Category: MLF BIG-5

January 26, 2020  by FLW Communications

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: BROOKELAND, TEXAS – The Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at Sam Rayburn Reservoir has set the stage for another dramatic finale on Sunday – the top 10 is stacked with a former FLW Cup champion, a Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) All-American Champion and two semi-local anglers with a wealth of experience on Sam Rayburn – all in striking distance to win the tournament, and the top prize of $135,000.

Berkley pro John Cox of DeBary, Florida, who has led the tournament the entire way, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 13 pounds, 3 ounces to retain his lead with a three-day total of 53-6.

Pro Corey Neece of Bristol, Tennessee, (52-10), who started the day in seventh place, vaulted into second after bringing in the largest limit of the day Saturday weighing 20-7. Darold Gleason of Many, Louisiana, (50-1), Alabama’s Sam George (46-3) and Tommy Dickerson of Orange, Texas, (45-8) round out the top five.

With just a 12-ounce cushion heading into the final day, Cox is ready to see how it all shakes out on Championship Sunday.

“I am honestly so thrilled to have caught 13 pounds today,” said Cox, who has four previous wins in FLW pro competition. “Nothing felt right. I pulled up to my magic spot and everything seemed okay – the wind was blowing a little bit from a different direction, but no big deal. I threw out there and caught a 12-incher and that was it. I tried to stay there and wait, but it just wasn’t happening.

“I ended up just running around until I saw something that looked good, then I’d stop and fish. I probably stopped 100 times, and about every 10th stop I’d catch something.”

Cox had caught his fish earlier this week on a Berkley Frittside crankbait, but when his main area fizzled he was forced to switch to a Z-Man ChatterBait to cover more water.

“I couldn’t really throw the crankbait today, because I was moving too fast,” Cox said. “I had the trolling motor on 100 and was always looking for my next cast.

“Nothing came on the same thing,” he continued. “One came off of an isolated stick. One came off of a laydown. One came on a rocky point. One came off of a drain in the back of a pocket. I got so lucky to catch what I did.”

The upside for Cox after Day Three was that he survived, and still has the lead going into the final day.

“I was looking at my past results and it really seemed like I bombed on a lot of Day Threes last year,” Cox went on to say. “I was thinking that I blew it again today and was going to drop to fifth or sixth and really have to get lucky and catch a big fish tomorrow. I still think I’ll need some big fish – Neece caught 20 (pounds) today and he’s on something magical – but I’m hoping my little area turns back on, and if it doesn’t we’ll scramble again and see what happens.”

The top 10 pros advancing to the final day of competition Sunday on Sam Rayburn Reservoir are: 

1st: John Cox of DeBary, Fla., 15 bass, 53-6
2nd: Corey Neece of Bristol, Tenn., 10 bass, 52-10
3rd: Darold Gleason of Many, La., 15 bass, 50-1
4th: Sam George of Athens, Ala., 15 bass, 46-3
5th: Tommy Dickerson of Orange, Texas, 15 bass, 45-8
6th: Jonathan Canada of Helena, Ala., 15 bass, 45-8
7th: Kerry Milner of Bono, Ark., 15 bass, 45-2
8th: Scott Dobson of Clarkston, Mich., 15 bass, 43-8
9th: Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Mich., 15 bass, 43-7
10th: Alex Davis of Albertville, Ala., 15 bass, 43-4

Finishing in 11th through 30th are

11th: Bill McDonald of Greenwood, Ind., 15 bass, 42-12, $11,000
12th: Jake Ormond of Sterlington, La., 15 bass, 42-9, $11,000
13th: Joshua Weaver of Macon, Ga., 15 bass, 42-4, $11,000
14th: Mitch Crane of Columbus, Miss., 15 bass, 42-0, $11,000
15th: Bradford Beavers of Summerville, S.C., 15 bass, 41-15, $11,000
16th: Hunter Freeman of Monroe, La., 12 bass, 41-12, $11,000
17th: Mike Surman of Boca Raton, Fla., 15 bass, 41-5, $11,000
18th: Miles Burghoff of Soddy Daisy, Tenn., 15 bass, 41-3, $11,000
19th: Grae Buck of Harleysville, Pa., 15 bass, 41-2, $11,500
20th: Matt Becker of Finleyville, Pa., 15 bass, 40-3, $11,000
21st: Greg Bohannan of Bentonville, Ark., 13 bass, 38-7, $10,500
22nd: Jeff Dobson of Bartlesville, Okla., 15 bass, 37-12, $10,500
23rd: Chris McCall of Palmer, Texas, 14 bass, 37-9, $10,500
24th: Tim Frederick of Leesburg, Fla., 13 bass, 37-0, $10,500
25th: Miles Howe of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., 13 bass, 36-12, $10,500
26th: Tyler Stewart of West Monroe, La., 15 bass, 35-15, $10,500
27th: Mark Fisher of Wauconda, Ill., 15 bass, 35-10, $10,500
28th: Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, Ark., 15 bass, 34-0, $10,500
29th: Scott Ashmore of Broken Arrow, Okla., 13 bass, 32-14, $10,500
30th: Joey Cifuentes of Clinton, Ark., 13 bass, 32-3, $10,500

