met by two parking attendants smiling, waving and wishing us a safe trip home.

I should note: That Sunday was our wedding anniversary. And as we held hands on the goat roads back to chilly Georgia, my wife smiled, looked at me and said, “I wouldn’t have wanted this anniversary any other way, honey. Thank you.”

That right there, is why you need to make a serious effort to fish this tournament. We cannot wait for the next one.