As many as 400 pros and co-anglers are set to compete in the Costa FLW Series Central Division event at Kentucky Lake, June 8-10. The tournament, which is presented by Lowrance, is the second of three regular-season events scheduled in the FLW Series Central Division. Pros will be competing for a top award of up to $50,000 in cash and a new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
“If the weather stays right, this tournament is going to be a smash fest,” said FLW Tour pro Jason Lambert of Michie, Tennessee, who has six career top-10 finishes on Kentucky Lake – including an FLW Tour win in June 2016. “I’ve been fishing out on Pickwick for the past week filming an episode of The Bass Doctor, and the fish aren’t everywhere yet, but they’re close.
“Pickwick and Kentucky fish so similarly – usually what is happening on one lake is happening on the other,” Lambert continued. “We caught about 60 keepers with our best five weighing right around 24 pounds. There were a lot of fresh fish that had just moved out. With another eight days of warm weather, it should be on fire.”
Lambert said that believes that the winner of the event will likely have multiple different areas to run to.
“The fish are still moving, and there are a lot smaller schools that are coming and going,” Lambert said. “I think the person that wins will win with fish that they find during the tournament, not practice. The key will be having enough places to run to.”
Lambert said that he will be throwing his normal summertime Tennessee River baits – a Castaic Jerky J swimbait and a big 6th Sense Lures crankbait.
“I expect it to take at least 75 pounds over three days to win,” Lambert went on to say.
Anglers will take off from the Kentucky Dam State Park, located at 7792 U.S. Highway 641 N., in Gilbertsville, at 6:30 a.m. CDT each day. Weigh-ins will be held at the State Park each day beginning at 2:30 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public. The event is hosted by the Kentucky Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau.
In Costa FLW Series regular-season competition, payouts are based on the number of participants competing in the event. At Kentucky Lake pros will fish for as much as $50,000 and a Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard if Ranger Cup qualified. Co-anglers will cast for a Ranger Z175 boat with a 90-horsepower Evinrude outboard, and an additional $5,000 if Ranger Cup qualified.
The Costa FLW Series consists of five U.S. 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 2017 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Nov. 2-4 on Kentucky Lake in Paris, Tennessee.
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 2017 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 274 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa 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
