GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – The Walmart Bass Fishing League is headed to Kentucky Lake Oct. 10-12 for one of six regional championships. This three-day tournament features the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from each of the Great Lakes, Hoosier, Illini and Mississippi divisions.
Anglers will be competing for a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy 1500 Silverado in the boater division and a new Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard in the do-angler division. Anglers in both divisions are also 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 presented by Chevy.
“The one thing I’ve always liked about Kentucky Lake is that it’s a wonderful pattern lake,” said Evinrude pro Dan Morehead. “Once you get on a pattern, you can run that pattern and cover a lot of water. It’s a really healthy lake with a lot of big fish in it.
“It’s going to be a typical fall on Kentucky Lake,” continued Morehead. “It gets crazy in the fall, and the fishing gets sporadic and tough. If they hit it right and get some fronts with cloudy conditions, then they’re going to do all right. If they don’t hit it right and they get sunny skies and not enough wind, then it won’t be much fun.
“I think it’ll be mostly a shallow-water deal. I think that will be the more consistent bite. When you hit October and later, the offshore bite becomes more inconsistent.
“I’d make a long run and fish the lower end of Kentucky Lake and cover a lot of shallow water myself,” said the Paducah, Ky., pro. “This time of year it’s a matter of covering lots of water. They’ll catch a lot of fish on lipless crankbaits, burning a spinnerbait in the grass or on topwater baits.”
Morehead predicted that the winner would average about 17 pounds per day over the course of the three day event.
Anglers will take off from Moors Resort & Marina located at 570 Moors Road in Gilbertsville, Ky., at 7 a.m. daily. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will be also be held at Moors Resort and Marina beginning at 3 p.m. Sunday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Walmart located at 310 West 5th St. in Benton, Ky., beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
The BFL Regional Championship event is being hosted by the Marshal County Tourist Commission.
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 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 presented by Chevy. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the BFL on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWOutdoors.
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 2013 over the course of 220 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. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water.” For more information about FLW visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.