Walmart BFL Tournament Preview
Mississippi, Mountain, Shenandoah and South Carolina division events set for March 21
The 2015 Walmart Bass Fishing League continues its season with four tournaments the weekend of Saturday, March 21, 2015. The Mississippi Division will begin its season on Ross Barnett Reservoir in Brandon, Mississippi, the Mountain Division opens on Dale Hollow Lake in Byrdstown, Tennessee, the Shenandoah Division is heading to Smith Mountain Lake in Huddleston, Virginia. and the South Carolina Division continues its season on Lake Santee Cooper in Summerton, South Carolina. In each tournament, up to 400 boaters and co-anglers will be competing for top awards of up to $8,000 and $3,000 respectively in the one-day events.
Here is the information for the four upcoming BFLs.
When: Saturday, March 21, 2015
Tommy’s Trading Post
4238 Highway 43 N.
Brandon, Miss.
Notes: If temperatures continue to heat up, so should the bass fishing on Ross Barnett Reservoir. According to recent reports, competitors can still expect to find fish in prespawn patterns. Throwing swimbaits and spinnerbaits around shallow stumps and weed edges have produced fish in past tournament competition. Fish will also be found residing on main lake points with access to deeper water and ample current. Crankbaits and Texas-rigged soft plastics can be used to target these fish. If an angler brings in a five-bass limit weighing over 20 pounds, they will have a good chance at taking home the title.
Star Point Resort
4490 Star Point Road
Byrdstown, Tenn.
Hosted by Star Point Resort
Notes: Fishing on Dale Hollow Lake is expected to be good. Anglers will be targeting largemouth or smallmouth bass beginning to start their spawning process. The jerkbait is a key lure this time of year, whether cast around lay downs or along rocky banks. An umbrella rig with four-inch swimbaits has also been known to produce fish. Another pattern that has produced this time of year in past tournaments is targeting secondary points with a jig. Winning weights this time of year have ranged anywhere from 15 to 25 pounds.
Parkway Marina
16918 Smith Mountain Lake Parkway
Huddleston, Va.
Notes: Anglers will need to dial in the prespawn bass bite to find success this time of year. Two major prespawn strategies have emerged over the years on Smith Mountain Lake – casting a jerkbait to rocky banks in 6 to 10 feet of water and throwing Texas- or Carolina-rigged soft plastics on main lake points. Five-bass limits weighing upwards of 20 pounds have won mid-March tournaments in the past.
John C. Land III Landing
CR 514-260 (Log Jam/Greenal Road)
Summerton, S.C.
Hosted by Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce
Notes: Santee Cooper Lake has the potential to produce bass that weigh into double-digits. The lake often fishes shallow this time of year. Fishing a jig in the lake’s abundant cypress trees has won tournaments in the past. Anglers can target prespawn areas in 6 to 12 feet of water with spinnerbaits, Senkos, and medium-diving crankbaits. Typical winning weights in March are 18 to 23 pounds but stringers as large as 30 pounds have been brought to the scale when the bite is right.
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. The 2015 BFL All-American is being held June 18-20 on Kentucky Lake in Buchanan, Tenn. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.