Full results for the entire field can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Overall there were 138 bass weighing 354 pounds, 14 ounces, caught by pros Saturday. Of the final 30 pros, 23 of them were able to bring a five-bass limit to the scale.

In Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit competition, the full field of 154 pro anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Thursday and Friday. The top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advanced to Saturday. Now, only the top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.

The Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at Sam Rayburn Reservoir is hosted by the Jasper County Development District.

The final 10 anglers will take off at 7:30 a.m. CST Sunday from the Umphrey Family Pavilion, located at 5438 Sam Rayburn Parkway, in Brookeland. Sunday’s championship weigh-in will be held at the pavilion, beginning at 4 p.m.

Television coverage of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at Sam Rayburn Reservoir will premiere in 2020. The 2020 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit will have 156 two-hour airings on network television, including 26 consecutive weeks of Friday night primetime airing on Outdoor Channel and 130 airings on Sportsman Channel for a total of 312 hours of Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit programming.

The popular FLW Live on-the-water broadcast will air Sunday, featuring live action from the boats of the tournament’s top pros each day. Host Travis Moran is joined by former FLW pro Todd Hollowell to break down the extended action each day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The on-the-water broadcast will be live streamed on FLWFishing.com, the FLW YouTube channel and the FLW Facebook page.

January 24, 2020  by FLW Communications

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: BROOKELAND, TEXAS – Berkley pro John Cox of DeBary, Florida, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 21 pounds, 7 ounces, Thursday to grab the early lead after Day One of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at Sam Rayburn Reservoir. Veteran FLW pro Greg Bohannan of Bentonville, Arkansas, is in second place, just 3 ounces behind Cox after bringing a 21-4 limit to the scale. The season-opening Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit event features a field of 154 bass-fishing professionals from around the world casting for a top award of up to $135,000.

“My morning was pretty slow, but it turned out to be a really awesome day,” said Cox, who has more than $1.3 million in career earnings with FLW. “I didn’t have anything special – only 10 or 11 pounds – until almost noon. I was getting a little down, so I just started whipping my crankbait out into open water. I caught one off of a bush, and that’s what slowed me down. Then I found a little area that had them.”

Cox said he culled out his entire limit and weighed in five keepers all from that one area. He said that his key bait was a Berkley Frittside 5 crankbait.

“They weren’t crazy-stacked up, but they all came on the same kind of throw,” Cox said. “You knew when you were around them because you could feel the bait coming over the fish – it felt like reeling over logs. Then all of a sudden one would eat it.

“What’s crazy is that I caught them flipping there in 2010,” Cox continued. “It was a fall tournament. I had nothing, then went up there and found some hydrilla mats and ended up flipping like 18 pounds. Now I’m just throwing the crankbait in the same spot.”

Cox believed that the fish he caught today were not resident fish.

“I’m pretty sure it was a transition area – they were either coming or going, but they were just passing through there for some reason,” Cox went on to say. “They might not be there tomorrow, but I hope that I can still find them. I’m just going to try to milk it for all its worth.”

The top 10 pros after day one on Sam Rayburn Reservoir are:  

 1st: John Cox, DeBary, Fla., five bass, 21-7

 2nd: Greg Bohannan, Bentonville, Ark., five bass, 21-4

 3rd: Darold Gleason, Many, La., five bass, 21-3

 4th: Corey Neece, Bristol, Tenn., five bass, 20-14

 5th: Grae Buck, Harleysville, Pa., five bass, 20-9

 6th: Mitch Crane, Columbus, Miss., five bass, 20-3

 7th: Jon Canada, Helena, Ala., five bass, 19-10

 8th: Hunter Freeman, Monroe, La., five bass, 18-2

 9th: Lane Olson, Tigard, Ore., five bass, 18-0

 10th: Mark Fisher, Wauconda, Ill., five bass, 17-15

For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.

Buck won the day’s $500 Berkley Big Bass award in the pro division after bringing a largemouth weighing 9 pounds, 8 ounces to the scale.

