BENTON, Ill. – The Bass Fishing League is headed to Rend Lake May 1 for the first of five stops in the Illini Division. As many as 400 boaters and co-anglers will compete for top awards of up to $8,000 and $3,000, respectively.
“The fish won’t spawn until the end of May or first of June,” said FLW Tour pro Chad Morgenthaler of Coulterville, Ill. “There should be some great prespawn bites around any kind of structure or area with timber; anglers are going to want to stay around the protected spawning areas and not fish anything deeper than 2 feet of water. The fish are going to be accessible right now because the water levels are really good; water clarity is also excellent right now. Anglers should use spinnerbaits – really any soft plastic: tubes and jigs should work.”
Morgenthaler went on to say that conditions right now are just about perfect, water levels are good, clarity is excellent, and warm temperatures have really moved the fish along. Barring a major cold front, he believes that it will take about 18 to 20 pounds to win this tournament.
Takeoff and weigh-in will be at Wayne Fitzgerald Sail Boat Landing located at 11094 Ranger Road in Whittington, Ill. Takeoff is scheduled for 6 a.m., while weigh-in will begin at 2 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
The Rend Lake BFL tournament is being hosted by the Benton – West City Chamber of Commerce.
The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, offering even bigger prizes to those who qualify for regional championships and those who make it to one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American presented by Chevy. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the American Fishing Series or even the FLW Tour.
About FLW Outdoors
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. FLW Outdoors has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing awarding the largest prizes in the history of fantasy sports. FLW Outdoors memberships are available featuring numerous benefits including Player’s Advantage. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FantasyFishing.com.