SENECA, S.C. – The Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Carolina Division will visit Lake Hartwell April 12 for the third of five regular-season events. The tournament will pay out as much as $32,850 based on full fields with as many as 400 anglers from the region participating.
Anglers will take off from Seneca Marina in Seneca at 7 a.m. Weigh-in will also be held there beginning at 3 p.m. Boater Division competitors will vie for a top award of as much as $5,000, while co-anglers compete for a top award of as much as $2,500. Additionally, boaters who participate in the Ranger Cup incentive program are eligible to receive a $1,000 bonus for winning the tournament or $500 if they are the highest-finishing Ranger Cup participant in a tournament. The boater winner will also receive a $1,000 bonus from Garmin if his boat is equipped with a fixed-mount Garmin Fishfinder or combination GPS/Sounder.
The Carolina Division’s fourth stop will be May 10 on the Santee Cooper lakes in Manning. The final regular-season event, a two-day Super Tournament, will be held on Lake Wylie in York Sept. 20-21.
Carolina Division anglers who finish the regular season ranked in the top 30 based on year-end points standings will advance to the Old Hickory Lake regional in Gallatin, Tenn., Oct. 14-18, where they will compete against qualifiers from the Bulldog, Hoosier and Illini divisions. The winning boater at the regional will take home a new Chevy truck and Evinrude- or Yamaha-powered Ranger boat equipped with Garmin electronics, a Minn Kota trolling motor and EverStart Batteries while the winning co-angler will earn a Ranger boat. The top six finishers in both the boater and co-angler divisions will also advance to the 2004 All-American where they could win $100,000 and $50,000 cash, respectively.
In 1984, the All-American made history as the first bass-fishing championship to award $100,000 cash to the winner, and today, the tournament remains one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in competitive bass fishing.
The BFL comprises 24 divisions nationwide, each featuring five regular-season events that lead to one of six regionals. Four of the regular-season tournaments are one-day events, while the final event, a Super Tournament, is a two-day tournament that will award as much as $70,950 to participating anglers. Anglers who enter all five regular-season events in a division but do not advance to a regional may enter the Chevy Trucks Wild Card for a shot at qualifying for the All-American. The All-American field comprises 84 competitors – six boaters and six co-anglers from six regionals plus six boaters and six co-anglers from the Wild Card.
As the nation’s leading provider of affordable, close-to-home weekend tournaments, the BFL is widely credited with opening competitive bass fishing to the masses. It also serves as a steppingstone for anglers who wish to advance to the EverStart Series and ultimately the Wal-Mart FLW Tour – bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament series. Each year the top 30 boaters and co-anglers from each BFL division are eligible to advance to the EverStart Series, and the All-American champions are eligible for Wal-Mart FLW Tour competition. The top 15 pros and co-anglers from the Central, Eastern and Northern divisions of the EverStart Series (top 10 from the Western Division) are eligible to advance to the Wal-Mart FLW Tour. Former BFL anglers who have become fishing superstars on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour include Kellogg’s pro Clark Wendlandt, Chevy pro Tommy Biffle and four-time FLW Tour champion David Fritts.
Anglers interested in fishing BFL tournaments may enter online at FLWOutdoors.com or by calling (270) 252-1000. Entries for the Lake Hartwell tournament will also be accepted April 11 from 4 to 7 p.m. before the pre-tournament meeting at the Lake Hartwell Inn in Clemson if the tournament is not yet full. Late entries must pay a $25 service charge. Entry fees are $150 for boaters and $75 for co-anglers.