| Boater Jayme Rampey of Liberty, South Carolina, and co-angler Kevin Henderson of Honea Path, South Carolina. |
Honea Path’s Henderson Wins Co-Angler Division 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 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Hartwell Presented by Suzuki Marine . The tournament, hosted by Visit Oconee SC, 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 Berkley 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 Berkley 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. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 8-10 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Eufaula in Eufaula. Alabama. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top prize of a new Phoenix 518 pro with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, worth $33,500. The 2026 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top seven, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2026 BFL All-American will take place May 28-30, at Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, and is hosted by Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism. |