Toyota FLW Series Set for Western Division Opener on Lake Havasu
LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. – The 2020 Toyota Series will continue its season next week at Lake Havasu, March 12-14, with the Toyota Series at Lake Havasu event. Hosted by the Lake Havasu City Convention & Visitors Bureau, the three-day tournament will feature the best regional bass-fishing pros and co-anglers casting for a top prize of up to $65,000, plus a $35,000 bonus if the winner is a qualified Phoenix Boat owner.
According to local pro Joe Uribe Jr., of Surprise, Arizona, the fishery is healthy, and there are gobs of bass to be caught. He would know, too. Uribe has four top-10 finishes, including two wins, in Toyota Series events on Lake Havasu.
“We’ve got another full moon coming up (March 9], and it’s going to be full-blown spawn come tournament time,” said Uribe. “The first wave is already up now, so by the time we’re there I imagine the next wave is going to come up. The smallmouth were up even a couple weeks ago when the water was in the upper 50s. Now the water temperature is already in the low 60s, and the first wave of largemouth are up. I imagine fishing is going to be really good.”
Uribe, in strategizing for another win, has set his goal at 18 to 20 pounds per day. He predicts the cut will fall on about 16 pounds per day and expects a traffic jam of pros in the 13- to 14-pound range. He also said that he wouldn’t be surprised to see a limit or two in the neighborhood of 25 pounds.
“To do well in this event you’re going to have to mark several good, quality largemouth on beds and catch some smallmouth,” the Arizona pro said. “If it gets windy, that’s going to make it difficult to sight-fish. Guys can traditionally fish with jigs and drop-shots. Reaction baits can always catch them if the wind permits it. If it is flat calm, finesse baits are going to dominate.”
The Toyota Series at Lake Havasu is the first of three regular-season qualifiers for anglers competing in the Western Division.
Anglers will take off from Windsor Beach at Lake Havasu State Park, located at 699 London Bridge Road in Lake Havasu City at 7 a.m. MDT each day of competition. The weigh-ins will be held each day at Windsor Beach beginning at 3 p.m. All takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Anglers and fans attending the event will have the free opportunity to win a new a Polaris Sportsman® 570 EPS, valued at approximately $7,799. To enter, fans can complete an official entry form on-site and deposit into an official ballot box at participating FLW tournaments from March 2 through November 14, 2020.
In Toyota Series regular-season competition, payouts are based on the number of participants competing in the event, scaling up for every 20 boats over 160 and scaling down for every boat below 160. With a full field, pros will fish for a top prize of up to $65,000, plus an extra $35,000 if FLW PHOENIX BONUS qualified. Co-anglers will cast for the top prize of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard (valued at $33,500).
The Toyota Series consists of eight divisions – Central, Eastern, Northern, Plains, Southeastern, Southern, Southwestern and Western – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International division. Anglers who fish all three qualifiers in any of the eight divisions and finish in the top 25 will qualify for the no-entry-fee Toyota Series Championship for a shot at winning $200,000 cash, plus lucrative contingency bonuses. The winning co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard. The 2020 Toyota Series Championship is being held Nov. 5-7 on Lake Cumberland in Burnside, Kentucky, and is hosted by the Somerset Tourist & Convention Commission and the Burnside Tourism Commission.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Toyota Series on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, FLW and its partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe.
FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show while Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. Acquired by Major League Fishing in late 2019, FLW is expanding its programming in 2020 to the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel as well as on-demand at MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).
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