As many as 450 pros and co-anglers are set to compete May 4-6 in the Costa FLW Series Southeastern Division finale on Lake Chickamauga. The tournament, presented by Lowrance, is the final regular-season event of 2017 scheduled in the Southeastern 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.
“There’s going to be a lot of bass and a lot of big limits caught in this event,” said FLW Tour pro Michael Wooley of Collierville, Tennessee, who won the FLW Tour event at Lake Chickamauga in 2015. “There should be a lot of fish heading offshore right now because the spawn is just about over. I would say it’s going to be a postspawn deal, but there could be a twist. This week we’ve had a lot of rain and we are supposed to get more.”
Wooley said that following a lot of rain, the river runs high and bass seek protection in creeks from the strong current. With that in mind, competitors who originally planned to fish solely offshore may need to make adjustments.
“It’s only a forecast though, so nothing is guaranteed,” said Wooley. “If we do get the rain docks will be a big player, as well as grass up the river. In grassy areas, I’d use a ChatterBait or any kind of soft-plastics. On the docks, I’d flip a jig or maybe even throw a wacky-rigged worm.”
Wooley said that areas near Chester Frost Park will be a good bet for anglers who choose to target offshore bass.
“Chester Frost Park is a really prime area for catching offshore bass,” said Wooley. “I won the Tour event near there and the dam in 2015. If I were competing, I’d throw a big swimbait – they’ll eat it up – or a (Strike King) 6XD or 10XD crankbait.”
The Tennessee pro said a three-day cumulative weight of 70 pounds should be enough to take home top honors.
Anglers will take off from the Dayton Boat Dock, located at 175 Lakeshore St. in Dayton at 6:30 a.m. EDT each day. Weigh-ins will be held at the marina beginning at 2:30 p.m. each day. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public. The event is hosted by the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council.
In Costa FLW Series regular-season competition, payouts are based on the number of participants competing in the event. At Lake Chickamauga, 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 $1,250 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: Brian Johnson, FLW
