The Costa FLW Series is headed to 1000 Islands on July 21-23 for a tournament presented by Mercury when as many as 300 pros and co-anglers will take to the water for the second stop of 2016 in the Northern Division.
“I have been waiting for FLW to come back to the 1000 Islands for a long time,” said 2016 Walmart FLW Tour Rookie of the Year Chris Johnston of Peterborough, Ontario, who has two previous top-10 finishes at 1000 Islands in FLW competition. “It is my favorite place to fish. The place is loaded with big fish – it’s harder to catch a 3-pounder than it is a 4-pounder. I had a tough tournament there the last time that I fished, so I’m looking for a little redemption.
“In this tournament we’re going to see some of the best smallmouth fishing that North America has to offer,” Johnston continued. “I really don’t think a guy can compete there fishing for just largemouth – you’re going to have to have a mixed bag with at least a few smallmouth mixed in.
“The smallmouth are all postspawn at this point, so most anglers will be fishing out deep,” Johnston said. “I’ll be fishing a Jackall Crosstail Shad on a drop-shot rig, but tubes and Carolina rigs will also be popular baits. For the guys fishing for largemouth, jigs and Yamamoto Senko worms will be the deal. They’re going to be looking for structure – trees and docks.
“We’re really going to see a lot of big fish in this tournament,” Johnston went on to say. “There are just so many fish in that 5- to 6-pound weight class. I think a guy is going to have to average at least 23 pounds each day to win, so a three-day total right around 69 pounds is what I think the winning weight will be.”
Anglers will take off from the Clayton Village Ramp, located at 899 Mary St., in Clayton at 6 a.m. EDT each day. Weigh-ins will be held at the Clayton Pavilion, located at 300 Riverside Drive in Clayton, beginning at 2 p.m. All takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
The event is being hosted by the Clayton Chamber of Commerce.
Pros will fish for a top award of $40,000 plus a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard if Ranger Cup guidelines are met.
Co-anglers will cast for a top award consisting of a Ranger Z175 with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $5,000 if Ranger Cup guidelines are met.
The Costa FLW Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western. Each division consists of three tournaments with competitors vying for valuable points that could earn them the opportunity to fish in the Costa FLW Series Championship. The 2016 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Nov. 3-5 on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2016 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 235 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros.
By: Joe Opager, Director of Public Relations
