Walmart BFL tournament preview at a glance
Buckeye, LBL, Michigan, Mountain and Northeast division events set for June 1
The 2013 Walmart BFL season continues with five tournaments on Saturday, June 1. The Buckeye Division holds its second event of their season on Mosquito Lake, the LBL Division continues on Kentucky/Barkley lakes, the Michigan Division opens on Burt/Mullett lakes, the Mountain Division continues on the Barren River and the Northeast Division returns to the Potomac River. Up to 400 boaters and co-anglers will be competing in each event for top awards up to $8,000 and $3,000 respectively.
When: Saturday, June 1, 2013
Where: Buckeye Division
Mosquito Lake
Mosquito Lake State Park
14369 State Route 305
Cortland, Ohio
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The bass-fishing bite is being reported as decent right now on Mosquito Lake. The bass are still in all three phases of the spawn, but anglers are reporting the bite being better shallow. Anglers in this event will be targeting the edges of shallow weed and grass lines. Popular baits thrown in this event will be spinnerbaits, topwater baits and soft plastics. The winning angler can expect to bring 10 to 12 pounds to the scales.
Where: LBL Division
Kentucky/Barkley lakes
Kenlake Marina
888 Kenlake Marina Lane
Hardin, Ky.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: All three phases of the bass spawn are in effect right now at Kentucky and Barkley lakes. The full moon a week prior to the event should create another strong push of bass moving to the beds. Water temperatures are reported as being around 70 degrees, with clarity as slightly stained. Anglers are reporting most of their success right now shallow, and are targeting the flats around the creeks in the back of bays. Crankbaits, swimbaits, spinnerbaits and shaky-head rigs will all produce for anglers in this event. The predicted winning weight for this event is right around 20 pounds.
Where: Michigan Division
Burt/Mullet lakes
Aloha State Park
4347 Third St.
Cheboygan, Mich.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: Burt and Mullett lakes are like most prime northern smallmouth bass fisheries – deep, clear and sparsely weeded. Bass will be in the pre-spawn to spawn phase. The lake changes from shallow to deep very quickly, and anglers will be targeting these transition areas. Spinnerbaits, medium-diving crankbaits and tubes and grubs are all expected to be popular baits thrown in this event. Twenty to 23 pounds is expected to be the winning weight in this tournament.
Where: Mountain Division
Barren River
Port Oliver Recreation Area & Ramp
4200 Barren River Dam Road
Scottsville, Ky.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: Fishing on the Barren River is being reported as good right now. Water temperatures are hovering around 60 degrees, and levels are up around 10 feet above normal summer pool. Good numbers of smallmouth are being reported fishing from the dam to Bowling Green. Anglers will be targeting the rocky banks and areas above and below the shoal areas. Jigs, crankbaits and spinnerbaits will be the main baits that will produce for anglers. The winning competitor can expect to bring a stringer of 18 to 20 pounds to the scales.
Where: Northeast Division
Potomac River
Smallwood State Park
2750 Sweden Point Road
Marbury, Md.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The bite at the Potomac River is being reported as very good right now. Anglers are having no problems catching large numbers of bass, but finding the heavier weights will be a challenge to anglers in this event. The milfoil beds are slowly emerging on the main river below Mattawoman Creek and are holding a large population of largemouth bass. Anglers will be targeting the edges of vegetation and feeder creek mouths. Crankbaits, soft plastics, buzzbaits and topwater baits have all produced for tournament anglers over the past few weeks. The winning weight is expected to be right around 18 to 20 pounds.
Walmart BFL overview
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. The 2013 BFL All-American is being held June 27-29 on Nickajack Lake in Chattanooga, Tenn. 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.
About FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2013 over the course of 220 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water.” For more information about FLW and FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FLWOutdoors.com or FantasyFishing.com and look for FLW on Twitter and Facebook.