HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Overall, the fishing was pretty good on the co-angler side of the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Hamilton – three-fish limits were common. But, as was the case on the boater side, a big fish was key for separation. On Day 1, Scott Standafer crushed three for 12 pounds, 6 ounces, one of the biggest co-angler bags of the event, and he finished out strong for the win. On Day 2, the Ohio co-angler weighed 9 pounds, and on Day 3 he wrangled a limit worth 6-10 for an even 28-pound total and the win and $50,000 top prize.
In second, Kade Wesner rushed up the leaderboard with a 12-14 catch on the final day and a 26-7 total, and Richard Williams finished third with 24-3.
First win a big one for Standafer
With a big cheering section behind him at weigh-in, Standafer wrapped up a convincing victory.
“It feels great,” he said. “This is my first win. I think I’ve fished almost 70 BFLs out of the Buckeye, the Hoosier, Volunteer and Mountain divisions, and then the Regionals. I was the leader on Day 2 of the Regional to get here and then blew it on the final day. So, it’s like I just can’t win. And then to actually get my first win at the All-American is unbelievable. I’m still kind of speechless, half blacked out right now.”
A 3/8-ounce D&L Advantage Casting Jig was the key bait for Standafer. He trailered it with a Strike King Rage Craw in green pumpkin, and the jig caught every one of his better fish on the week.
On Day 1, fishing behind Mike Brueggen, Standafer caught a giant bass.
“I caught that 8-pound, 9-ounce largemouth in the first, probably, 30 or 40 minutes,“ he said. “And, like, I mean, I almost had a health emergency after that because that’s the biggest fish, not only have I ever caught, it’s the biggest fish I’d ever seen.”
Standafer had a pretty good range of targets to throw at every day as Hamilton has plenty of cover and fishing truly in the abyss was not the name of the game this week.
“The first day, basically, all day, I had something to throw at, whether it be a ledge or point, or some grass,” he said. “So, it was almost a free-for-all, just fan casting.
“Yesterday we went up the river, and it was more of hometown Ohio River fishing. We were in dirtier water, brush, laydowns, and I was just flipping. That 5-pounder, about 45 minutes to go, I saw it just swimming down the bank. And I just flipped right at it, and he turned on it, and then my line just starts swimming off – and there he was.”
On the final day, fishing behind leader and eventual winner Matteo Turano, Standafer caught a limit quickly, but knew he needed a little more.
“The first half of the day was good,” Standafer said. “And, the second half of the day, I think he knew he needed to go head-hunting. So, he was on that trolling motor hard and it was hard to fish behind him moving like that, but he slowed down for a minute, and I was able to throw out the back of the boat at basically a skinny line of grass, and I caught probably the winning fish.”
While the cull may not have been entirely necessary, considering the verdict at the scale, it let Standafer breathe a little.
“At that point, I had, like, a little over 6 pounds,” he said. “I thought the door might be left open a little bit, because we all know there’s 8- and 9-pounders being caught, but that should be enough, and if someone beats me, they earned it.”
Top 10 co-anglers
1. Scott Standafer – 28 – 0 (9) – $50,000
2. Kade Wesner – 26 – 7 (9) – $10,050
3. Richard Williams – 24 – 3 (9) – $6,000
4. D. Michael Lowe – 23 – 15 (9) – $5,000
5. William Easley – 22 – 10 (9) – $4,500
6. Ernest Stephens – 19 – 14 (9) – $4,250
7. Brad Sampson – 19 – 01 (9) – $3,500
8. Robert Massey – 18 – 11 (9) – $3,000
9. Harold Grizzle – 18 – 09 (9) – $2,500
10. Brent Jones – 17 – 12 (9) – $2,000