The Costa FLW Series is headed to Wheeler Lake May 12-14 for a tournament presented by Mercury when as many as 400 pros and co-anglers will take to the water for the final stop of 2016 in the Southeastern Division.
“There are a couple of different patterns competitors could focus on for this event,” said Quaker State pro Scott Canterbury of Springville, Alabama, who won the second Walmart FLW Tour event of 2016 on Beaver Lake. “Bass are moving out to the shell beds which means there’s going to be an offshore bite, but there’s also a lot of bass up shallow to choose from. Anglers will need to fish to their strengths.
“I think the event will be won offshore on the beds,” continued Canterbury. “That’s where the bigger ones are grouped up. Carolina-rigged worms and medium-diving, shad-colored crankbaits are going to be the deal. It will come down to who finds the right spot.
“If anglers are looking to mix things up, there’s always a good shallow bite on Wheeler,” said Canterbury. “Topwaters will produce in those areas and there should be decent flipping bite as well. I prefer flipping a jig, but we could see competitors flipping a craw. Those fish always seem to love craws. The bites won’t be as big as the offshore fish, but you’ll get more throughout the day.”
Canterbury finished by saying that the winner will need to tally a three-day catch worth 62 to 64 pounds.
“The lake has a lot of potential to produce more,” said Canterbury. “We’ve seen more than 70 pounds come over a three-day stretch recently. It’s going to be an exciting tournament.”
Anglers will take off from Joe Wheeler State Park located at 4601 McLean Drive in Rogersville at 6 a.m. CDT each day. Weigh-ins will be held at the park beginning at 2 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public. The event is being hosted by the Florence/Lauderdale Tourism.
Pros will fish for a top award of $40,000 plus a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard if Ranger Cup guidelines are met.
Co-anglers will cast for a top award consisting of a Ranger Z175 with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $5,000 if Ranger Cup guidelines are met.
The Costa FLW Series consists of five 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 2016 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Nov. 3-5 on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri.
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 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