Overall there were 619 bass weighing 1,520 pounds, 14 ounces caught by 151 pros Thursday. The catch included 88 five-bass limits.

In Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit competition, the full field of 154 pro anglers compete in the two-day opening round Thursday and Friday. The top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.

Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2020 FLW TITLE, the Pro Circuit Championship. The 2020 FLW TITLE will be on the St. Lawrence River in Massena, New York, Aug. 8-13 and is hosted by the Town of Massena.

Anglers will take off at 7:30 a.m. CST each day from the Umphrey Family Pavilion, located at 5438 Sam Rayburn Parkway, in Brookeland. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at the pavilion beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will also be held at the pavilion, but will begin at 4 p.m.

For youth, the FLW Foundation’s Unified Fishing Derby will be held at the pavilion on Saturday from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. The event is hosted by Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit anglers, and is free and open to anyone under the age of 18 and Special Olympics athletes. Rods and reels are available for use, but youth are encouraged to bring their own if they own one. The 1st and 2nd place anglers that catch the biggest fish will be recognized Saturday on the FLW Pro Circuit stage, just prior to the pros weighing in.

Television coverage of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at Sam Rayburn Reservoir will premiere in 2020. The 2020 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit will have 156 two-hour airings on network television, including 26 consecutive weeks of Friday night primetime airing on Outdoor Channel and 130 airings on Sportsman Channel for a total of 312 hours of Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit programming.

The popular FLW Live on-the-water broadcast will air on Days Three and Four of the event, featuring live action from the boats of the tournament’s top pros each day. Host Travis Moran is joined by former FLW pro Todd Hollowell to break down the extended action each day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. On-the-water broadcasts will be live streamed on FLWFishing.com, the FLW YouTube channel and the FLW Facebook page.

January 13, 2020  by FLW Communications

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: PALATKA, FLA. – The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine continued competition Saturday at the St. John’s River in Palatka, Florida – the first time that the Gator Division presented by A.R.E. has opened their season on the St. John’s River – and featured a major return on investment for the winner.

Boater Eddie Carper of Valliant, Oklahoma, caught the largest five-bass limit of the day (weighing 26 pounds even) to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Gator division presented by A.R.E. opener and earn the top prize – a total of $12,415 after collecting his $7,000 FLW PHOENIX Bonus contingency award. The victory was the first win of Carper’s FLW career.

“I travel a lot for work, so I don’t really get to practice or fish in my home region very much,” the Oklahoman said. “Getting the opportunity to come to a place like Florida and the St. John’s River and earning the win after never having been here in my life is pretty humbling. I’ve been chasing one of these for a long time, and it feels absolutely awesome to finally win one.

 “I caught one fish early on a War Eagle Finesse Spinnerbait, but the rest of my fish came on a junebug-colored Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Worm,” Carper continued. “I was fishing in Lake George, and the key was definitely staying in that one area. I caught every one of my fish from one 30-by-30-yard area.

“They were biting good and I definitely had the confidence that they were there – especially after I caught the big one,” Carper said of his 9-pound, 15-ounce kicker, the largest bass of the tournament. “I had to drag my worm extremely slow, and they seemed to shut down when it got cloudy. But once the sun would come back out they’d feed again.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:

 1st: Eddie Carper of Valliant, Okla., five bass, 26-0, $5,415 + $7,000 FLW PHOENIX BONUS

 2nd: Yoan Alvarez of Miami, Fla., five bass, 21-14, $2,360

 3rd: Jerry Stalvey Jr. of Palatka, Fla., five bass, 19-12, $1,574

 4th: Mike Jackson of San Mateo, Fla., five bass, 19-5, $1,101

 5th: Terry Fisher of Jacksonville, Fla., five bass, 16-4, $944

 6th: Trevor Brown of Deltona, Fla., five bass, 14-8, $865

 7th: Kyle Walters of Grant Valkaria, Fla., five bass, 13-13, $787

 8th: Dawayne Burke of Cross City, Fla., five bass, 13-10, $708

 9th: John Mobley of Macclenny, Fla., five bass, 13-4, $629

 10th: Jason Reed of Hollister, Fla., five bass, 13-1, $551

Carper’s 9-pound, 15-ounce largemouth was also good for the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $695.

Carper took home an extra $7,000 as the highest finishing FLW PHOENIX BONUS member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the FLW PHOENIX BONUS contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.

