The tournaments, hosted by the Tri-County Lodging Association, will showcase some of the top young anglers from across the region competing for cash and prizes and angling for their chance to advance to the FLW College Fishing National Championship and High School Fishing National Championship events.

While previewing this week’s Costa FLW Series tournament, Tour pro Casey Scanlon of Lake Ozark, Missouri, said that he expects to see many of the younger anglers fishing in the backs of creeks, along stretches of docks and targeting the mid-range brush piles.

“That’s one of the best things about Lake of the Ozarks is that the tournament can be won in any creek or cover, from dam to dam,” said Scanlon. “The key will be playing the conditions right. It’s such a diverse lake, and the fishing is so good that it’s hard to try to pin down a winning tactic. They are definitely going to be catching them.”

Topwater baits and spinnerbaits up shallow were specifically mentioned by Scanlon, along with jigs and crankbaits both expected to play a role for competitors.

“I think the winning teams will have somewhere around 17 to 18 pounds each day,” Scanlon went on to say.

The college anglers will kick off competition on Friday, Oct. 18, at 7:30 a.m. CDT at the Grand Glaize Recreation Area, located at 711 Public Beach Road in Osage Beach. The weigh-in will be held at the Recreation Area on Friday at 3 p.m. The high school anglers will then compete on Saturday, Oct. 19, launching at 7:30 a.m. from the Recreation Area and weighing in at 3 p.m. All takeoffs and weigh-ins are free to attend and open to the public, and will be streamed live online at FLWFishing.com.

YETI FLW College Fishing teams compete in three regular-season qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. All participants must be registered, full-time students at a college, university or community college and members of a college fishing club that is recognized by their school. The top 10 teams from each division’s three regular-season tournaments and the top 20 teams from the annual FLW College Fishing Open will advance to the 2020 FLW College Fishing National Championship, scheduled for Feb. 26-28 on the Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Florida. Additional teams will qualify for the National Championship if the field size in regular-season events exceeds 100 boats.

The Bass Pro Shops FLW High School Fishing Open tournaments are free, two-person (team) events for students in grades 7-12 and open to any FLW and Student Angler Federation-affiliated high school clubs. The top 10 percent of teams at each Open event along with the TBF High School Fishing state championships will advance to the 2020 High School Fishing National Championship. The High School Fishing national champions will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship to the school of their choice.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow YETI FLW College Fishing and the Bass Pro Shops FLW High School Fishing Opens at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2019 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW and their partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW" television show while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

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