Bass Pro Shops in Lawrenceville to Feature Saturdayโs Championship Weigh-In, Two Ranger Boats Up For Grabs
GAINESVILLE, Ga. (Oct. 10, 2017) – The T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) is coming to Lake Lanier, Oct. 19-21, for one of six BFL Regional Tournaments. The three-day event, presented by General Tire, will feature 400 of the nation’s top weekend anglers – 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers from each of the Gator, Savannah River, Shenandoah, and South Carolina BFL divisions.
The winning boater will receive a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and a check for $20,000, while the winning co-angler will receive a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard. The top six boaters and co-anglers at each regional will advance to one of the longest-running championships in bass fishing – the 2018 BFL All-American, which will be held May 31-June 2 on Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Lake Lanier is expected to fish well for tournament anglers in this BFL Regional Tournament. Anglers will likely be seen targeting schooling bass near points and humps in major creek mouths. Crankbaits and topwater baits should be productive in these areas, especially in the early-morning hours. Swimbaits and flukes may also see a lot of action in this tournament. A three-day cumulative catch of 15 bass weighing 39 pounds should be enough to secure top honors.
Competitors will take off from Laurel Park, located at 3100 Old Cleveland Highway in Gainesville, at 7:30 a.m. EDT each day. Weigh-ins on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 19-20, will be held at the park beginning at 3:30 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in, Oct. 21, will be held at Bass Pro Shops located at 5900 Sugarloaf Parkway in Lawrenceville, Georgia, and will begin at 4:30 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
The T-H Marine BFL Regional Tournament on Lake Lanier is hosted by the Gainesville Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The 2017 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2018 All-American will be held on Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, May 31-June 2 and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier City Sports Commission and the Red River Waterway Commission. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.
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 258 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