51 pros to compete on Lake Hartwell, competition live all four days at MajorLeagueFishing.com

SENECA, S.C. (Feb. 10, 2026) – The Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour (BPT) will head to South Carolina next week, Feb. 19-22, for a landmark event as the circuit makes its long-awaited debut on Lake Hartwell at O’Reilly Auto Parts Stage 2 Presented by Lowrance.

Hosted by Visit Oconee SC, t he four-day tournament will feature 51 of the world’s top professional anglers competing for a $125,000 top prize and their share of a $600,000 purse, along with valuable Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for REDCREST 2027 – the Bass Pro Tour championship – and the MLF Heavy Hitters all-star event. Competition will unfold under MLF’s catch, weigh, immediate-release format, where every bass over the 2-pound minimum counts and SCORETRACKER® – the MLF live leaderboard – keeps the pressure on throughout the day.

“We are thrilled to welcome Major League Fishing’s first-ever Bass Pro Tour event to Lake Hartwell and Oconee County,” said Phil Shirley, President and CEO of Visit Oconee SC. “This landmark event showcases not only the world-class fishing Lake Hartwell is known for, but also the natural beauty, hospitality and outdoor recreation opportunities that define Oconee County. Hosting the MLF Bass Pro Tour places our community on a national stage and reinforces our region’s reputation as a premier destination for anglers and visitors alike.”

The field brings together an impressive blend of elite talent and compelling storylines, led by reigning Bass Pro Tour AOY and 10-time BPT champion Jacob Wheeler and back-to-back REDCREST champion Dustin Connell. Established winners and fan favorites such as Alton Jones, Jr., Edwin Evers and Ott DeFoe anchor the roster, while a dynamic rookie class stands ready to leave its mark on the Bass Pro Tour stage. Newcomers this season include Mitchell Robinson, Jacob Walker, Banks Shaw and Dustin Smith, who made their Bass Pro Tour debut at Stage 1 last month, where Walker finished in second place and Shaw in fifth.

While Lake Hartwell is one of the most storied fisheries in the country, hosting nearly 100 MLF events over the past three decades, the Stage 2 event will mark the first-ever Bass Pro Tour stop on the expansive reservoir – adding a new chapter to a lake that continues to test anglers in unique ways and opening the door for a compelling mix of history and momentum. Three anglers in the Stage 2 field have previously earned victories on Lake Hartwell on the MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit – Brent Ehrler (2012), Casey Ashley (2014) and Mitchell Robinson (2025) – each proving capable of unlocking the lake’s ever-changing patterns.

Ashley, who hails from Donalds, South Carolina, said he is excited to be fishing his home lake for this event and expects the Bass Pro Tour format to push weights higher than many fans might anticipate.

“Lake Hartwell is fishing really good right now, and we’ve never fished one of the Bass Pro Tour every-fish-counts tournaments there, so this event should be really interesting,” said Ashley. “It’s a huge lake, but the cool thing is it’s good end to end. You could fish the whole four days and never see another boat, and it could be won anywhere.”

Lake Hartwell’s size and diversity are expected to play a major role, especially with both spotted bass and largemouth bass in play.

“It’s got a massive population of both spots and largemouth,” Ashley said. “You can catch them deep, shallow – it’s just a great lake with a lot of good fish in it. The two-pound minimum is really going to showcase the spotted bass in this fishery. In a five-fish tournament, guys don’t always target them, but in this event, you’re really going to see what lives in Hartwell.”

Ashley believes the format will highlight contrasting approaches throughout the day, from deepwater finesse to shallow-water power fishing.

“You’ll see guys catching them 40 feet deep on the bottom, and you’ll also see guys shallow cranking in the backs of creeks in dirty water,” he explained. “That’s what makes Hartwell so unique – you can fish your strengths here. Drop-shot rigs, shaky heads and jigs will play, but shallow crankbaits, spinnerbaits and flat-sides will be in the mix as well.”

As a blueback herring fishery, Lake Hartwell presents an added layer of unpredictability that could reshape the leaderboard daily.

“All the lakes in this region have blueback herring, which are really nomadic fish,” Ashley said. “The bass at Lake Hartwell sometimes act more like striper than bass – you can catch them great one day and it can be a ghost town the next because they just follow the bait. That can help you or hurt you in a hurry.

“I expect whoever’s leading to finish around 60 to 65 pounds per day,” Ashley continued. “On the Championship Round, after four days of fishing, it’ll probably still take 50 pounds or more to come out on top.”

Anglers will arrive each morning at 6:15 a.m. ET to Seneca Creek County Park, located at 270 Seneca Creek Road in Seneca, South Carolina. Anglers will return to Seneca Creek County Park each evening following the end of competition at 3:45 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to watch the event live online throughout the day on the MLFNOW!® livestream and follow along with SCORETRACKER® coverage at  MajorLeagueFishing.com.

On Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 21-22, from 3–6 p.m., MLF invites fans of all ages to Seneca Creek County Park, located at 270 Seneca Creek Road in Seneca, for the MLF Fan Experience & Watch Party. Fans can watch the Bass Pro Tour pros live on the MLFNOW!® big screen, enjoy free food for the first 100 fans each day, enter hourly giveaways, browse MLF merchandise and the bargain bait bin, and cheer on their favorite anglers. Youth of all ages can take part in a fishing derby (gear and bait provided, weather permitting) and a casting contest. Live music begins at 4 p.m., followed by Top 10 angler interviews and the trophy presentation at 5 p.m., including autographs and photos with Bass Pro Tour finalists. The first 50 kids ages 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel each day.

The O’Reilly Auto Parts Stage 2 at Lake Hartwell Presented by Lowrance will feature anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

The 2026 Bass Pro Tour features a field of 51 of the best professional anglers in the world, competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2027 championship.

The full field of anglers will compete in the two-day Qualifying Round on Thursday and Friday. After the two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the pro with the heaviest two-day total will advance directly to Sunday’s Championship Round. Anglers who finish 2nd through 25th will advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining anglers compete to finish in the top nine to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round. In the final-day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $125,000.

The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on all four days of competition from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. MLFNOW!®  will be livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com , the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.

Television coverage of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Stage 2 at Lake Hartwell Presented by Lowrance will premiere as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Aug. 22, on Discovery. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.

Proud sponsors of the MLF Bass Pro Tour include: Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing Co., Bass Force, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, NITRO Boats, OFF! Deep Woods, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Star brite, Suzuki Marine, Toyota, Yuengling and Zenni.

For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com . For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X,  Instagram and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.