Walmart BFL Regional Championship set for Guntersville
Top anglers from Gator, LBL, Mountain and South Carolina divisions compete Oct. 3-5
GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – The Walmart Bass Fishing League is headed to Lake Guntersville Oct. 3-5 for one of six regional championships. This three-day tournament features the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from each of the Gator, LBL, Mountain and South Carolina 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.
“Guntersville is one of the best places in the country,” said Straight Talk pro Scott Canterbury of Springville, Ala. “It has so many 4- to 6-pound fish. It’s just full of those. This year Chickamauga was the place to be for 8- or 9-pounders, but for 4- to 6-(pounders), Guntersville is hard to beat.
“A couple of different things could come into play,” continued Canterbury. “The umbrella rig could be a big deal, but the best thing going on right now is the grass bite, and it should just keep getting better. Flipping is best now, but it might change to a frog bite in a few weeks. As the grass dies off and makes more of a canopy the frog bite will turn on.
“There is more grass this year and it’s been the key all summer, but somebody could win it on an umbrella rig,” said Canterbury. “You just look for schooling fish and bait. If you throw an umbrella rig all day you can get a couple of big bites, but it’s not the most consistent thing going right now.”
Canterbury said that topwater frogs, flipping baits and umbrella rigs would be the most productive lures.
“I would say anywhere from 58 to 65 pounds will win,” said Canterbury. “Twenty pounds a day will be a good average. But if the umbrella rig bite turns on it will take that easily.”
Anglers will take off from Lake Guntersville State Park located at 7966 Alabama Highway in Lake Guntersville, Ala., at 7 a.m. daily. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will be also be held at the Lake Guntersville State Park beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Walmart located at 11697 U.S. Highway 431 in Guntersville 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 Marshall County Convention & Visitors 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/FLWOutdoors.
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 visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.