Randy Paquette of Sarasota, Florida, won the Co-angler Division and $2,360 Saturday after catching a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 5 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:

 1st: Randy Paquette of Sarasota, Fla., five bass, 16-5, $2,360

 2nd: Theron Asbery of Fort Pierce, Fla., five bass, 12-0, $1,180

 3rd: Kyle Gelles of Pingree, Idaho, three bass, 11-15, $1,284

 4th: Scott Farnham of Port St. Lucie, Fla., five bass, 11-5, $551

 5th: Richard Dunham of Palm Harbor, Fla., three bass, 8-14, $472

 6th: Aaron Gengler of Lakeland, Fla., five bass, 8-2, $433

 7th: Jerry Meece of Lufkin, Texas, four bass, 7-7, $493

 8th: Spencer Howerton of Melbourne Beach, Fla., four bass, 6-6, $354

 9th: Tim Kidwell of Crittenden, Ky., three bass, 6-2, $315

 10th: Jason Gonzalez of Loxahatchee, Fla., three bass, 5-15, $275

Gelles caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 6 pounds, 11 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $347.

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on the St. John’s River was hosted by the Putnam County Tourist Development Council.

This is the information that we have all been waiting for since the merger of FLW and MLF. As promised they have delivered the schedules and fees associated. It’s actually really nice to see the grassroots fees have gone down. However, I still have concerns at the top of FLW and how those anglers will take the transition to the merged format. The next thing that I’m waiting for is the angler shake-ups that should be coming soon!

October 24, 2019  by FLW & MLF Communications

Major League Fishing (MLF) and Fishing League Worldwide (FLW) announced today the expanded 2020 FLW Series and T-H Marine Bass Fishing League (BFL) details, schedules, rules, entry fees and payouts, highlighted by lower entry fees in both circuits and an expanded FLW Series schedule, along with upping the FLW Series Championship payout to $200,000 for first place and adding a $10,000 bonus for the highest-finishing pro from each of the eight U.S. FLW Series divisions and the International Division.

The 2020 FLW Series season will consist of three events in eight divisions, up from five divisions in 2019. Anglers that fish all three qualifiers in any of the eight divisions and finish in the top 25 will qualify for the no-entry-fee FLW Series Championship for a shot at winning $200,000 cash, plus lucrative contingency bonuses. The winning co-angler at the championship earns a $30,000 17-foot bass boat with a 115-hp outboard. The new win-and-you’re-in format guarantees that anglers are never out of contention to qualify for the Championship, too. Fish all three qualifiers in a division and win a tournament, and they’ll be on their way to the championship. FLW Series entry fees have been reduced to $1,700 for pros and $550 for co-anglers per tournament, while top payouts in each event remain $40,000 for pros and a $30,000 17-foot bass boat with a 115-hp outboard for co-anglers. As field sizes increase, so do payouts, with top awards reaching $65,000 for pros and $35,000 for co-anglers at 260 boats, and awards of $2,000 for pros and $550 for co-anglers extending through 65th place. 

MLF and FLW are also rolling back entry fees in the BFL to give grassroots anglers – the heart and soul of the bass fishing community – the best payouts at the lowest cost available anywhere. Entry fees are now just $200 per boater and $100 per co-angler for one-day qualifiers and $300 per boater and $150 per co-angler for two-day Super Tournaments – the lowest levels since 2014. While entry fees have been lowered, BFL payouts remain the same as 2019, with boaters fishing for top awards of $6,000 plus contingency bonuses in each one-day qualifier and $9,000 plus contingency bonuses in each two-day Super Tournament. Co-anglers fish for top awards of $3,000 plus contingency bonuses in each one-day qualifier and $4,500 plus contingency bonuses in each two-day Super Tournament. Anglers also have the opportunity to qualify for six no-entry-fee Regional championships with top awards of $60,000 for boaters and $50,000 for co-anglers, a no-entry-fee Wild Card regional, the no-entry-fee All-American with top awards of $100,000 for the boater and $50,000 for the co-angler, and even the FLW Series Championship with top awards of $200,000 for the pro/boater and $30,000 for the co-angler. 

“Major League Fishing was founded by tournament anglers, so we are an angler-driven league,” said Boyd Duckett,MLF co-founder and board director. “We respect and value the loyal FLW Series and BFL anglers, and we are very excited to announce the enhancements to what was already the best grassroots organization on the planet. I am confident that the anglers will be extremely satisfied with both the FLW Series and BFL circuits moving forward.”

The BFL is the stepping-stone to the FLW Series, which is now the pathway to the new 150-angler FLW Pro Circuit and ultimately MLF’s Bass Pro Tour, where 80 of the world’s top pros compete with no entry fees. The FLW Series and BFL also put anglers in front of the sport’s largest fan base, with coverage on FLWFishing.com, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter reaching more than 1 million fans each month.

