Lake Hamilton Selected to Host 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American Championship
Category: article
Jun 4th, 2021 by Keith Worrall
Modified Jun 4th, 2021 at 7:34 AM
39th Annual Grassroots Bass-Fishing Championship to be held in Hot Springs for Record Sixth Time
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (June 3, 2021) – Major League Fishing, the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, announced Thursday that the 39th annual Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American will be held on Arkansas’ Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 2022. The tournament, scheduled for June 2-4, 2022, will showcase the nation’s best weekend anglers and award the winner up to $120,000 cash.
The three-day, no-entry-fee-championship hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs is the sixth All-American to be held in Hot Springs – a record for the most times a city has hosted the event. It will provide an estimated $1 million economic impact to the region.
“The entire Hot Springs community is proud to have been selected as the host city for the 39th annual Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American in 2022,” said Steve Arrison, Visit Hot Springs CEO. “Hot Springs loves pro fishing and bringing the tournament back to Lake Hamilton for the fifth time is a real testament to our city’s ability to make the anglers feel welcome, while also providing the opportunity for them to have a great time on and off the water.
“Aside from the million-dollar economic impact that the All-American will bring to the city, the people of Hot Springs are simply great fans of the excitement that the event brings to town. We love the weigh-ins and the entertainment that surrounds the tournament and participants – we can’t wait to host the event again in 2022.”
The championship was previously held on Lake Hamilton in 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2008 and on DeGray Lake, also in the region, in 2010.
“We are thrilled to bring the 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American back to Lake Hamilton,” said Kathy Fennel, MLF executive vice president and general manager. “We’ve had great success hosting tournaments in Hot Springs over the years and the community excitement coupled with the competitive fishery has made bringing our All-American championship there an obvious choice.”
As the nation’s leading provider of affordable, close-to-home weekend tournaments, the Phoenix Bass Fishing League is widely credited with opening competitive bass fishing to the masses. It also serves as a steppingstone for anglers who wish to advance to the Toyota Series, Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the Bass Pro Tour. Former All-American champions who currently compete on the Bass Pro Tour and the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit include Shaw Grigsby (1984), Stephen Browning (1996), Troy Morrow (2010), Jacob Wheeler (2011), Kerry Milner (2013), Jeremy Lawyer (2016) and Nick LeBrun (2018).
The Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American.
The complete schedule and rules for the 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine season will be announced this fall. The full schedule and rules will be posted online at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
For complete details and updated information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
About MLF BIG5
MLF BIG5 is part of MLF, the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization. It provides anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money across five tournament circuits featuring a five-biggest-fish format. Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with offices in Benton, Kentucky, MLF and its partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and Zimbabwe.
MLF tournaments are broadcast on Outdoor Channel, Sportsman Channel, World Fishing Network, MyOutdoorTV, Discovery and CBS Sports while MLF Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros to the world’s most avid bass anglers.