As many as 450 pros and co-anglers are set to compete in the Costa FLW Series Southeastern Division event on Lake Seminole, March 2-4. The tournament, which is presented by Mud Hole Custom Tackle, is the second of three regular-season events scheduled in the Southeastern Division. Pros will be competing for a top award of up to $54,000 in cash and a new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
“The weather has been really hot down here so the water is a little warmer and the spawn is ahead of schedule,” said FLW Tour pro Troy Morrow of Eastanollee, Georgia, a five-time Forrest Wood Cup qualifier. “With no cool-down in sight, it’s going to be a great tournament sight-fishing for some big fish up shallow. Spring Creek will be popular because it’s the clearest part on the lake.
“Grass will also be a major player in this event,” continued Morrow. “I don’t think it will be won solely by sight-fishing. There are a lot of productive flats where the Flint River feeds into Spring Creek. I see vibrating jigs cleaning up along the grass edges. There also might be some lipless-crankbait action if anglers can find good grass in cooler water.”
Morrow said that isolated pockets on the Chattahoochee River could also be a strong bet for anglers looking to change up their patterns.
“You can never rule out throwing a frog to lily pads, or flipping soft-plastics to hyacinth and matted grass on Seminole,” said Morrow.
The Georgia pro predicted that a three-day total of 62 pounds should be enough to win the tournament.
“Someone will likely bring in a 24- or 25-pound limit at some point, but they’ll have to average 20 pounds the other two days to win it all,” said Morrow.
Anglers will take off from Bainbridge Earle May Boat Basin, located at 100 Boat Basin Circle in Bainbridge at 7 a.m. EST each day. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at Walmart, located at 500 E. Alice St. in Bainbridge, and will begin at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public. The event is hosted by the Bainbridge Convention & Visitors Bureau.
In Costa FLW Series regular-season competition, payouts are based on the number of participants competing in the event. At Lake Seminole, pros will fish for as much as $54,000 and a Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard if Ranger Cup qualified. Co-anglers will cast for a Ranger Z175 boat with a 90-horsepower Evinrude outboard, $1,250, and an additional $5,000 if Ranger Cup qualified.
The Costa FLW Series consists of five U.S. 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 2017 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Nov. 2-4 on Kentucky Lake in Paris, Tennessee.
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 274 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. For more information visit FLWFishing.com
By: Brian Johnson, FLW
