Benson on top with 19-9, Wagner in second after Day 1 of the All-American
SENECA, S.C. – The Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine All-American brings the best weekend talent from across the country, but it was the locals who found the best success on the first day on Lake Hartwell. Georgia boater 18-year-old Buddy Benson leads the way with a solid 19-pound, 9-ounce mixed bag that included three spotted bass and two healthy largemouth.
Benson leads fellow Bulldog Division boater Emil Wagner by a 1-7 margin and will enter the second day of the 40th All-American with the lead on a lake he’s very familiar with.
Benson blasts ’em early
Just under two years ago, Benson was fishing this same lake for the High School Fishing National Championship in July 2021. Now he’s leading the All-American, the most prestigious event for grassroots bass anglers. He qualified for this event by finishing fifth in the regional on Lake Murray in September.
Although Benson’s hometown of Dahlonega, Georgia, is closer to Lake Lanier, the two lakes fish similarly and he’s more than comfortable on Hartwell. He’s had some success here in his young fishing career, including a fifth-place showing in the Savannah River Division event in late April.
“I’m over by Lanier, about an hour away, but I fish here a couple of times a week,” he said. “This has basically become my home lake.”
Putting his local knowledge to work, Benson caught them early and had his leading bag before 10 o’clock. “I caught them all this morning, just running and gunning offshore brush,” he said of his bag that included two kicker largemouth. “One was right at 5 and the other right at 4.”
Benson is hopeful he can repeat his success the next two days, but said today’s weather was ideal for his pattern. The overcast and breezy conditions stuck around for most of the day before giving way to sunshine around the time the first flight was due in.
“I’m hoping I can repeat it, but the weather was perfect for what I’m doing,” he said. “I caught two or three of them on topwater baits on main lake points and humps, and the rest on a swimbait. I hope to stay consistent and above 18 pounds a day.”
Local stick Wagner delivers
Also coming out of the Lake Murray regional last year, Wagner entered the event as one of the local favorites. He spends most of his time on Lanier as a guide, but ventures to Hartwell when he can and has scored two MLF Top 10s on the lake to date.
“I wouldn’t say I’m a local, but I spend quite a bit of time over here and do some of my guide trips here,” he said. “I’ve spent a lot of time graphing this lake and have found some really special offshore places that helped me today.”
His day started slow, but he rebounded in a big way and believes he’s on a solid pattern. While he didn’t disclose full details of exactly what he’s doing, he revealed that he’s staying away from the bank.
“The day started super slow for me with the typical missed and lost fish, but I had my first limit at around 9 o’clock,” he said. “Around noon, I made a critical adjustment and culled out everything I had. I also lost quite a few big ones, but I think I know what I need to do tomorrow.”
Wagner is right on track with what he thinks it will take to win.
“I said it would take 18 a day to win it and if I can do that and maybe have a day with a 20-pound bag, I’ll be right there or very close,” he said. “I have to feel good about today because some mechanical issues slowed me down. As long as they don’t impair me again and I can be consistent, I could be right there.”
Top 10 boaters
1. Buddy Benson – 19 – 9 (5)
2. Emil Wagner – 18 – 2 (5)
3. Anthony Johnson – 18 – 1 (5)
4. Matthew O’Connell – 17 – 4 (5)
5. Jesse Wiggins – 14 – 11 (5)
6. Tyler Trent – 14 – 1 (5)
7. Cade Laufenberg – 14 – 0 (5)
8. Jimmy Neece Jr. – 13 – 8 (5)
9. Nick Uebelhor – 13 – 1 (5)
10. Jeremy Lawyer – 13 – 0 (5)
Kicker boosts Delaware’s Taylor to Strike King co-angler lead
As one of the first to weigh in, Seaford, Delaware’s, Larry Taylor was surprised to be in the lead at the end of the weigh-in. Even more impressive was that his 11-9 total was just four fish. That has The Bass Federation (TBF) angler in the top spot on the leaderboard vying for the $50,000 prize.
“I thought I had around 9 pounds, but that big fish weighed a lot more than I thought,” he said of the 5-11 largemouth he caught while fishing with Missouri’s Anthony Johnson, who’s in third place on the boater side.
The day started slowly for Taylor, but he kept his head in it and was rewarded.
“Anthony was catching them early, but I didn’t have one until mid-morning when I caught a 2½-pound spot,” he said. “Then we went to another shoal, and I cast way up on it and caught the big one. But it was a tough day; I could only catch four. You had to make long casts and fish real slow and try to weed through the stripers; this place is full of them.”
Taylor credits his boater for putting him around fish today and his buddy back home, Jason Vaughn, for making this all possible.
“It’s crazy just to be here because the only reason I’m here is because Jason needed a co-angler to sign up with for the TBF to guarantee his spot,” he said. “I was able to win the semi-final on my home river, the Nanticoke River in Seaford, Delaware, and then got fifth at the TBF National Championship on Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri to win the Mid-Atlantic Division. All of this is just a bonus.”