Earlier this month, MLF announced an agreement to acquire FLW. This deal, which brings together the largest grassroots organization in the world with the best pro anglers in the world, is expected to close in the coming days.

“It’s the best of both worlds for FLW anglers – what you’ve come to know and expect from FLW, now with the power of Major League Fishing behind us,” said Kathy Fennel, FLW President of Operations. “We are proud of the fact that no other organization offers higher rewards for lower entry fees.”

CLICK HERE – 2020 FLW Series schedule, entry fee and payout information

CLICK HERE – 2020 T-H Marine Bass Fishing League schedule, entry fee and payout information

October 7, 2019 by FLW Communications

SENECA, S.C. – Boater Jayme Rampey of Liberty, South Carolina, brought a three-day total of 15 bass to the scale weighing 43 pounds, 12 ounces, to win the no-entry fee T-H Marine FLW BFL Regional Championship on Lake Hartwell presented by Navionics Saturday. For the win, Rampey earned $70,000, including a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Evinrude outboard and automatic entry into the 2020 BFL All-American Championship, April 30-May 2 – also at Lake Hartwell.

With the win, the Liberty angler earned his 11th career BFL victory and moved into a tie for No. 3 all-time for most BFL Boater wins – remarkable considering Rampey is just 33 years old. Five of his 11 wins have come on Lake Hartwell, including one just 2½ weeks ago.

“I caught them doing pretty much the same thing that I did just a few weeks ago,” said Rampey. “I’d start shallow every morning throwing a Zoom Horny Toad. I’d fish that until 11 (a.m.) or so, then I’d run to the lower end of the lake and fish purely topwater baits. I was throwing at isolated targets – timber, cane piles and rock piles – in 20 feet of water.”

Rampey’s first day limit Thursday consisted of five largemouth bass. On day two, his limit consisted of a mix of largemouth and spotted bass, and on the third and final day his limit was five spotted bass.

“I think it was due to the wind and the conditions – it was really blowing on day two – and it had the largemouth held real tight to the cover,” Rampey said. “I caught around 15 fish each day, and it was a good mix. I caught one or two shallow and the rest offshore on Thursday. Friday, I caught all of them offshore. Saturday I only caught one offshore and the rest were shallow.”

Rampey said his two main baits were a Ima Little Stik topwater bait, rigged with 30-pound-test Hi-Seas Grand Slam braided line, and a Zoom Horny Toad (green-pumpkin- and watermelon-colored) rigged with 65-pound Hi-Seas Grand Slam braid with a 6/0 Owner Twistlock Flipping Hook.

“The shallow fish were biting really well in practice, but it seemed to get worse and worse each day,” Rampey went on to say. “I think the difference was making the right decision to go offshore at the right time each day.”

The top six boaters that qualified for the 2020 BFL All-American were:

1st: Jayme Rampey, Liberty, S.C., 15 bass, 43-12, $20,000 + Ranger Z518L w/200-horsepower outboard

2nd: Ryan Deal, Marshville, N.C., 15 bass, 42-14, $10,000

3rd: Mike Miller, Trinity, N.C., 14 bass, 37-6, $5,000

4th: Wesley Sandifer, Chapin, S.C., 15 bass, 36-6, $3,000

5th: Clabion Johns, Social Circle, Ga., 15 bass, 35-0, $2,200

6th: Todd Goade, Suwanee, Ga., 15 bass, 33-6, $1,800

Rounding out the top-10 boaters were:

7th: Conrad Bolt, Seneca, S.C., 15 bass, 33-6, $1,700

8th: Ross Burns, Columbia, S.C., 15 bass, 33-4, $1,400

9th: Jason Burroughs, Hodges, S.C., 15 bass, 33-2, $1,200

10th: Joseph Marks, Duncan, S.C., 15 bass, 32-12, $1,000

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Justin Kimmel of Athens, Georgia, weighed in 15 bass over three days totaling 27 pounds, 10 ounces to win the top prize package of $50,000, including a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Evinrude outboard.

