Walmart BFL Regional Championship heads to Pickwick Lake
Top-40 boaters from Bulldog, LBL, North Carolina and Volunteer divisions to take part in Oct. 18-20 event
FLORENCE, Ala. – The Walmart Bass Fishing League is headed to Pickwick Lake Oct. 18-20 for one of six regional championships. This three-day tournament features the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from each of the Bulldog, LBL, North Carolina and Volunteer divisions.
Anglers will be competing for a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy 1500 Silverado in the Boater Division and a new Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard in the Co-angler division. Anglers in both divisions are also competing 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.
“Pickwick Lake is fishing pretty good right now,” said Castrol pro Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla. “I haven’t been on it in a couple of months, but I know how those TVA lakes fish. I’d be searching for the grass and any patch that I found I’d be targeting.”
“I think this tournament will probably be won shallow, in 3 feet of water or less” Robertson continued. “Anglers are going to be throwing squarebill crankbaits, spinnerbaits and chatterbaits. A lot of flipping will be going on too – I’d try a shallow tube.”
Robertson suggested that anglers first search out and find any grass, then move to the wood laydowns and cover. If neither pattern seems to be working, Robertson said that he’d look at the shallow milfoil in the mid-lake area.
“Pickwick can be real picky when it comes to finding the cover,” he said. “Especially if they’re moving water in and out. The key will be locating the right schools of fish.
“I think it’ll take 53 to 60 pounds to win this event,” Robertson went on to say. “Fifty pounds will probably put you in that top-six cut, but it’s going to take a consistent 17 pounds a day to get there. It’s a great place to fish, and it will make for an exciting tournament.”
Anglers will take off from McFarland Park located at 200 James M. Spain Drive in Florence, Ala., at 7:30 a.m. daily. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will be also be held at McFarland Park beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Walmart located at 3100 Hough Rd., in Florence beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
The BFL Regional Championship event is being hosted by the Florence/Lauderdale Tourism Bureau.
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 are competing 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 EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the BFL on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.
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