Walmart BFL tournament preview
Buckeye, Gator, Great Lakes, LBL, Okie, Ozark and Shenandoah division events set for May 17
The 2014 Walmart BFL season continues with seven tournaments on Saturday, May 17. The Buckeye Division will start their season on Grand Lake St. Mary’s, the Gator Division will take on Lake Toho, the Great Lakes Division season will commence on the Mississippi River, the LBL Division will fish Kentucky and Barkley lakes, the Okie Division will head to Lake Eufaula, the Ozark Division will fish Table Rock Lake and the Shenandoah Division is slated to compete on Kerr Lake. Up to 400 boaters and co-anglers will be competing in each event for top awards up to $8,000 and $3,000 respectively.
When: Saturday, May 17
Where: Buckeye Division
Grand Lake St. Mary’s
Grand Lake St. Mary’s State Park – West Bank Ramp
U.S. Highway 127 & Monroe Road
St. Marys, Ohio
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The bass fishing on Grand Lake St. Mary’s should be good. Though the lake has had water quality issues in the past, most fish populations are reported to be very robust. With continued spring weather, most of the lake’s bass are likely to be shallow and in some stage of the spawn. Jigs, bed-fishing baits, Texas-rigged soft plastics, crankbaits and topwater baits will be popular baits. The winner is expected to bring a five-bass limit weighing around 15 pounds to the scale.
Where: Gator Division
Lake Toho
Big Toho Marina
101 Lakeshore Blvd.
Kissimmee, Fla.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The bass fishing on Lake Toho and the connected lakes is expected to very good. The bass will be in a postspawn or summer pattern. Most of the anglers are likely to target shallow cover like docks, pads and grass but some could try to exploit Toho’s brush piles. Soft plastic worms, jigs, creature baits, frogs, ChatterBaits and spinnerbaits should be big producers for much of the field. The winner is expected to have over 25 pounds of bass.
Where: Great Lakes Division
Mississippi River
W. Copeland & Clinton Ramp
Clinton Street
La Crosse, Wis.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The bass fishing on the Mississippi River should be excellent. The river is projected to recede below flood-stage by the date of the tournament and most of the fish are likely to be spawning. Competitors will find fish around current and in the river’s sprawling backwaters. Crankbaits, swimjigs, spinnerbaits, jigs, soft plastics and ChatterBaits are likely to be effective lures. The winning weight is likely to be a little over 17 pounds.
Where: LBL Division
Kentucky & Barkley lakes
Kenlake Marina
888 Kenlake Marina Lane
Hardin, Ky.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The bass fishing on the Kentucky Lake is projected to be good. Some bass will be spawning and many will be starting to pull out to their summer haunts if the water level does not stay in the bushes. If the water remains high then the shallow bite will be excellent. Anglers could employ crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jigs, Carolina rigs, swimbaits and topwaters. The winner will need to bring about 23 pounds to top the field.
Where: Okie Division
Lake Eufaula
Eufaula Cove (South Point)
400 Lakeshore Drive
Eufaula, Okla.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The bass fishing on the Lake Eufaula should be good. The bass will be in a postspawn stage and will be catchable on variety of patterns and at a variety of depths. Flipping bushes and fishing around other shallow cover could produce well, but deeper structure and brush piles could also produce. Crankbaits, jigs, soft plastics and ChatterBaits will probably be popular baits. The winner is expected to bring about 18 pounds of bass to the scale.
Where: Ozark Division
Table Rock Lake
Port of Kimberling Marina
72 Marina Way
Kimberling City, Mo.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The bass fishing on Table Rock Lake is projected to be very good. Fish are expected to be postspawn, though some late spawners could take advantage of the full moon. Some fish may be starting their summer patterns and some schooling bass could be caught. Topwater baits, jigs, crankbaits, shaky-head rigs, swimbaits, Carolina rigs and soft plastic jerkbaits will all be popular baits among tournament competitors. The winner of this event will probably bring in a five-bass limit that weighs around 17 pounds.
Where: Shenandoah Division
Kerr Lake
New Nutbush Park
115 Jack Wade Farm Rd.
Henderson, N.C.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The bass fishing on Kerr Lake is projected to be good. Bass will be in their postspawn and summer patterns. Barring some unusual weather resulting in high water, most anglers are likely to target the grass, rocks, docks and offshore structure and brush. Popular baits are likely to be jigs, drop-shot rigs, Carolina rigs, crankbaits and spinnerbaits. The winner is expected to need about 17 pounds to beat the field.
Walmart BFL overview
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. The 2014 BFL All-American is being held June 5-7 on Wilson Lake in Florence, Ala. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW 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/FLWFishing.
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 2014 over the course of 229 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 and FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FLWOutdoors.com or FantasyFishing.com and look for FLW on Twitter and Facebook.