More than 200 of the top semi-professional bass anglers from both the United States and around the world will visit the Guntersville area Nov. 1-3 for the 2018 Costa FLW Series Championship at Lake Guntersville. The three-day event, hosted by the Marshall County Convention & Visitors Bureau, features a top prize of $95,000 in the Pro Division, including a Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and an automatic qualification to the 2019 Forrest Wood Cup – the world championship of bass fishing.
Competitors qualified for the Costa FLW Series Championship through five U.S. divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western – and an International division that features anglers from Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa and Spain. The highest finishing pro from each U.S. division and the International division will qualify for the 2019 FLW Cup. A total of six FLW Series boaters will advance to the 2019 FLW Cup, which will be held at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 9-11.
“Overall, Lake Guntersville should fish well for this event,” said FLW Tour pro Alex Davis of Albertville, Alabama, who has logged three career wins on Lake Guntersville in FLW competition. “There should still be some grass left, but it will be more scattered instead of matted up. Most of the lake should be productive, especially Mud Creek, Crow Creek and the Goose Pond area. The area around Alred Marina on the lower end should produce some notable bites as well. Those locations have the most amount of grass right now.”
Davis said that fans should expect to see a variety of lures being used to pick apart the grass.
“It will be your typical frog deals on the grass mats, as well as some flipping and punching beaver-style baits,” said Davis. “A buzzbait and a spinnerbait should be good as well. There’s been some wind and rain which moves the grass and makes the mats a lot smaller. If the grass keeps decreasing the way it is, an umbrella rig could be a factor as well.”
Davis went on to say that it will likely take a three-day cumulative of about 54 pounds to win the event.
“Finding that 3½- to 4½-pound bite instead of the
Anglers will take off from Guntersville City Harbor, located at 201 Blount Ave., in Guntersville, at 7:30 a.m. CDT each day. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will also take place at the harbor, and will begin at 3 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will take place at Cabela’s, located at 7090 Cabela Drive in Huntsville, Alabama, and will begin at 3:30 p.m. All takeoffs and weigh-ins are free to attend and open to the public.
Area youth are encouraged to attend the free FLW Foundation Unified Fishing Derby at Guntersville City Harbor on Saturday, Nov. 3, from 1-2:30 p.m. The all-inclusive event is open to youth (18 and under) and Special Olympics athletes (all ages). Tackle, bait and expert assistance will be provided. Registration begins on site at noon.
In Costa FLW Series competition, each U.S. division consists of three regular-season tournaments with competitors vying for valuable points that could earn them the opportunity to compete in the season-ending Costa FLW Series Championship.
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: Brian Johnson, FLW