The top six co-anglers that qualified for the 2020 BFL All-American were:

1st: Justin Kimmel, Athens, Ga., 15 bass, 27-10, Ranger Z518L w/200-horsepower outboard

2nd: Nick Coker, Knoxville, Tenn., 15 bass, 27-2, $5,200

3rd: Wayne Smelser, Rural Retreat, Va., 15 bass, 24-14, $2,550

4th: Costas Melendez, Shenandoah, Va., 14 bass, 24-13, $1,500

5th: Kibbee McCoy, Knoxville, Tenn., 13 bass, 19-10, $1,000

6th: James Roten, West Jefferson, N.C., 14 bass, 19-9, $900

Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers were:

7th: Matt Langley, Lebanon, Tenn., 10 bass, 18-7, $800

8th: Sam Loveless, Somerset, Ky., nine bass, 18-6, $700

9th: Trace Bigelow, Salisbury, N.C., 11 bass, 17-8, $600

10th: Maverick Canipe, Kings Mountain, N.C., 10 bass, 16-11, $500

The T-H Marine FLW BFL Regional Championship on Lake Hartwell presented by Navionics was hosted by Visit Oconee SC. It featured the top pros and co-anglers from the Music City (West Tennessee), Shenandoah (Virginia-Maryland), North Carolina, and Volunteer (East Tennessee) divisions.

The 2019 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they 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 BFL All-American. The 2020 BFL All-American will be held April 30-May 2 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina, and is hosted by Visit Anderson. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

October 5, 2019  by FLW Communications

GROVE, Okla. – After starting the day in third place, pro Curt Warren of Rose, Oklahoma, caught a five-bass limit Saturday weighing 15 pounds, 9 ounces, to vault to the top of the leaderboard and win the three-day Costa FLW Series at Grand Lake presented by T-H Marine.

Warren’s three-day total of 13 bass weighing 46 pounds, 7 ounces was enough to earn him the victory by a 1-pound, 6-ounce margin over second-place pro Jason Christie of Park Hill, Oklahoma, and earn him the top prize of $77,175, including a brand new Ranger Z518L boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard. The tournament was the third and final regular-season tournament of the year for anglers competing in the Costa FLW Series Southwestern Division.

“I didn’t have a whole lot of boat pressure around me, because I think that I was fishing much deeper than most,” said Warren, who had one previous win on Grand Lake – a Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament in 2017. “I wasn’t really doing anything special. I was just fishing from mid-lake to the dam, fishing fall transition stuff – big chunk rock and fresh green brush.”

Warren said he did most of his damage this week throwing a Bass X ¾-ounce football jig (kicker craw), with a Netbait Paca Chunk (green-pumpkin) or Strike King Rage Craw (watermelon candy), although he did mix in a Zoom Brush Hog Saturday. He also caught two suspended fish on a ½-ounce shad-colored spinnerbait that he brought to the scale.

“I only had four fish on each of the first two days – although I lost a 2½- to 3-pounder Thursday – but today I caught five and I probably lost another five,” Warren said. “I’d been catching a few early and a few later in the day. Today, it was nothing early and then from 1:30 on I caught everything that I weighed.

“I think the key to my win was my equipment and gear,” Warren went on to say. “I was fishing a Falcon Rods Expert Series ‘Amistad’ Extra Heavy rod and it is really an ideal rod for the football jigs that I like to use. My line was just as important – I was throwing 22-pound-test Sunline Shooter Fluorocarbon. With it, I can feel anything.”

The top 10 pros on Grand Lake finished:

 1st: Curt Warren, Rose, Okla., 13 bass, 46-7, $77,175

 2nd: Jason Christie, Park Hill, Okla., 15 bass, 45-1, $12,027

 3rd: Toby Hartsell, Afton, Okla., 15 bass, 41-15, $9,085

 4th: Bradley Hallman, Norman, Okla., 15 bass, 40-5, $7,571

 5th: Cody Bird, Granbury, Texas, 13 bass, 39-6, $6,814

 6th: Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., 15 bass, 36-5, $6,057

 7th: Marcus Sykora, Osage Beach, Mo., 14 bass, 35-13, $5,300

 8th: Lance Crawford, Broken Bow, Okla., 11 bass, 31-5, $4,542

 9th: Allen Head, Pryor, Okla., 11 bass, 31-4, $3,785

 10th: Paul Heavener, Tulsa, Okla., 12 bass, 28-7, $3,028

A complete list of results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Christie caught the largest bass of the tournament Thursday on a buzzbait, weighing 7 pounds, 7 ounces and earning him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $192.

Steven Meador of Bentonville, Arkansas, won the Co-angler Division Saturday with a three-day total of 11 bass weighing 27 pounds, 15 ounces. For his win, Meador took home the top prize package of a new Ranger Z175 boat with a 115-horsepower outboard motor, worth $27,100 and a $5,000 Ranger Cup contingency bonus.

