Anaya grabs final Classic berth with Fish-Off win at Lake Hartwell

ANDERSON, S.C. — Fisher Anaya’s name says it all – the kid from tiny Eva, Ala., seems destined for big things as a professional bass angler.

Fresh off fishing atop the 2025 Bassmaster Elite Qualifier points standings last month and locking down a spot in the Bassmaster Elite Series for the next two seasons, the 20-year-old Anaya won the Bassmaster Team Championship Classic Fish-Off Saturday at Lake Hartwell. His two-day total of 10 bass weighing 39 pounds, 15 ounces was just enough to hold off fellow Alabaman Barrett Choquette, who finished second with 38-5.

The win secured for Anaya the final spot in the 2026 Bassmaster Classic at the Tennessee River in Knoxville, Tenn. He slipped into the Fish-Off after he and his father, Ryan, finished fifth in the Team Championship portion of the tournament last Thursday. The Top 5 teams in the team standings (10 anglers) had their weights zeroed and then fished individually on Friday and Saturday for a Classic berth.

And as he did throughout the past year, the younger Anaya rose to the challenge.

After catching mostly spotted bass during the Team Championship, Anaya dialed in on a hungry largemouth bite on Friday. His Day 1 weight of 19-8 weight gave him the Fish-Off lead and the confidence he could produce another big bag on Saturday.

He did just that, weighing 20-7 — the heaviest total of the Fish-Off. But it was far from an easy task. Hartwell, the 76,450-acre reservoir straddling the South Carolina/Georgia border, is known to switch up on anglers as it did on Anaya on Day 2.

“It was tough on me early today,” Anaya said. “I caught a 3-pounder on my second cast, and I just knew they were gonna’ bite again. Then I caught a small one, but from that time, I went hours without a bite. I decided to run to some spotted bass I knew I could catch, and I got to like 12 pounds. But I knew that wasn’t going to be enough to win this thing. I had this gut feeling I had to fish new water.”

Listening to his instincts proved wise.

“I moved and the second pocket I went into, I caught two over 4 pounds,” Anaya said. “Then the next pocket I went to, I caught another two over 4 pounds.”

Anaya caught his best bass throwing a Neko (green pumpkin Crush City Janitor Worm) with an 1/8-ounce weight in it. The colder temperatures (which stayed in the lower 40s throughout the Fish-Off) forced him to be patient, waiting for Lake Hartwell bass to bite.

“They weren’t super deep, maybe 10 to 12 feet,” he said. “I’d just had to throw it on them and deadstick it. I’d let the bait sit there. Some casts it might take five minutes to get them moving and some casts it might be instant. But eventually, I could end up catching some if I ran enough water.”

Anaya, who represented the Alabama Bass Trail at Lake Hartwell, said most of his catches came near the dam on the south end of the reservoir.

“It was about a 20-minute run one-way, but it sure was worth it,” he said. “When it’s meant to be, you can’t do wrong.”

The was Anaya’s second consecutive trip to the Classic Fish-Off. The Anayas finished third in last year’s Team Championship at Kentucky Lake, and Fisher placed third of the six anglers who qualified for the 2024 Fish-Off. The young phenom was dominant in Division 2 of the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens presented by SEVIIN held earlier this year, and he finished no lower than 24th in those four tournaments. Then he proved himself in the trio of Nitro Bassmaster Elite Qualifier tournaments presented by Bass Pro Shops, finishing third, fifth and 19th in those derbies to pave a path into the Elite Series.

And now, he’ll add his first Bassmaster Classic to this burgeoning resume.

“When I pulled into that last pocket and caught that last big one, I thought ‘That might have done it. I might be going to the Classic.’ It’s crazy … I knew I had a shot at winning here. I just had to fish clean and catch everything that bit.”

Choquette, representing the Alabama B.A.S.S. Nation, actually led late on Saturday, according to BASSTrakk, but the 18-year-old from Headland, Ala., fell just short. He caught 19-8 on Saturday and finished 1-10 behind Anaya in his quest for a Classic berth.

“Five days ago, I was taking my first exams at Troy University,” he said. “I didn’t have much time to think about strategy. My brother (Hudson) did well in the Team Championship, and I caught some good ones in the Fish-Off. I caught a 5-pounder to start today and another 5-pounder to end the day. I’m proud of what I got done, but Fisher got us by a little bit.”

Choquette threw a green pumpkin Wacky Rig with a Technical Tungsten head with a little Sakamata Shad trailer to boat his best bass in the Fish-Off.

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