Staying on top, Jack Story of Atlanta, Georgia<\/a>, backed up his strong start on Day 1 with 21 pounds, 2 ounces on Day 2 for a 44-1 total. In second, local favorite Lucas Murphy of West Columbia, South Carolina<\/a> , hammered out 22-5 to move up from seventh, and William Bates of Alpharetta, Georgia<\/a>, stayed steady in third with 19-14 and a 41-1 total.<\/p>\n Link to Morning Photo Gallery: Gunning for the Top 10 on Day 2 of the All-American<\/a> The youngest boater in the field and a first-time qualifier in the All-American, Story is a prototypical electronics whiz and a herring expert, having grown up on Lake Lanier. On Day 1, he caught all his weight during his three hours with LiveScope, but that was not the case on Day 2.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was kind of a struggle,\u201d Story said. \u201cI cut my \u2018Scope on this morning, and it wasn\u2019t bad. I think I had like 14 pounds on four, and I had two I wanted to keep and two I wanted to get rid of. It got down to where there were 30 minutes left, I was like, \u2018I\u2019ve got to do something.\u2019 So, I was scrambling. I caught one 3 \u00bd-pounder to finish my limit.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, 17 pounds on Lake Murray doesn\u2019t go far.<\/p>\n \u201cYesterday, I didn\u2019t catch any fish with no \u2018Scope,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, I knew I needed to lock in. I cut my \u2018Scope off at like 9:45 this morning. The clouds started rolling in, and that made me feel a lot better about how the day was about to go. I ran to a place I had put a mark down on the school in practice, where I thought they were. I threw over it, nothing. I looked over to my left, I cast up across the point, and my fluke got blown out of the water by my biggest fish of the day \u2013 a 5 \u00bd-pounder. I could have caught a 7 \u00bd with \u2018Scope and I would not have been as happy as I was with that 5 \u00bd. I was beyond joyful.\u201d<\/p>\n Story culled again with a 3 \u00bd-pounder he caught off a grass line. Aside from those two key fish, eight of his 10 bass have come with LiveScope off a single point.<\/p>\n \u201cI wish I could catch the fish on the brushpiles, because honestly, they look pretty big. But they\u2019ve been hammered,\u201d Story said. \u201cI feel like the biggest fish right now are on the community holes. I have one super obvious point, and for some reason, nobody else has been fishing it. That\u2019s where I\u2019ve weighed most of them \u2013 it\u2019s a really special place.\u201d<\/p>\n Tomorrow, Story will look to lock down an All-American title before his 19th birthday and before he\u2019s taken a single class at Carson-Newman University. With dreary, possibly rainy conditions in the forecast, he\u2019s looking forward to laying it all on the line.<\/p>\n \u201cI couldn\u2019t have drawn it up any better,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not saying I\u2019ll catch them, but it\u2019s going to give me the best chance I could have.\u201d<\/p>\n The top 10 boaters advancing to the final day of the 2026 All-American on Lake Murray are:<\/p>\n 1st: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jack Story, Atlanta, Ga., 10 bass, 44-1 Finishing in 11th through 20th are:<\/p>\n 11th: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Gavin Clevenger, Knoxville, Tenn., 10 bass, 34-15, $3,000 A full list of boater results can be found at\u00a0MajorLeagueFishing.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Overall, there were 189 bass weighing 614 pounds, 7 ounces caught by 44 boaters on Friday. The catch included 33 five-bass limits.<\/p>\n Co-angler Jordan Smith of Middletown, Ohio, crossed the stage with a three-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 15 ounces to lead the co-angler division at Lake Murray after Day 2, with a two-day total of six bass weighing 21 pounds, 12 ounces. Mason Franklin of McCalla, Alabama, sits in second place with a two-day total of 19-12 and Wayne Smelser of Wytheville, Virginia, ended the day in third with 18-15.<\/p>\n The top 10 co-anglers advancing to the final day of competition at the 2026 All-American on Lake Murray are:<\/p>\n 1st:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Jordan Smith, Middletown, Ohio, six bass, 21-12 Finishing in 11th through 20th are:<\/p>\n 11th: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jimmy Rhodus, Versailles, Ky., six bass, 15-5, $1,500 A full list of co-angler results can be found at\u00a0MajorLeagueFishing.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Overall, there were 85 bass weighing 248 pounds, 8 ounces caught by 39 co-anglers on Friday. The catch included 17 three-bass limits.<\/p>\n The three-day All-American, hosted by Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism<\/a>, showcases the nation\u2019s best weekend grassroots anglers, awarding the winning boater a top prize of up to $120,000 \u2013 and an automatic qualification to REDCREST 2027, MLF\u2019s most prestigious event \u2013 and the winning co-angler a top prize of $50,000.<\/p>\n The final 10 boaters and co-anglers will launch on Saturday at 6:30 a.m. ET from Dreher Island State Park, located at 3677 State Park Road in Prosperity. Saturday\u2019s Championship weigh-in will be held at the park and will begin at 2:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and weigh-in events and encouraged to follow the event\u2019s online coverage at\u00a0MajorLeagueFishing.