Walmart BFL tournament preview at a glance
Arkie, Mississippi, Music City, Piedmont and South Carolina division events slated for March 22
The 2014 Walmart BFL season continues with five tournaments on Saturday, March 22. The Arkie Division will head to Lake Ouachita, the Mississippi Division is slated to fish Ross Barnett Reservoir, the Music City Division will take on Percy Priest, the Piedmont Division will fish Badin Lake and the South Carolina Division will compete on Santee Cooper. 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, March 22
Where: Arkie Division
Lake Ouachita
Mountain Harbor Marina
34 Marina Drive
Mount Ida, Ark.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The bass fishing on Ouachita should be good. The springtime umbrella rig bite should be on, and a variety of pre-spawn patterns are likely to produce fish. The water is high, and if it rises any more, flipping bushes could be a popular pattern. If the water level stays the same, crankbaits, jerkbaits, umbrella rigs and jigs are likely to be productive. The winning weight is expected to be about 18 pounds.
Where: Mississippi Division
Ross Barnett Reservoir
Tommy’s Trading Post
4238 Highway 43 N.
Brandon, Miss.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The bass fishing on Ross Barnett should be good. With warming weather and water, the bass should be pushing back into their spawning areas, and anglers are likely to be successful targeting them somewhere along the way. Swimjigs, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, umbrella rigs and jigs are likely to be good producers in and around the lake’s pad fields, docks, stumps and bridges. The winner is expected to bring about 17 pounds of bass to the scales.
Where: Music City Division
Percy Priest
Fate Sanders Marina
3157 Weakley Lane
Smyrna, Tenn.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The fishing on Percy Priest should be heating up. Anglers are likely to target classic prespawn areas with umbrella rigs, crankbaits, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits and jigs. Reports have the water temperature warming and the fish moving. Though the bass aren’t likely to be spawning, they are likely to be close and willing to bite. The winner is expected to have a five-bass limit weighing around 17 pounds.
Where: Piedmont Division
Badin Lake
Alcoa Landing
293 Highway 740
Badin, N.C.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The bass fishing on Badin is likely to be excellent. The fish will be pre-spawn and crankbaits, lipless crankbaits and jigs are going to be key players. If the weather stays cool, umbrella rigs could play a role as well. The anglers are likely to target rocks, docks and wood in the major creek arms. Badin has a reputation for excellent fishing in the spring, and it is expected to take about 24 pounds to win the event.
Where: South Carolina Division
Santee Cooper
John C. Land III Landing
CR 514-260 (Log Jam/Greenall Road)
Summerton, S.C.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The best indicator of the bass fishing on Santee Cooper might well be the Rayovac FLW Series event taking place the weekend before the BFL. If the weather cooperates, some giant weights could be brought to the scales. Santee is famous for harboring big bass, and the spawn could be in full swing for this event. If the fish are spawning, sight-fishing will play a major role. If not, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, lipless crankbaits and worms will likely be productive. The winning weight is likely to be about 24 pounds, but it could be much higher.
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 2014 BFL All-American is being held June 5-7 on Wilson Lake in Florence, Ala. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW 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 2014 over the course of 229 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.