HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (May 29, 2025) – Day 1 of the Bass Fishing League All-American tournament on Lake Hamilton impressed at the scales – six boaters caught more than 15 pounds, and big bass hit the scales pretty steadily throughout weigh-in. In the lead, boater Buddy Benson of Dahlonega, Georgia, weighed 20 pounds, 3 ounces, thanks in large part to a mammoth 9-6 he wrangled midway through the day. In second, Matteo Turano of Puryear, Tennessee, weighed 19-10, and Appling, Georgia’s Tanner Hadden and Clint Knight of Russellville, Kentucky, both caught more than 18 pounds to finish the day in third and fourth, respectively.
Day 2 should prove critical, as the standings below seventh are stacked as tight as can be – 9-12 is good for 26th place and 13-12 currently stands in eighth. Making the Top 10 is going to be a real rodeo, especially considering the size of the fish that are evidently available on Hamilton at the moment.
The three-day All-American showcases the nation’s best weekend grassroots anglers, and awards the winning boater a top prize of up to $120,000 – and an automatic qualification into REDCREST 2026, MLF’s most prestigious event – and the winning co-angler a top prize of $50,000.
Despite his young age, Benson is fishing his third consecutive All-American, and after finishes of third and fourth, he’s looking to do just a little better this time. Today, the midday kicker propelled him to the top of the leaderboard.
“I caught it at probably 12 o’clock,” Benson said. “I had 12 1/2 pounds on my scale and then I pulled up on a little clay point. I thought it was, like, a carp or something, laying on a little brush pile in probably 5 or 6 foot of water. I pitched over there and it came up.
“I told my told my co-angler when I hooked it, I didn't know if it was a bass or a catfish or what it was, but I just knew it was giant. And it came up and could only get, like, part of its head out of the water, and I fought it, fought it, fought it; finally got it in. I literally could barely stand up for, like, five or 10 minutes.”
That fish obviously vaulted Benson into an enviable position, but 12 pounds was still a pretty good start – plenty of other anglers would have loved 12 pounds today.
“I thought I was going to do at least solid,” Benson said of his practice. “I thought I would have at least 12 or 13 pounds, but I didn't see a lot of big ones in practice. I didn't know if I could get much more than that, but I knew there were big ones in here to be caught. I felt like I got a little something figured out that's a little different, but at the same time, a 9-pounder changes everything.”
As the event goes on, one thing that Benson has going for him is his comfort with the fishery. Though his Georgia address doesn’t make him a local, Benson is a modern angler, and Day 1 of the event seemed to play into the hands of the more youthful anglers in the field.
“I definitely feel like [Hamilton] fishes pretty good to my strengths, just being clear, and the fish like to roam around on bait, which is a lot like home,” he said. “So, I definitely feel pretty comfortable here. And I always like fishing grass, so when I saw there was grass in here, that kind of made me smile a little bit.”
He’ll be smiling a lot if he can maintain for two more days – with the last two winners being Georgia products, he’s seen how far an All-American win can go first-hand.
“It would mean everything,” Benson said of the prospect. “Especially watching the last two people win it from the hometown, just seeing what it did for them. It would mean everything; it would truly be crazy.”
The Top 20 boaters after Day 1 of the 2025 All-American on Lake Hamilton are:
1st: Buddy Benson, Dahlonega, Ga., five bass, 20-3
2nd: Matteo Turano, Puryear, Tenn., five bass, 19-10
3rd: Tanner Hadden, Appling, Ga., five bass, 18-8
4th: Clint Knight, Russellville, Ky., five bass, 18-1
5th: Zack Fogle, Longview, Texas, five bass, 17-15
6th: Harbor Lovin, New Concord, Ky., five bass, 15-4
7th: Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., five bass, 14-15
8th: Mike Bruggen, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 13-12
9th: Mel Kennedy, Hiawassee, Ga., five bass, 13-6
10th: Cody Ross, Livingston, Texas, five bass, 12-15
11th: Dillon Roberts, Oologah, Okla., five bass, 12-11
12th: Dillon Falardeau, Hixson, Tenn., five bass, 12-10
13th: Jeremy York, Conyers, Ga., five bass, 12-4
14th: Yeej Moua, Renton, Wash., five bass, 12-3
15th: Brad Stalnaker, Eatonton, Ga., five bass, 12-2
16th: Logan Anderson, Sherrills Ford, N.C., five bass, 11-11
17th: Jonathan Lang, Joppa, Md., five bass, 11-4
18th: Caz Anderson, Haysville, N.C., five bass, 10-12
19th: Mike Puterbaugh, Montello, Wis., five bass, 10-7
20th: Chad Sykes, Killen, Ala., five bass, 10-2
20th: Bradley Sullivan, Shawnee, Okla., five bass, 10-2
20th: Kevin Powers, Unicoi, Tenn., five bass, 10-2
Overall, there were 242 bass weighing 532 pounds, 15 ounces caught by the 49 boaters on Thursday. The catch included 46 five-bass limits.
Co-angler Scott Standafer of Milford, Ohio, grabbed the early lead in the co-angler division at Lake Hamilton on Thursday with a three-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 6 ounces, anchored by a nice 8-pound, 6-ounce kicker bass. Standafer will start Day 2 of competition Friday with a slim 11-ounce lead over second-place co-angler Richard Williams of Sutherland, Virginia, who weighed in three bass totaling 11 pounds, 11 ounces.
The Top 20 co-anglers after Day 1 of the 2025 All-American on Lake Hamilton are:
1st: Scott Standafer, Milford, Ohio, three bass, 12-6
2nd: Richard Williams, Sutherland, Va., three bass, 11-11
3rd: Brian Townley, Wyoming, Mich., three bass, 9-11
4th: Robert Massey, Calhoun, La., three bass, 8-8
5th: Nathan Hall, Hensley, Ark., three bass, 6-11
6th: Kade Wesner, Lancaster, Pa., three bass, 7-3
7th: Bill Hockaday, Nashville, Ark., three bass, 6-11
8th: Brent Jones, Okeana, Ohio, three bass, 6-6
9th: Tony Stevens, Monroe, Ga., three bass, 6-4
9th: Andy Morita, La Jolla, Calif., three bass, 6-4
11th: Harold Grizzle, Gainesville, Ga., three bass, 6-2
12th: Brad Sampson, Knoxville, Tenn., three bass, 6-0
13th: Luke Shrader, Monticello, Ky., three bass, 5-15
14th: Tim Greene, Loganville, Ga., three bass, 5-13
15th: Ryan Sykes, Fairfield, Ohio, three bass, 5-11
16th: Ernest Stephens, Orrum, N.C., three bass, 5-10
16th: Cy Matlock, Crump, Tenn., three bass, 5-10
18th: Andrew Rogers, Johnson City, Tenn., three bass, 5-8
19th: Arthur Stahlhut, Garrett, Ind., three bass, 5-6
19th: Cornell Badra, Clarksburg, Md., three bass, 5-6
Overall, there were 132 bass weighing 252 pounds, 5 ounces caught by 48 co-anglers on Thursday. The catch included 38 three-bass limits.
https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/bfl-all-american-52925.html
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