Mississippi River next up for Illini Division - Major League Fishing

Mississippi River next up for Illini Division

BFL anglers to take off from Fort Madison, Iowa
Image for Mississippi River next up for Illini Division
Pro John McGinnis heads out onto the open waters of the Mississippi River during the final day of Stren Series competition at Fort Madison, Iowa. Photo by Gary Mortenson. Angler: John McGinnis.
July 1, 2011 • MLF • Archives

FORT MADISON, Iowa. – The Walmart Bass Fishing League is headed to Fort Madison, Iowa, July 9 for the third of five stops in the Illini Division. As many as 400 boaters and co-anglers will compete on the Mississippi River for top awards of up to $9,500 and $3,000, respectively.

“This should be a great tournament,” said FLW Tour pro Tom Monsoor of La Crosse, Wis. “There’s a lot of smallmouth there, and guys will be throwing frogs and buzzbaits in the weeds as well as flipping wood around the river. A frog, a buzzbait and a swimming jig are really going to be hot.”

Takeoffs and weigh-ins will be at Captain Kirk’s Marina located at 902 4th St. in Fort Madison, Iowa. Takeoff is scheduled for 5:30 a.m. while weigh-in will begin at 1 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

The Fort Madison BFL tournament is being hosted by the Fort Madison Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, offering bigger prizes to those who qualify for regional championships and those who make it to 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 EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.

For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow FLW Outdoors on Facebook at Facebook.com/BassFishingLeague and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWOutdoors.

About FLW Outdoors

FLW Outdoors is the largest tournament-fishing organization in the world, offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 191 tournaments in 2011. FLW Outdoors has taken fishing mainstream with the world’s richest fantasy sports game, FLW Fantasy Fishing at FantasyFishing.com, where competitors can play for free as well as sign up for Player’s Advantage to gain an edge.