Walmart BFL tournament preview
Arkie, Bama, Illini, Mountain and Savannah River division events set for May 3
The 2014 Walmart BFL season continues with five tournaments on Saturday, May 3. The Arkie Division will meet at Greers Ferry, the Bama Division is slated to fish Lay Lake, the Illini Division will open on Rend Lake, the Mountain Division will compete on Lake Cumberland and the Savannah River Division will take on Lake Hartwell. 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, May 3
Where: Arkie Division
Greers Ferry
Devil’s Fork
73 Devil’s Fork Road
Greers Ferry, Ark.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The bass fishing on Greers Ferry should be good. With the water level slightly above full pool plenty of shallow cover is likely to be in play. Anglers will find fish that are spawning and postspawn, and though most fish are likely to be shallow some anglers could find success targeting deeper bass. Soft plastics, jigs and crankbaits will be key baits for many of the competitors. The winning weight is expected to be right around 13 pounds.
Where: Bama Division
Lay Lake
Beeswax Landing
25779 Highway 145
Columbiana, Ala.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The bass fishing on Lay Lake is expected to be excellent. Most of the anglers will concentrate their efforts on the lake’s abundant shallow vegetation or around spawning shad. Though some deeper fish could be caught, most of the damage is likely to be done shallow. Topwater frogs, soft plastics, jigs, swimjigs, ChatterBaits and crankbaits could all play a role. The winner is expected to bring in a five-bass limit weighing over 20 pounds.
Where: Illini Division
Rend Lake
Wayne Fitzgerald Sailboat Landing
11094 Ranger Road
Whittington, Ill.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: It’s the best time of the year for anglers competing on Rend Lake. With warmer weather being forecast, fish could be in all three phases of the spawn and many of them will be shallow in and around the lake’s prolific shallow brush. Fish should be caught up and down the lake, from the muddy upper-reaches to the clearer south end. Spinnerbaits, ChatterBaits, soft plastics, crankbaits and jigs will all be productive lures and the winner is expected to have right around 14 pounds.
Where: Mountain Division
Lake Cumberland
Conley Bottom Resort
Camping Area Road
Monticello, Ky.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The bass fishing on Lake Cumberland should be good. The lake is higher than it has been in recent years and a lot of shallow vegetation is now covered by water and in play for the competitors. Fish are likely to be in all three stages of the spawn by the beginning of May, and we may see a few good limits of smallmouth come to the scale. Crankbaits, swimbaits, plastics, bed-fishing baits and jigs could all be productive. The winner is expected to bring about 17 pounds to the scale.
Where: Savannah River Division
Lake Hartwell
Tugaloo State Park
1763 Tugaloo State Park Road
Lavonia, Ga.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The bass fishing on Hartwell should be excellent. Though some fish could still be spawning, most of the bass will likely be finished with the spawn and many of them could be keying on the blueback herring spawn. Points, rip rap, docks and potentially some deeper brush piles could all be key areas for the competitors. Swimbaits, topwaters, jigs, soft plastic jerkbaits and spinnerbaits will be popular baits in the hands of many of the competitors. The winner is likely to weigh about 17 pounds of bass.
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.