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n The\u00a0MLFNOW!\u00a0broadcast team of Chad McKee and Rob Newell will break down the extended action live on Championship Saturday from 7 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. ET.\u00a0MLFNOW!\u00a0will be live streamed on\u00a0MajorLeagueFishing.com<\/a>, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.<\/p>\n The full field of 47 boaters and 47 co-anglers competed on Days 1 (Thursday) and 2 (Friday) of the event. After two days of competition, the field is now cut to just the top 10 boaters and co-anglers, based on two-day total cumulative weight, and the final 10 anglers compete on Championship Saturday. The boater and co-angler that catch the heaviest three-day total weight will be crowned the 43rd Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American Champions.<\/p>\n The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine was a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 134 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 60 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, advanced to one of 12 BFL Regional tournaments where they competed to finish in the top three, which then advanced them to compete in the 2026 BFL All-American. The field also includes the top eligible finisher from each of seven The Bass Federation (TBF) divisions in the 2026 TBF National Championship.<\/p>\n
Link to Afternoon Photo Gallery: Settling the score on Day 2 of the All-American<\/a>
Link to HD Video of Day 2 Weigh-In<\/a><\/p>\n
2nd:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Lucas Murphy, West Columbia, S.C., 10 bass, 42-1
3rd:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 William Bates, Alpharetta, Ga., 10 bass, 41-1
4th:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Caz Anderson, Haysville, N.C., 10 bass, 40-10
5th:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Tom Frink, Southside, Ala., 10 bass, 40-3
6th:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Landon Lawson, Jonesborough, Tenn., 10 bass, 40-1
7th:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Matt McCluskey, Ashburn, Va., 10 bass, 39-6
8th:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Brooks Anderson, Marietta, Ga., 10 bass, 38-3
9th:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Zeke Gossett, Pell City, Ala., 10 bass, 37-2
10th: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cody Mackie, McMinnville, Tenn., 10 bass, 36-4<\/p>\n
12th: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Corey Neece, Bristol, Tenn., 10 bass, 34-12, $3,000
13th: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Aspen Martin, White, Ga., 10 bass, 34-5, $3,000
14th: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jeremy Mull, Pawnee, Ill., 10 bass, 33-12, $3,000
15th: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Nicholas Seitz, Monclova, Ohio, 10 bass, 32-8, $3,000
16th: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jeremy Gordon, Rutledge, Tenn., 10 bass, 32-4, $3,000
17th: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Scott Dobson, Clarkston, Mich., 10 bass, 32-0, $3,000
18th: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Justin Berger, Murray, Ky., 10 bass, 31-15, $3,000
19th: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 James Willoughby, Gulfport, Miss., 10 bass, 31-13, $3,000
20th: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Michael Murphy, Gilbert, S.C., 10 bass, 31-11, $3,000<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/unnamed-4-21.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
2nd:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Mason Franklin, McCalla, Ala., six bass, 19-12
3rd:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Wayne Smelser, Wytheville, Va., six bass, 18-15
4th:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Tyson Giesbrecht, Gurley, Ala., five bass, 18-14
5th:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 James Ramsey, Boaz, Ala., six bass, 17-8
6th:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Zachary Howell, Tipton, Iowa, six bass, 17-6
7th:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Dustin Forrest, Knob Lick, Ky., six bass, 17-4
8th:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Jordan Clayton, Archer City, Texas, four bass, 15-13
9th:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Jeff Rikard, Leesville, S.C., six bass, 15-10
10th:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Darren Kelly, Wartburg, Tenn., six bass, 15-9<\/p>\n
12th: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Nolan Clark, Apex, N.C., six bass, 15-0, $1,500
13th: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mason Pike, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 14-11, $1,500
14th: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kaleb Turner, Hartwell, Ga., six bass, 13-8, $1,500
15th: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Richard Williams, Sutherland, Va., five bass, 13-2, $1,500
16th: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Benjamin Roop, Tullahoma, Tenn., five bass, 13-1, $1,500
17th: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Wayne Crouch, Jamestown, Tenn., five bass, 12-14, $1,500
18th: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Dylan Phillips, Albany, Ohio, five bass, 12-13, $1,500
19th: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jared Jones, Denver, N.C., three bass, 12-11, $1,500
20th: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rick Jerman, Springfield, Va., five bass, 12-8, $1,500<\/p>\n