The top 10 co-anglers on Grand Lake finished:

 1st: Steven Meador, Bentonville, Ark., 11 bass, 27-15, $27,100 + $5,000 Ranger Cup

 2nd: Richard Champagne, Bentonville, Ark., 11 bass, 27-5, $4,031

 3rd: Alan Quick, Springfield, Mo., eight bass, 22-9, $3,185

 4th: Calan Cameron, Coppell, Texas, eight bass, 20-8, $2,787

 5th: Robin Babb, Tulsa, Okla., seven bass, 19-13 $2,439

 6th: Mason Roach, Conroe, Texas, 11 bass, 19-11, $1,991

 7th: Tony Thompson, New Braunfels, Texas, nine bass, 18-11, $1,593

 8th: Johnny Burke, Bristow, Okla., nine bass, 17-5, $1,393

 9th: Travis Pattilllo, Zavalla, Texas, five bass, 16-9, $1,322

 10th: Jayce Garrison, Conroe, Texas, seven bass, 14-11, $995

Pattillo caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Friday, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 6 ounces. He earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $128.

The Costa FLW Series on Grand Lake presented by T-H Marine was hosted by the City of Grove. It was the third and final tournament in the 2019 regular season for Southwestern Division anglers. The next tournament for FLW Series anglers will also be the Central Division finale, the Costa FLW Series at Table Rock Lake presented by Evinrude, held Oct. 10-12 in Osage Beach, Missouri. For a complete schedule, visit FLWFishing.com.

The Costa FLW Series consists of five U.S. divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western – along with the International division. Each U.S. division consists of three regular-season tournaments with competitors vying for valuable points that could earn them the opportunity to compete in the season-ending Costa FLW Series Championship. The 2019 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Oct. 31 – Nov. 2 on Lake Cumberland in Burnside, Kentucky.

September 29, 2019  by FLW Communications

BENTON, Ky. – Fishing League Worldwide, the world’s largest tournament fishing organization, announced Sunday that the 2019 T-H Marine BFL Wild Card tournament will take place on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Kentucky, Nov. 8-9. The two-day event, hosted by the Kentucky Lake Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, will launch from the Kentucky Dam Marina in Gilbertsville.

In order to be eligible to fish the no-entry-fee BFL Wild Card, anglers must have entered all five events within a BFL division during the 2019 season and fished at least two of them. In addition, anglers who fish in a regular BFL regional tournament are ineligible.

“We’re extremely excited to bring one of our favorite events of the year – the BFL Wild Card – to FLW’s home waters of Kentucky Lake,” said Daniel Fennel, BFL Director of Tournament Operations. “The lake has faced some challenges over the past few years, but we are starting to see some very positive changes due to the efforts to combat Asian carp. We are seeing a lot of short fish and baitfish for the first time in a few years. At a recent two-day BFL super-tournament we saw a 16-pound limit and a 7-pound, 2-ounce big bass. I expect we’ll see quite a few quality fish caught, and the anglers will have a competitive tournament.”

Anglers will take off from the Kentucky Dam Marina, located at 466 Marina Drive, in Gilbertsville at 7 a.m. CDT each day of competition. The weigh-ins will be held each day at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. All takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

During the BFL Wild Card, the full field competes both days, with winners determined by the heaviest two-day catch. The top six boaters and top six co-anglers will advance to the 2020 T-H Marine BFL All-American, held on Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina, April 30-May 2, hosted by Visit Anderson.

An optional pot is available to anglers who elect to participate at the BFL Wild Card tournament. Entry fees for the optional pot is $300 for boaters and $150 for co-anglers, with the top 20 percent of anglers who elect to participate in the optional pot receiving checks. There will be no official practice period or off-limits period prior to the pretournament meeting for the Wild Card. No contestant may be on tournament waters for the purpose of locating bass or potential fishing waters after the start of the pretournament meeting except during tournament hours.

Entry for the BFL Wild Card is now open and runs through Thursday, November 7, 2019, at 6 p.m. CDT. You may enter by phone on or before Wednesday, November 6, at 270.252.1000. Entries on November 7 will be taken onsite at the pretournament meeting at Kentucky Dam Marina.

The 2019 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they 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 BFL All-American.

September 29, 2019  by FLW Communications

BETHEL ISLAND, Calif. – Pro Blake Dyer of Walnut Creek, California, caught a five-bass limit Saturday weighing 15 pounds, 8 ounces, to win the three-day Costa FLW Series on the California Delta presented by Power-Pole.

Dyer’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 62 pounds, 13 ounces was enough to earn him the victory by a 1-pound, 9-ounce margin over second-place pro Jason Borofka of Salina, California, and earn him the top prize of $31,114. The tournament was the third and final regular-season tournament of the year for anglers competing in the Costa FLW Series Western Division.

