| 1971 | Bobby Murray | Lake Mead, Nev. | — |
| 1972 | Don Butler | Percy Priest Reservoir, Tenn. | — |
| 1973 | Rayo Breckenridge | Clarks Hill Reservoir, S.C. | — |
| 1974 | Tommy Martin | Wheeler Lake, Ala. | — |
| 1975 | Jack Hains | Currituck Sound, N.C. | — |
| 1976 | Rick Clunn | Lake Guntersville, Ala. | — |
| 1977 | Rick Clunn | Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, Fla. | — |
| 1978 | Bobby Murray | Ross Barnett Reservoir, Miss. | — |
| 1979 | Hank Parker | Lake Texoma, Texas | — |
| 1980 | Bo Dowden | St. Lawrence River, N.Y. | — |
| 1981 | Stanley Mitchell | Alabama River, Ala. | — |
| 1982 | Paul Elias | Alabama River, Ala. | — |
| 1983 | Larry Nixon | Ohio River, Ohio | — |
| 1984 | Rick Clunn | Arkansas River, Ark. | — |
| 1985 | Jack Chancellor | Arkansas River, Ark. | — |
| 1986 | Charlie Reed | Tennessee River, Tenn. | — |
| 1987 | George Cochran | Ohio River, Ky. | — |
| 1988 | Guido Hibdon | James River, Va. | — |
| 1989 | Hank Parker | James River, Va. | — |
| 1990 | Rick Clunn | James River, Va. | — |
| 1991 | Ken Cook | Chesapeake Bay, Md. | — |
| 1992 | Robert Hamilton | Lake Logan Martin, Ala. | — |
| 1993 | David Fritts | Lake Logan Martin, Ala. | — |
| 1994 | Bryan Kerchal | High Rock Lake, N.C. | — |
| 1995 | Mark Davis | High Rock Lake, N.C. | — |
| 1996 | George Cochran | Lay Lake, Ala. | — |
| 1997 | Dion Hibdon | Lake Logan Martin, Ala. | — |
| 1998 | Denny Brauer | High Rock Lake, N.C. | — |
| 1999 | Davy Hite | Louisiana Delta, La. | — |
| 2000 | Woo Daves | Lake Michigan, Ill. | — |
| 2001 | Kevin VanDam | Louisiana Delta, La. | — |
| 2002 | Jay Yelas | Lay Lake, Ala. | — |
| 2003 | Michael Iaconelli | Louisiana Delta, La. | — |
| 2004 | Takahiro Omori | Lake Wylie, N.C. | — |
| 2005 | Kevin VanDam | Three Rivers, Pa. | — |
| 2006 | Luke Clausen | Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, Fla. | — |
| 2007 | Boyd Duckett | Lay Lake, Ala. | — |
| 2008 | Alton Jones | Lake Hartwell, S.C. | — |
| 2009 | Skeet Reese | Red River, La. | — |
| 2010 | Kevin VanDam | Lay Lake, Ala. | — |
| 2011 | Kevin VanDam | Louisiana Delta, La. | — |
| 2012 | Chris Lane | Red River, La. | — |
| 2013 | Cliff Pace | Grand Lake, Okla. | — |
| 2014 | Randy Howell | Lake Guntersville, Ala. | — |
| 2015 | Casey Ashley | Lake Hartwell, S.C. | — |
| 2016 | Edwin Evers | Grand Lake, Okla. | — |
| 2017 | Jordan Lee | Lake Conroe, Texas | — |
| 2018 | Jordan Lee | Lake Hartwell, S.C. | — |
| 2019 | Ott DeFoe | Tennessee River, Tenn. | — |
| 2020 | Hank Cherry | Lake Guntersville, Ala. | — |
| 2021 | Hank Cherry | Lake Ray Roberts, Texas | — |
| 2022 | Jason Christie | Lake Hartwell, S.C. | — |
| 2023 | Jeff Gustafson | Tennessee River, Knoxville, Tenn. | 42-7 |
| 2024 | Justin Hamner | Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, Tulsa, Okla. | 58-3 |
| 2025 | Easton Fothergill | Lake Ray Roberts, Fort Worth, Texas | 76-15 |
| 2026 | Dylan Nutt | Tennessee River, Knoxville, Tenn. | 66-13 |