Beat Five Anglers From Your Regional at the All-American and Advance to the FLW Series Championship
FLW announced today the schedule, rules and increased regional payouts for the 2019 T-H Marine Bass Fishing League (BFL), which includes the opportunity to fish 10 no-entry-fee championships awarding more than $3 million. Fishing the BFL puts local anglers in front of the largest fan base in the sport with coverage on FLWFishing.com and FLW’s social media outlets, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter, that reach more than 1 million fans each month. Boaters and co-anglers also have the convenience of fishing close to home for advancement to seven BFL Regional Championships, the T-H Marine BFL All-American and the Forrest Wood Cup, plus a new opportunity to advance directly to the Costa FLW Series Championship.
▪ The top 45 boaters and co-anglers plus qualifying tournament winners in each division advance to Regional Championships.
▪ Enter all five events in a division, fish at least two and automatically advance to the Wild Card Regional.
▪ The top six boaters and co-anglers from each Regional Championship and the Wild Card Regional advance to the All-American.
▪ The highest-finishing boater and co-angler from each Regional Championship and the Wild Card Regional at the All-American advance to the FLW Series Championship – you only have to beat five anglers from your regional to advance.
▪ The winning boater at the All-American advances to the FLW Cup
▪ The winning boater and co-angler at the FLW Series Championship advance to the FLW Cup. The winning co-angler also receives use of a Ranger Z520L from the championship through the FLW Cup to fish as a pro. Minimum payout at the FLW Cup is $10,000.
For 2019 BFL anglers are eligible for FREE Bass Pro Shops FLW Tournament Incentives at basspro.com/flwincentives. BFL anglers receive a VIP discount card for 25 percent off Bass Pro Shops branded merchandise all year plus incredible tournament bonuses. Lucrative bonuses are also available from Ranger, Triton, Nitro, Evinrude, Mercury, Costa, Leer, Toyota, Power-Pole, T-H Marine and other FLW sponsors.
Guaranteed no-entry-fee Regional Championship payouts have increased to $70,000 for winning boaters and $50,000 for winning co-anglers, up from $65,000 and $45,000 in 2018. Each regional payout includes $10,000 for second and $5,000 for third on the boater side and $5,000 for second and $2,500 for third on the co-angler side. The top 24 boaters and co-anglers in each regional receive checks.
The 2019 All-American will feature FLW Live on-the-water coverage just like the FLW Tour to showcase BFL anglers and their sponsors to FLW’s worldwide audience. FLW Live weigh-in coverage will also be available from every BFL tournament in 2019 for enhanced media coverage at every level.
Entry fees have increased slightly to $300 per qualifier for boaters and $150 per qualifier for co-anglers. Super tournament entry fees remain the same at $350 for boaters and $175 for co-anglers. The popular “Win and You are In” format that automatically qualifies the winners from each of the 96 one-day qualifying tournaments and 24 two-day super tournaments to the Regional Championships along with the top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division based on point standings remains unchanged. In the BFL, anglers are never out of contention for advancement to a no-entry-fee championship.
“FLW was founded on providing affordable, close-to-home weekend tournaments for bass anglers,” said T-H Marine BFL tournament director Daniel Fennel. “BFL anglers are the heart and soul of FLW, and we take great pride in providing them with the best possible tournaments along with a clear pathway for advancement to the sport’s next levels – namely the Costa FLW Series and the FLW Tour. Nowhere else do anglers have the opportunity to fish five close-to-home tournaments with a shot at advancing to not just one, but three of the sport’s biggest championships, the All-American, FLW Series Championship and FLW Cup, where a BFL angler can win a total of $520,000.”
For the complete 2019 BFL schedule, rules and payouts, visit FLWFishing.com.
The BFL is the nation’s largest and most rewarding weekend bass-fishing circuit. Nobody offers better rewards and media coverage to local anglers for a lower cost to compete. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division and tournament winners receive priority entry into the 2020 Costa FLW Series while All-American champions may advance directly to the FLW Tour, the world’s most competitive professional bass-fishing circuit.
Anglers can register for the 2019 BFL season at FLWFishing.com or by calling 270.252.1000 on the dates listed below:
• November 12, 2018 – Hoosier, Michigan, Music City and Volunteer
• November 13, 2018 – Bulldog, Cowboy, Great Lakes, Illini and Mississippi
• November 14, 2018 – Bama, Buckeye, Choo Choo, Mountain and Ozark
• November 15, 2018 – Arkie, LBL, North Carolina, Northeast and Okie
• November 16, 2018 – Gator, Piedmont, Savannah River, Shenandoah and South Carolina
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com.
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 2018 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW and their partners conduct 286 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa and Spain. 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: Joe Opager, Director of Public Relations