Dyer weighed in a monster 27-pound, 3-ounce limit on Day One of the tournament, catching all of his fish punching grass with a green-pumpkin-colored Reaction Innovations Spicy Beaver and a 1½-ounce weight. He said that most of his damage was done pretty early in the morning.

“I had what I had by about 9:45 in the morning,” Dyer said. “On the first stretch I went to, I caught two big ones. I think the biggest one was close to 7 and then another one over 5.

“I went to another little stretch not far away and, on my first cast, I caught a 5-pounder there. I went to the next stretch and caught two small fish, then I went to the backside of that spot and caught two more over 5.”

Cooler weather and steady winds forced Dyer and many others to adjust on day two. Dyer skipped one of his starting spots because the wind had blown the mat he intended to fish completely away.

“At my second spot it was blowing and I tried to punch those mats, but I just wasn’t getting through because the wind really compacts those mats,” Dyer said. “I didn’t want to waste any more time and lose the tide down in my south spot, so I ran to a tule island and caught a 2-pounder on a Senko and then booked it down south to my main spot.”

His southern area was considerably more protected, and he alternated between fishing a vibrating jig in the open areas and punching the mats.

“That spot salvaged my day,” Dyer said. “I punched one that was almost 4 pounds, I caught one that was almost 5 pounds on a ChatterBait and then filled out my limit.”

Carrying the momentum of two big catches into the final round, Dyer started day three by returning to the Central Delta Slough where he had done most of his previous work. He actually had a different starting spot on days one and two, but his best area sees a lot of waterski and wakeboard activity on the weekends, so he decided to beat the rush.

With the exception of a few locals, who graciously gave him a wide berth, Dyer had the spot to himself. Despite the week’s cold front, which cranked up winds of 15-20 mph and dropped air temperatures a good 20 degrees from day one, his fish started biting in short order — but only after a key adjustment.

“I noticed the grass was flowing the opposite direction and I was going too fast, so I gunned it to the other end of the slough, turned around and started fishing the other direction so my bait was in the current, where the fish are looking up,” Dyer said. “Fish tend to point into the current so they see what’s coming at them. If you’re going the other way, they don’t have a chance to see it.

“My first cast, I catch a 3-pounder and then 10 minutes later, I catch a 6-pounder that made all the difference and won the tournament.”

The top 10 pros on the California Delta finished:

 1st: Blake Dyer, Walnut Creek, Calif., 15 bass, 62-13, $31,114

 2nd: Jason Borofka, Salinas, Calif., 15 bass, 61-4, $13,579

 3rd: Austin Wilson, Citrus Heights, Calif., 15 bass, 57-0, $9,274

 4th: Nick Nourot, Benicia, Calif., 15 bass, 55-4, $7,728

 5th: Mike Birch, Oakley, Calif., 15 bass, 53-13, $6,956

 6th: John Pearl, Upper Lake, Calif., 15 bass, 50-5, $6,183

 7th: Michael Fong, Sacramento, Calif., 15 bass, 49-5, $5,410

 8th: Stephen Tosh Jr., Modesto, Calif., 15 bass, 48-2, $5,833

 9th: Phillip Dutra, Concord, Calif., 15 bass, 47-3, $3,864

 10th: Jamond Andrews, Oakley, Calif., 15 bass, 46-1, $3,091

A complete list of results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Mark Daniels Jr. of Tuskegee, Alabama, weighed in a big 8-pound, 13-ounce bass Thursday – the heaviest of the tournament in the Pro Division – and also earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $196.

Jack Farage of Discovery Bay, California, won the Co-angler Division Saturday with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 37 pounds, 2 ounces. For his win, Farage took home the top prize package of a new Ranger Z175 boat with a 115-horsepower outboard motor, worth $27,100.

The top 10 co-anglers on the California Delta finished:

 1st: Jack Farage, Discovery Bay, Calif., 15 bass, 37-2, $27,100

 2nd: Cesar Laguna, Galt, Calif., 15 bass, 36-9, $4,194

 3rd: Travis Williams, Bethel Island, Calif., 15 bass, 35-3, $3,301

 4th: Justin Hurney, Oakley, Calif., 14 bass, 33-4, $2,845

 5th: Casey Dunn, North Highlands, Calif., 15 bass, 32-1 $2,819

 6th: Daniel Lutz, Las Vegas, Nev., 15 bass, 31-7, $2,032

 7th: Bryan Lutz, Clearlake Oaks, Calif., 15 bass, 30-5, $1,626

 8th: Blaine Christiansen, San Jose, Calif., 14 bass, 27-8, $1,423

 9th: Tony Zanotelli, