Walmart BFL tournament preview
Cowboy, Ozark, Shenandoah, South Carolina and Volunteer division events set for June 14
The 2014 Walmart BFL season continues with five tournaments on Saturday, June 14. The Cowboy Division will fish on the Red River, the Ozark Division is headed to Lake Truman, the Shenandoah Division will take on the Potomac River, the South Carolina Division will meet on Lake Wateree and the Volunteer Division will continue their season on Cherokee Lake. 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, June 14
Where: Cowboy Division
Red River
Grand Ecore Recreation Area
1071 Tauzin Island Road
Natchitoches, La.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The bass fishing on the Red River is expected to be good. Bass will be in summertime patterns and could be caught in the main channel or in the river’s plentiful shallow backwaters and oxbow lakes. Anglers will have the option to lock through to other sections of the river and what pool to fish will be a key decision for many competitors to make. Topwater frogs, worms and other soft plastics, square-bill crankbaits and jigs will be popular choices for the field. The winning weight is expected to be right around 16 pounds.
Where: Ozark Division
Lake Truman
Long Shoal Marina
12730 Steamboat Road
Warsaw, Mo.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The bass fishing on Truman Lake should be good. The bass will have wrapped up their spawn phase and should be catchable throughout the lake. Anglers are likely to spread out and target areas ranging from shallow, around wood cover to main-lake structure and brush piles. Topwater baits, jigs, crankbaits, spinnerbaits and soft plastics are expected to be in heavy use throughout the field. The winner is projected to bring a five-bass limit weighing around 15 pounds to the scale.
Where: Shenandoah Division
Potomac River
Smallwood State Park
2750 Sweden Point Road
Marbury, Md.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The bass fishing on the Potomac River is likely to be very good. Fish will be in postspawn and summer patterns, and should be eager to bite. Competitors may catch fish on current breaks and around the river’s laydowns, but most of the field is likely to focus their attention in and around the grass beds the Potomac is famous for. Spinnerbaits, jigs, ChatterBaits, crankbaits, soft plastics and topwater frogs will be popular baits to throw. The winner is expected to bring about 20 pounds of bass to the scale.
Where: South Carolina Division
Lake Wateree
Clear Water Cove Marina
2029 Baron DeKalb Road
Camden, S.C.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The bass fishing on Lake Wateree is expected to be good. Most of the bass are predicted to be in their summer patterns and fish will be caught both in the grass and on deeper structure. Due to the fact that the lake is a popular recreation destination in the summertime, the morning bite before the lake gets crowded could be key for many anglers. Crankbaits, jigs, topwater baits and a variety of soft plastics will probably be top producers for the anglers. It is expected to take a five-bass limit around 16 pounds to win this event.
Where: Volunteer Division
Cherokee Lake
Hamblin County Dock, Cherokee Park
3045 Cherokee Park Road
Morristown, Tenn.
To sign up and fish this event, click here.
Notes: The bass fishing on Cherokee Lake is expected to be excellent. Summer patterns will prevail and much of the field figures to be out on the ledges and other pieces of offshore structure and cover that hold the bass in the summertime. Crankbaits, swimbaits, jigs, soft plastics, topwater bait and other typical offshore baits will be popular. The winner will probably need to bring in a five-bass limit weighing at least 17 pounds.
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.