The BFL Returns on May 30

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League set to restart soon

May 15, 2020 • Kyle Wood • Phoenix Bass Fishing League

After a nearly two-and-a-half-month hiatus from fishing tournaments, FLW is excited to get back to business with the 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League season. The action kicks off again on May 30 with the Volunteer Division on South Holston. From there, the BFL season will waste no time getting back in the swing of things with a full slate of tournaments scheduled nearly every weekend from the beginning of June through October.

While the anglers are certainly chomping at the bit to get back on the water, the FLW staff is just as eager to get back to providing a platform for anglers to compete.

“Our team has been awesome these last two months,” says Daniel Fennel, senior director of tournament operations at FLW. “We’ve basically rescheduled a third of our events for the year and now have a working plan that will bring competitive tournaments back to our fishing family.

“The BFL started the year off with great pace, and with the unofficial ‘restart’ we expect it to continue.”

Fitting them in

In order to reschedule so many events in all of FLW’s tournament circuits, a few small changes were necessary. At the BFL level, tournaments will still be held on Saturdays, like they have in the past, however, some divisions will be competing on both Saturday and Sunday to help make up for lost time. For example, the Buckeye, Mountain, Okie and Piedmont divisions all have events scheduled for Saturday, June 6, but the Mountain and Okie divisions will also compete again on Sunday, June 7.

FLW is also implementing new safety precautions for rules meetings, takeoffs and weigh-ins to ensure all anglers and staff practice safe social distancing. Complete details regarding new safety protocols will be announced in the near future. In lieu of attending weigh-ins, FLW encourages fans to watch the weigh-in streams live at FLWFishing.com. Weigh-in access will be adjusted as new guidelines are issued in the states where tournaments are held.

“We held a Pro Circuit event on Lake Martin right before the pandemic escalated in the U.S.,” adds Fennel. “We were able to put in some great safety measures that the anglers reacted to very positively. FLW has a plan to keep our anglers safe and do what we do: run great tournaments.”

Opportunity abounds

Other than those changes outlined above, it’ll be business as usual when things get going again. Both boaters and co-anglers in the BFL events will still be competing for strong payouts during the regular season, and there are still plenty of opportunities to qualify for the no-entry-fee Regionals and All-American, which pays $100,000 to the top boater and $50,000 to the top co-angler.

So, if you’ve been itching for bass tournament action, get ready. And if you’ve always thought about dipping your toe into the tournament fishing scene, there’s no better time to sign up for a BFL event.

Upcoming events

If you’re interested in signing up for a tournament or want to make sure you have your calendar marked, here’s a look at some of the upcoming BFL events:

May 30

Volunteer Division – South Holston

June 6

Buckeye Division – Indian Lake

Mountain Division – Dale Hollow

Okie Division – Eufaula

Piedmont Division – High Rock

June 7

Mountain Division – Dale Hollow

Okie Division – Eufaula

June 13

Arkie Division – Dardanelle