Some of the best weekend anglers from across the nation will come together Thursday through Saturday for the 38th annual BFL All-American on Douglas Lake in Dandridge, Tenn. The 2021 edition will feature a field of the top 49 boaters and 49 co-anglers from across the 24-division Bass Fishing League and The Bass Federation, all competing for a grand prize of up to $120,000 in the boater division, including a $20,000 Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus contingency award, and $50,000 in the co-angler division.
Additionally, the highest-finishing boater and co-angler from each of seven Regional Championships (including the Wild Card) and the TBF National Championship at the All-American will advance to the 2021 Toyota Series Championship for a shot at winning $235,000 and $33,500, respectively.
MLF pro Ott DeFoe of Blaine, Tenn., is no stranger to bringing home the hardware on Douglas Lake, with three wins in Bassmaster Opens – the first win coming in 2014, followed by back-to-back wins in 2017 and 2018. DeFoe said he’s excited to watch anglers compete again on his favorite body of water.
“I’m honestly jealous of these anglers because I haven’t had the opportunity to fish in the All-American,” said DeFoe. “It’s the ultimate weekend angler championship. The payout is a huge draw, but the prestige that goes with winning that event is something special. There’s only one All-American – if you say that name in the bass fishing world, people know what you’re talking about.”
DeFoe said there are a lot of fish to be caught on Douglas, but finding larger fish will be the key.
“There are tons of 2-pounders, but 3-pounders seem to be more difficult to catch lately,” said DeFoe. “A few years ago on Douglas, 3-pounders didn’t really do you a lot of good in a tournament, but I think that’s what anglers should be targeting at the event. If they do that and can catch a 4-pounder or two per day, they’ll be doing really well.”
While storms and major fronts have rolled across the U.S. over the past week or so, DeFoe said he didn’t think that would significantly affect the fishery.
“It’s been in the 90s a lot up here, but a cold snap came through over the weekend, which probably knocked the surface temperature of the water back a couple degrees,” said DeFoe. “At this point the surface temperature should be in the 70s and that shouldn’t change fishing conditions too much.
“I expect deep cranking to be a major player this time of year, no question about that,” continued DeFoe. “We’ll probably see a lot of the Rapala DT Series crankbaits tied on – anything from the DT10 down to the DT20. Hollow-belly swimbaits rigged on jigheads will also be a big deal, as well as football jigs and big worms drug around offshore.”
DeFoe said he expects it will take 45-50 pounds to win the three-day event, with anglers at the top of the leaderboard bringing in 15-17 pounds per day.
All-American competitors will take off from the Dandridge Boat Dock, located at 100 Public Drive in Dandridge, at 7 a.m. ET each morning. Weigh-ins will also be held at the dock at 3:30 p.m. daily. Fans are welcome to attend or follow the event online through daily coverage, live blogs and photos at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Live weigh-in coverage will be streamed daily on MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The full field of anglers will compete on days 1 and 2 of the event, with the top 10 boaters and top 10 co-anglers based on cumulative weight from the first two days continuing to the third and final day. The 2021 All-American champions will be determined by the heaviest three-day total weight.
