WHAT: The 2015 Walmart Bass Fishing League (BFL) season will continue with six tournaments on Saturday, August 29. The Hoosier division will take on the Ohio River in an event that was rescheduled from July as up to 400 boaters and co-anglers will be competing for the top awards of up to $8,000 and $3,000 respectively in the one-day event. Five two-day BFL Super Tournaments will also be held, as the Gator division heads to Lake Okeechobee, the Illini division competes on Lake Shelbyville, the Music City division stops at Old Hickory Lake, the Piedmont division tackles Kerr Lake and the South Carolina division fishes on Lake Wylie. Up to 400 boaters and co-anglers will be casting for top prizes of up to $11,000 and $4,500 in the two-day Super Tournaments.
WHEN: Saturday, August 29
Hoosier Division
Ohio River
Lawrenceburg City Ramp
Tanner’s Creek Drive
Lawrenceburg, Ind.
NOTES: The bass fishing on the Ohio River should be great at this event. Anglers will most likely be seen targeting current breaks with Blueback Herring-colored baits. Other competitors may opt to target rock flats or brush piles using shaky-head rigs and dark-colored soft plastics. Other popular baits at this event will likely include crankbaits, spinnerbaits and worms. A 10-pound, five-bass limit is expected to win this event.
WHEN: Saturday-Sunday, August 29-30
Gator Division
Lake Okeechobee
C. Scott Driver Park
10100 W. Highway 78
Okeechobee, Fla.
NOTES: Lake Okeechobee never disappoints as a bass fishery this time of year. Competitors on Lake Okeechobee will likely be seen flipping jigs and tubes into the lake’s expansive shallow grass and hydrilla. Other competitors may choose to focus on flipping dark-colored creature baits, soft plastics and jigs to reeds. Ten bass nearing 44 pounds should take top honors in this two-day showdown.
Illini Division
Lake Shelbyville
9th St. Ramp
9th St.
Shelbyville, Ill.
NOTES: Lake Shelbyville is expected to fish well this tournament. Local fishing reports say bass are being caught consistently on soft plastics, swimbaits and crankbaits. Anglers competing in the tournament may be seen using these lures along weedlines and near timber. Topwater baits could also prove to be popular early in the morning or late in the day. A two-day total of 10 bass weighing in the 32-pound range will likely be needed to win this tournament.
Music City Division
Old Hickory Lake
Bulls Creek Access
200 Odoms Bend Road
Gallatin, Tenn.
NOTES: Old Hickory Lake is an exciting destination for bass anglers this time of year. Fans following the tournament will likely see anglers targeting bass near suspended cedar trees and in submerged cover like wood and rocks. Fishing drops with a worm is also expected to be a popular pattern. Recent local fishing reports indicate jigs and creature baits are also producing sizable fish. A two-day cumulative of 10 bass totaling 30 pounds should tip the scales in the winner’s favor.
Piedmont Division
Kerr Lake
New Nutbush Park
115 Jack Wade Farm Road
Henderson, N.C.
NOTES: Bass tournaments on Kerr Lake are a sight to see this time of year. Previous winners of BFL events on Kerr Lake have found success focusing on bass in deep water using soft plastics rigged on a drop-shot. Other popular patterns may include flipping jigs to boat docks and targeting schooling bass using spoons and big swimbaits. A two-day catch of 10 bass nearing 22 pounds is expected to take top honors at this competition.
South Carolina Division
Lake Wylie
Buster Boyd’s Landing
3990 Charlotte Highway
Lake Wylie, S.C.
NOTES: The bass fishing on Lake Wylie is expected to be top-notch at this point of the season. Fans following the tournament will likely see anglers targeting shallow cover in the backs of creeks using jigs and spinnerbaits. Other anglers may also be seen targeting bass in shallow water using shaky-head rigs. Ten bass weighing 23 pounds will likely be needed to win this two-day event.
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
