Walmart BFL Regional preps for James River
Three-day event scheduled for Oct. 2-4
RICHMOND, Va. – The Walmart Bass Fishing League (BFL) is headed to the James River Oct. 2-4 for one of six regional championships. The three-day tournament will feature the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from each of the Northeast, Piedmont, Shenandoah and South Carolina divisions.
Anglers will take to the water to compete for the top prize of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Evinrude outboard and a Chevy 1500 Silverado in the Boater Division and a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Evinrude outboard in the Co-Angler division. The top six boaters and co-anglers will also qualify for one of the longest running championships in competitive bass fishing – the 2015 Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy.
“There will be good weights in this event,” said Castrol pro Phillip Jarabeck, who finished 11th at the Forrest Wood Cup last month. “The James River has been fishing really strong, and the Rayovac FLW Series event there showed that. There’s so much grass and cover in the Chickahominy River, and they stocked so many Florida Strain bass in there that it is one of the healthiest fisheries in the country right now.
“Typical tidal-water patterns will be important,” said the Lynchburg, Virginia native. “Grass and brush is usually the winning pattern there and anglers can catch them on anything, from jigs to crankbaits. It is never a one bait deal on a river – a guy might catch a few on a popper or a buzzbait, then finish out his limit with a shaky-head rig on some riprap. Because it is a river, you always have to junk fish a little.
“It seems like major multi-day events are always won in a specific area,” added Jarabeck. “The river rats who run the tide and rely on timing do well in local events, but you usually have to catch bass on a bad tide in a multi-day event. That’s why specific areas are important.”
Jarabeck predicted that it would take between 48 to 52 pounds to win this three-day event.
Anglers will take off from Osborne Landing located at 9680 Osborne Turnpike in Richmond, Virginia, at 7 a.m. each day. Weigh-ins will be held daily at the launch site beginning at 3 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
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 compete 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 Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Rayovac FLW Series 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. For more information about FLW visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.