The Walmart Bass Fishing League (BFL) is headed to Kentucky and Barkley lakes Oct. 15-17 for one of six BFL regional championships. The three-day tournament, presented by Lowrance, will feature the top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers from each of the Great Lakes, Hoosier, Mountain and Ozark divisions.
Anglers will take to the water to compete for the top prize of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Evinrude outboard and $20,000 in the Boater Division and a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Evinrude outboard in the Co-angler division. The top six boaters and co-anglers will also qualify for the 2016 Walmart BFL All-American – one of the longest running championships in competitive bass fishing.
“For this tournament the offshore bite will be strong, but not out deep on the ledges,” said Walmart FLW Tour pro Tom Redington of Royse City, Texas, who won a Rayovac FLW Series event on Kentucky Lake in May. “Many competitors are going to be following the shad back into the creeks where bass are feeding. We’ll likely see shad-colored square-billed crankbaits and spinnerbaits being used in the 3- to 5-foot range.”
Redington said that competitors who prefer to flip or pitch to bushes or laydowns may find themselves without much water to work with.
“The lake is being drawn down, so it can be almost impossible to find that bite in the bushes this time of year,” said Redington. “There’s a lot of grass on the south end of the lake that will make a great alternative. In those areas a topwater bait, a worm or a jig near the grass edge will do the trick.”
Redington predicted that a three-day catch nearing 60 pounds would likely be the winning total in this event.
Anglers will take off from Moors Resort & Marina located at 570 Moors Road in Gilbertsville at 7 a.m. CT each day. Weigh-ins on Thursday and Friday will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at Walmart, located at 310 W. 5th St. in Benton at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Fans will also be treated to the FLW Expo on Saturday at Walmart prior to the final weigh-in. The Expo includes a Ranger boat simulator, a unique opportunity to interact with anglers, interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by sponsors, and a chance to learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities. All activities are free and open to the public.
The BFL Regional Championship event on Lake Sinclair is being hosted by the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 50 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and 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 Walmart BFL All-American. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
ABOUT FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2015 over the course of 240 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.
By: Brian Johnson, FLW
