Lake Dardanelle site of upcoming Walmart BFL Regional
Dardanelle is prime power-fishing lake
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Walmart Bass Fishing League is headed to Lake Dardanelle Nov. 3-5 for one of six regional championships. This three-day tournament features the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from each of the Cowboy, LBL, Okie and Ozark divisions. They will compete for a Ranger 198VX with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy 1500 Silverado in the Boater Division and a new Ranger 198VX with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard in the Co-angler Division.
“Fishing should be real good,” said ScotchBlue Painter’s Tape pro Ray Scheide of Dover, Ark. “There will be some heavy sacks brought to the scales, 18 pounds or more, but it is going to be hard to duplicate those kinds of weights two days in a row. Because of low water levels on the lake, the bass are not acclimating to shoreline cover or offshore either. They are grouped up chasing schools of baitfish and can be found anywhere.
“The key for this tournament is not getting locked into one location,” Scheide continued. “The same spot probably won’t work two days in a row. Anglers should fish with an open mind and keep moving.
“The early-morning topwater bite should be good,” Scheide went on to say. “Buzzbaits, frogs and spooks should bring in a few. In the afternoon I would change to a spinnerbait or a crankbait. This tournament is going to be won power-fishing. I am guessing the winning weight will be right around 41 pounds.”
Takeoffs will be at Lake Dardanelle State Park located at 100 State Park Drive in Russellville, Ark., at 7 a.m. daily. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will be at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Walmart located at 2409 E. Main St. in Russellville. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from each division have now qualified for regional tournaments and are competing to finish in the top six, which will then qualify them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
The BFL Regional Championship tournament is being hosted by the Russellville Advertising & Promotion Commission.
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About FLW Outdoors
FLW Outdoors is the largest tournament-fishing organization in the world, offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 191 tournaments in 2011. FLW Outdoors has taken fishing mainstream with the world’s richest fantasy sports game, FLW Fantasy Fishing at FantasyFishing.com, where competitors can play for free as well as sign up for Player’s Advantage to gain an edge.