SENECA, S.C. (April 13, 2026) – Boater Jayme Rampey of Liberty, South Carolina, brought five bass to the scale weighing 18 pounds, 3 ounces, to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on Lake Hartwell. The tournament was the third of five events of the season for the BFL South Carolina Division. Rampey earned $9,710, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix bonus, for his victory. Rampey pieced together a mixed “junk-fishing” pattern to catch his winning limit.
“It was honestly kind of tough – it wasn’t as good as I thought it’d be,” Rampey said. “I was doing a little bit of everything – targeting a little bit of herring bite, a little bit of dirty-water bite and a little bit of bed fishing. Pretty much a junk-fishing deal.”
Rampey rotated through multiple baits and adjusted throughout the day, catching numbers but needing to sift through smaller fish to find quality bites.
“I caught probably 20 fish all day, but not the quality of normal,” Rampey said. “I caught a lot of smaller ones on Saturday – 12-inchers, and a bunch of 2½- to 3-pounders.”
The key moment came on a bed fish that produced the biggest bass of the event and ultimately anchored his winning limit.
“The big one came off the bed on a white (Z-Man) Z-Craw on a jig,” Rampey said. “That fish was the key – she was just mad about the jig being in there.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Jayme Rampey, Liberty, S.C., five bass, 18-3, $9,710 (includes $7,000 Phoenix bonus)
2nd: Tanner Schultz, Lexington, S.C., five bass, 14-10, $1,250
3rd: Brad Benfield, Demorest, Ga., five bass, 14-6, $670
4th: Brian Latimer, Belton, S.C., five bass, 14-4, $550
5th: Logan Buttolph, Doswell, Va., five bass, 14-2, $490
6th: Harl Romine, Grant, Ala., five bass, 14-1, $430
7th: Chase Carey, Hoschton, Ga., five bass, 13-15, $420
8th: Joseph Tucci, Salem, S.C., five bass, 13-12, $410
9th: Kerry Partain, Elberton, Ga., five bass, 13-8, $390
10th: Robert Holland, Columbia, S.C., five bass, 12-13, $380
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Rampey also earned the Big Bass Boater award honors with a 5-pound, 1-ouncer worth $200. Kevin Henderson of Honea Path, South Carolina, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,205 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 8 pounds, 2 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Kevin Henderson, Honea Path, S.C., three bass, 8-2, $1,205
2nd: David McCarter, Gresham, S.C., three bass, 7-14, $775
3rd: Travis Ruff, Connelly Springs, N.C., three bass, 7-10, $305
3rd: Jeffery Stout, Dalzell, S.C., three bass, 7-10, $305
5th: Michael Smith, Belton, S.C., three bass, 7-3, $245
6th: Gregory Littles Sr., Irmo, S.C., three bass, 6-13, $212
6th: Wesley Trotter, Lancaster, S.C., three bass, 6-13, $212
8th: Tina Berg, Lancaster, S.C., three bass, 6-12, $205
9th: Todd Huntley, Inman, S.C., three bass, 6-11, $200
10th: Dan Marin, Appling, Ga., three bass, 6-10, $190
David McCarter of Gresham, South Carolina, earned the Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 4-pound, 2-ounce bass worth $100.
After three events, Logan Buttolph of Doswell, Virginia, now leads the 7 Brew South Carolina Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 728 points, while Travis Ruff of Connelly Springs, North Carolina, leads the South Carolina Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 728 points.
https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/bfl-hartwell-1-41326.html
Bass Fishing League (BFL) News