$120,000 top prize, coveted spot in 2016 Forrest Wood Cup on the line
Now in its 33rd year, the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) All-American will visit Lake Barkley in Cadiz, Kentucky, June 9-11, and will host the nation’s top 49 boaters and top 49 co-anglers from across the 24-division BFL circuit. Anglers will cast for cash prizes of up to $120,000 in the Boater Division and $60,000 in the Co-angler Division, plus an opportunity to compete for bass fishing’s top prize – the Forrest Wood Cup – Aug. 4-7 on Wheeler Lake in Huntsville, Alabama.
“My life goal was always to be a professional angler, and when they announced me as the All-American Champion, I knew I could do it,” said Walmart FLW Tour pro Troy Morrow of Eastanollee, Georgia, who was the 2010 All-American champion. “The prize money allowed me to head straight to the FLW Tour. Winning the All-American was a life-changing moment and was the foundation of my career.
“This year, they’re really going to catch them on Barkley,” Morrow said. “There’s going to be a strong shallow bite on both the north and south end of the lake. Individual targets like shallow brush piles, isolated stumps, logs and gravel bars are going to be the name of the game. The bream, which will be bedding, may also have a strong impact on the catch.”
Morrow said that topwater baits will likely dominate the shallow bite, while a wider variety of lures will be used offshore.
“Competitors who go after the offshore bite will be on the north end of the lake where it’s deeper,” said Morrow. “They’ll be reaching for swimbaits, big crankbaits, worms, jigs – even a big spoon. Any of those baits could do some damage. It will just depend on how much the fish have seen leading up to the event.”
The Georgia pro estimated that it will take roughly 20 pounds of bass a day to win the tournament.
“A three-day total right around 61 pounds is a good bet,” said Morrow. “There are a lot of options out there to catch quality limits and the competitors will be able to fish to their strengths.”
Anglers will take off from the Lake Barkley State Resort Park Marina located at 4200 State Park Road in Cadiz at 7 a.m. CDT each morning. Weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. on the first two days of competition. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held in conjunction with the FLW Tour weigh-in at Kentucky Dam Village State Park, located at 7792 U.S. Highway 641 N. in Gilbertsville, Kentucky, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
The 2016 BFL All-American on Lake Barkley is hosted by Cadiz-Trigg County Tourism.
Coverage of the 2016 BFL All-American will premiere in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) October 5 from 1 p.m.-2 p.m. EDT. The Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show airs on NBCSN, the Pursuit Channel and the World Fishing Network and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.
About Fishing League Worldwide (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: Brian Johnson, FLW
