BFL Regional Championship set for Lake Texoma
The top-six boaters and co-anglers from the Oct. 17-19 event to advance to 2014 BFL All-American
POTTSBORO, Texas – The Walmart Bass Fishing League is headed to Lake Texoma Oct. 17-19 for one of six regional championships. This three-day tournament features the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from each of the Arkie, Cowboy, Okie and Ozark 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.
“The last time I fished a BFL regional was the year I made the All-American,” said Rayovac pro Jason Christie. “Making the regional is a big deal. It’s a hard event to do well in. I think I finished seventh through 10th a couple of times and that’s a heart breaker. I’ve fished the Forrest Wood Cup and the Bassmaster Classic, but they don’t take care of you any better than in the All-American.
“If I was going, the thing I would look forward to the most is that you’ll have a chance to win fishing in 3 feet or less,” continued Christie. “Texoma doesn’t have a lot of shallow cover, but those fish go to that shallow cover.
“More than likely it’s going to be a shallow-water deal. There will be fish caught on square-bills around rocks and little brush piles and stuff like that.
“It’s a pretty good topwater lake,” continued the Park Hill, Okla., pro. “There’ll probably be some fish caught on topwater baits, too.
“One thing they get on in the fall and winter there is in the marina docks. You can catch them on a swimjig and a swimbait around the marina docks.
“The wild card in the event is the smallmouth,” said Christie. “If somebody figures out how to catch the big smallmouth they’ll have a good chance to do well.
“It’s cooling off pretty fast, and the cooler it gets the better it gets,” finished Christie. “I’d say about 45 pounds will win.”
Anglers will take off from Highport Marina located at 120 Texoma Harbor Drive in Pottsboro, Texas, at 7 a.m. daily. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will be also be held at Highport Marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Walmart located at 401 North U.S. Highway 75 in Denison, Texas, 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 Denison Area Chamber of Commerce.
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.
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.