Rayovac FLW Series prepares to battle Guntersville
Final stop of Southeast Division scheduled for April 24-26
GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – The Rayovac FLW Series is headed to Lake Guntersville April 24-26 for a tournament presented by Mercury when as many as 300 pros and co-anglers take to the water for the final stop of 2014 in the Southeastern Division.
“My favorite thing about Guntersville is the sheer size of the fish out there,” said Keystone Light pro Casey Martin. “You never know if you have a good bag or not. You can catch 20 pounds and be in second place or 25th place.
“I think fish will be in all three phases of the spawn,” the New Market, Ala., pro explained. “It has been cold, and it’s supposed to get cold again. I think most of the fish will be relating to beds, whether they’re just getting on beds or around beds. I think shallow-water patterns are going to be the deal.
“There’s a chance that there will be some fish coming out, but I think that if someone finds them on the ledges they’ll be prespawn,” added Martin. “That’s the wildcard out there, I guess. Fishing up the lake might also be good. There’s a chance that those fish will be further along and that there will be more postspawn fish out on grassy humps.”
Martin went on to say that because many fish would be scattered and shallow the local advantage would be minimized.
“I think 23- to 25-pounds a day will win,” he said. “That time of year the fish will be really scattered out and I think it will be hard for someone to catch three big bags in a row.”
Martin said that Zoom Brush Hogs, Yamamoto Senkos, Z-Man ChatterBaits and other similar baits would likely be good producers.
Anglers will take off from the Lake Guntersville State Park located at 7966 Alabama Highway 227 in Guntersville, Ala., at 6 a.m. each day. Weigh-in will be held at the takeoff location on Thursday and Friday beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at Walmart located at 11697 US Highway 431 in Guntersville, beginning at 3 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Pros will fish for a top award of $40,000 plus a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard if Ranger Cup guidelines are met. Co-anglers will cast for a top award consisting of a Ranger Z117 with 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $5,000 if Ranger Cup guidelines are met.
The Rayovac FLW Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division consists of three tournaments and competitors will be vying for valuable points in each division that could earn them the opportunity to fish in the Rayovac FLW Series Championship. The 2014 Rayovac FLW Series Championship is being held Oct. 30-Nov. 1 on Wheeler Lake in Rogersville, Ala.
The Rayovac FLW Series tournament on Lake Guntersville is being hosted by the Marshall County Convention & Visitors Bureau.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Rayovac FLW Series 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 visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube.