FLW News – Sept. 12

Stay in the loop on FLW announcements, events and tournaments

Xiao Zhong Lv (Mr. Lyn) Photo by Kurtis Sutley.

September 12, 2016 • FLW • Archives

It’s September, which means two things: Fall is on the horizon, and the FLW Bass Fishing League Super Tournaments are underway.

Here’s a rundown of early fall news at FLW:

1. Round 2 of the BFL Super Tournaments

The Super Tournaments are critical to BFL anglers who’ve been duking it out all spring and summer because the two-day events are worth extra points in the season standings – points that can qualify anglers for Regionals and the chance to make the All-American.

Week 1 of the Super Tournament stretch kicked off August 27, with Arkie, Bama, Hoosier and Shenandoah divisions in action. Labor Day Weekend was an off weekend for the BFL, but action picked up this past Saturday and Sunday for the Buckeye, Bulldog, Cowboy, LBL, Michigan, Mountain and Piedmont divisions.

Probably the most impressive performance thus far was put up by Jason Bonds of Lufkin, Texas. Bonds hammered back-to-back 22-pound-plus stringers to win the Cowboy Division’s Super Tournament at Sam Rayburn by more than 4 pounds.

Stephen Barga of Benton, Ky., also weighed in a better-than-20-pound average to win the LBL Super Tournament at Kentucky-Barkley. His total of 40 pounds, 2 ounces bested second place by nearly 5 pounds.

Action picks up Sept. 17-18 with the Gator, Great Lakes, Illini, Music City, Okie, Savannah River and Volunteer division Super Tournaments. See the full results here, or check out how to enter a BFL here.

2. BFL Wild Card location to be announced in October

Several BFL anglers have already called FLW headquarters to ask about the location of the 2016 BFL Wild Card event. If you were one of those callers, you might have been disappointed.

The Wild Card location is kept secret until after all of the Super Tournaments have been held, to make sure that anglers are putting forth their best efforts to qualify for Regional tournaments rather than floundering on purpose to miss the Regional cutoff and enter the Wild Card instead. It’s a strategy that some might consider if the Wild Card were on a nearby fishery and, in theory, offered an easier route to the All-American.

The Wild Card is scheduled for Nov. 11-12. The location will be revealed after the final Super Tournament Oct. 1-2.

Boaters and co-anglers who finish in the top 50 in the standings of any BFL division qualify to fish one of the six fall Regionals, where the top six finishers at each event make the All-American.

Wild Card eligibility is open to contestants who pay an entry fee prior to the tournament for all five tournaments in a division, fish at least two tournaments in the same division and do not qualify for Regional competition in any division. The top six finishers at the Wild Card make the All-American.

Regionals and the Wild Card are no-entry-fee events. The Wild Card features no cash payouts, though an optional pot is available to anglers if interested, and the entry for the optional pot is $230 for boaters and $115 for co-anglers.

For more information about BFL Regional qualification and Wild Card eligibility, check out the BFL rules page.

3. FLW’s first-ever autumn Invitational kicks off on Thursday

This week is a historic one for FLW. The first-ever FLW Tour Invitational begins Thursday and concludes on Saturday at Lake Norman in North Carolina, with the tournament winner earning a nice payday and a berth in the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup.

Invitations to compete in the “win-and-you’re-in” event were extended out following the 2016 Tour regular season, and the field includes a mix of Tour pros, top-finishing co-anglers, Costa FLW Series anglers and others.

You can read a complete tournament preview here.

Stand by today and the rest of the week for pretournament reports and FLW’s live tournament blog. The media crew is on the ground in North Carolina to conduct standard Tour-style tournament coverage.

4. Chinese angler competes in Cowboy Division Super Tournament

FLW’s international efforts continue to foster growth and opportunity in the fishing world. FLW China, a partner in the international program, offers as a membership benefit assistance to Chinese anglers who wish to compete in bass tournaments here in the States.

Recently, angler Xiaozhong Lyu took advantage of the opportunity to travel to Texas and compete in the Cowboy Division Super Tournament at Sam Rayburn Sept. 10-11.

Unfortunately, Lyu was unable to land a keeper during the competition, but certainly the chance to participate in a multi-day FLW tournament and learn from experienced anglers is a valuable benefit of the international fishing program.

5. The Forrest Wood Cup issue of FLW Bass Fishing magazine is at the printer

FLW members can expect to receive the latest issue of FLW Bass Fishing magazine within the next couple of weeks. The October/November issue is a special issue, as it’s full of Forrest Wood Cup details. In fact, it contains the largest Forrest Wood Cup coverage package that FLW has ever produced.

A few highlights of the issue include:

An extended feature and photo gallery detailing how John Cox managed to ride his aluminum bass boat in the history books
A Google Earth map showing where the top 10 pros caught their fish at Wheeler
A detailed report of the patterns of the entire top 20
A large photo treatment showing the top-performing baits

If you’re not an FLW member and would like to be, visit the membership page, or call 270.252.1000.

Upcoming Events

Full schedule

FLW Tour

Lake Norman Invitational – Sept. 15-17

Costa FLW Series

Fort Gibson Lake Southwestern Division Qualifier – Sept. 29-Oct. 1

FLW Bass Fishing League

Lake Okeechobee Gator Division Super Tournament – Sept. 17-18

Mississippi River (La Crosse) Great Lakes Division Super Tournament – Sept. 17-18

Lake Shelbyville Illini Division Super Tournament – Sept. 17-18

Old Hickory Lake Music City Division Super Tournament – Sept. 17-18