DENISON, Texas – The Bass Fishing League is headed to Lake Texoma Oct. 14-16 for a regional championship featuring the best anglers from the BFL’s Arkie, Cowboy, Okie and Ozark divisions.
“Water temperatures have dropped 20 degrees in the last two weeks, which has been pushing the shad to the surface,” said Chevy pro Jimmy Houston of Cookson, Okla., who has been tournament fishing professionally since 1968. “The bass are following the shad to the surface, so shallow-water fishing is going to be key. I would target the fish with shad-colored crankbaits; the early-morning topwater bite should be good as well.
“There is a large smallmouth population on Texoma, and the cold water temperatures may just push them up shallow too; that could be an added bonus for the anglers,” added Houston. “Twenty-pound stringers are pretty hard to come by this time of year; I think that whoever can pull together 17- to 18-pound stringers per day will be doing really, really well.”
Takeoffs and weigh-ins will be at Highport Marina located at 120 Texoma Harbor Drive in Pottsboro, Texas. Takeoff is scheduled for 7 a.m. each day while weigh-ins will begin at 3 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
The Lake Texoma BFL Regional tournament is being hosted by the Denison Area Chamber of Commerce.
The Top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings from their respective divisions qualified for the regional championship where boaters are competing for a top award of a Ranger 198VX with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard and a Chevy Pick-up, while co-anglers are fishing for a new Ranger 198VX and motor.
The full field will compete the first two days of competition and the top 12 boaters and top 12 co-anglers advance to the final day of competition based on accumulated weight. The winners will be determined by the heaviest three-day catch. The top six boaters and top six co-anglers will advance to the BFL All-American presented by Chevy.
The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, offering 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. 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, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FantasyFishing.com.