Breaking down the All-American field
COLUMBIA, S.C. – When the 43rd annual Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American kicks off on Lake Murray, the field will represent the best of bass fishing. With young anglers, veterans, local legends and folks early in the tournament fishing journey, it’s a great mix of grassroots talent. Notably, even though the All-American has a long history and Murray isn’t exactly a stranger to MLF and FLW championships, this is the first time the prestigious event has been held at the South Carolina fishery. With the tail end of the herring spawn and the start of the summertime bite on tap, we should be in for an exciting event.
Here’s a little more about the event and the field.
What’s at stake?
Right off the bat, the payout is strong – the winning boater earns $100,000 and a REDCREST invite, with another $20,000 on top if they’re running a Phoenix. Phoenix also pays bonuses down through seventh place in the All-American – potentially a great reward for running the right boat. On the co-angler side, the winner earns $50,000.
Everyone takes home a check in this event, and there are also fuel and travel stipends. Suffice to say, it pays to make the All-American.
Anglers are from everywhere
Michael Murphy, Jeff Rikard and Lucas Murphy are the closest competitors, with Lucas Murphy living 26 miles from takeoff – the farthest of the three. However, not everyone is local – making it out of the TBF, Tim Chase is from California, 2,158 miles from the lake, and Chis Lambert, a boater, is from Washington – a whopping 2,300 miles from Dreher Island.
There’s a good spread
In the field, there are five anglers in their teens: Nolan Clark, Mason Pike, Jack Story, Aiden Roberson-Barber and Bryce Quinnell. Story is the only boater of the group, and he might well be in the mix in this one. A very accomplished high school angler, Story is at home on Lake Lanier and very accustomed to herring fish, and he’s got prior experience on Murray.
On the other end of the spectrum, there are 10 anglers who are 60 or older: Gary Singleton, Rodney Graham, Mike Casanova, Mike Tucker, Tim Chase, John McCullar, Rick Jerman, Ted Marodis, Thomas Rizzo and Scott Stallings. Both co-anglers, Rizzo and Stallings are 71 – the oldest anglers in the field.
Murray experience abounds
On the boater side, Michael Murphy and Carson Orellana have both fished Murray at least 10 times in BFL competition, with Muphy wining once. Notably, Lucas Murphy has fished six BFLs on the lake and won twice. The Murphys and Cody Hoyle each have four Top 10s on Murray.
What does it take to win?
Murray is a heavyweight lake, and some of the best single-day winning bags are truly eye-popping. This year, Michael Murphy (who is in the event) tallied 29-11 in a February BFL, and in February of 2005, Wayne Jeffcoat blasted 28-14. Even in May, big things can happen – Bobby Stanfill had 27-11 in 2022 in a May BFL, and in 2023, Lucas Murphy won a BFL with 23-5. The recent Elite Series event on Murray took 90-14 to win over four days, which works out to nearly a 23-pound average. Very likely, it will take more than 20 pounds a day to win this one.
The money makers
When it comes to who has cashed in the most, there are two clear leaders in the field – with over $787,000 in winnings and 72 Top 10s, Scott Dobson is the top dog. A legendary smallmouth angler, Dobson has won on St. Clair, Lake Erie and the 1000 Islands. He fished the FLW Tour and Pro Circuit for years, and in 2019, he won Angler of the Year in the Toyota Series Northern Division. On the other end of things, reigning All-American champion Matteo Turano is 24 years old and has cashed for over $366,000 in a few short years. He’s the second biggest winner in the event, but his career trajectory portends a lot more.
All-American experience is not a guarantee
One thing that stands out about this field is how little All-American experience it has. Some years, there are a number of anglers with four or five All-American appearances to their credit in the field, but this isn’t one of them. On the boater side, only 16 of the anglers have been there before, and only Brian Hickey, Tim Smiley and Keith Estes have fished it twice. That’s not to say that Roger Fitzpatrick or Mike Brueggen won’t be in the field next year; but for now, it’s time for some others to shine.
Worth noting: Turano, Caz Anderson, Bradley Sullivan, and Gavin Clevenger all fished the event last year, and they all made the Top 20. So, the anglers fishing back-to-back years are definitely poised to contend again.
Follow along
Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public daily at Dreher Island State Park at 6:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. ET. This event is hosted by Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism and presented by T-H Marine. You can follow along with daily coverage and watch MLFNOW! on MajorLeagueFishing.com on the final day.
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