HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The 42nd annual Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American Presented by T-H Marine heads to Lake Hamilton this year, which is not exactly a groundbreaking location – the grassroots championship has been there six times before. Still, there’s every chance this event will offer new challenges and opportunities for the field, and it’s a lake with a lot of historical cachet.
Regardless of the fishing, the event could be life-changing. The tournament is a showcase of the nation’s best weekend grassroots anglers, and awards the winning boater a top prize of up to $120,000, and a top prize of $50,000 for the winning co-angler. Historically, the winning boater has a great chance at a pro career – in fact, Emil Wager and Paul Marks Jr., the last two anglers to win the All-American, are fishing at the pro level today.
This year, the final day of the All-American will be, live on MLFNOW!, and the event will be broadcast later on CBS Sports. For the weekend angler, or up-and-coming regional stick, the All-American is as good as it gets.
Previously at Lake Hamilton
Lake Hamilton has a long history with FLW, and now MLF, and you can find plenty of tournament history there. The most salient is probably the last All-American there, held in 2022, which Connor Cunningham won with 44 pounds, 4 ounces in early June. Amazingly, Cunningham blew the event out, and he did it almost entirely with a topwater.
Later in the summer, in 2019, Bryan Thrift won the Forrest Wood Cup on Hamilton, and he did it fishing brush and cranking for the most part. In that event, a real combo of patterns worked, and Dakota Ebare made a run at it fishing the tailrace below Ouachita.
What Hamilton offers
A fairly small reservoir, Hamilton is nestled right in Hot Springs, making it a hot spot for summertime recreation. The lake is heavily developed, with seawalls and docks galore. Now, there’s a good amount of grass in some parts of the lake, and there’s lots of planted brush for cover as well.
One of the intricacies of the lake is the tailrace below Lake Ouachita – running clear and cold, it’s a markedly different section of the lake that could play a little. As for the fish species, expect largemouth to be the name of the game, though the lake does have some spotted bass in it as well.
Shuffield’s take on the lake
Not fishing the event, Spencer Shuffield is at home on Hamilton and very familiar with it. According to him, we’re in for a very good event, and there’s a chance the weights are quite a bit higher than history says – according to Shuffield, it’s “the best he’s ever seen the lake.”
“There’s never been more grass in it,” Shuffield said. “We’re talking milfoil, hydrilla, coontail – some of it growing in 18 feet of water, 5 to 6 feet tall. It’s been more than 15 years since we’ve seen that kind of vegetation in places like the fish hatchery and White Oak Basin.”
That grass could prove to be a big draw for anglers, and it might be a great refuge for fish when afternoon boat traffic gets up.
According to Shuffield, there are lots of options for anglers to dip into.
“There’s 100% a grass bite, and there will be fish caught on brush, a lot of schooling fish activity, and guys will be able to catch them ‘Scoping when they’re not actually up on top.”
The open water forward-facing sonar bite could be of particular interest to the field, as there are some truly superlative ‘Scopers in it. Jake Lawrence headlines it, but he’s one of many who could make hay if it turns into a shootout in the open.
“About two years ago, I started figuring it out,” Shuffield said. “They get out there and swim around in giant schools. It’s more of a fall-type thing, starting in August, but they’re already doing it now. I’ve been out there last week and they were starting to really get in some groups of 20 to 30, swimming around over 25 to 30 foot of water, just following bait.”
In Shuffield’s estimation, the tailrace area could be a player as well.
“One sleeper could be somebody going up below the Ouachita Dam,” he explained. “Those fish don’t truly start spawning up there until May. I mean, you’ll see them up there on beds even after July 4. They really are starting to spawn up there now, and there are true giants up there.”
Whatever happens, keep an eye on the top of the field. In this event, there’s a good chance that the anglers doing best could be the next big thing.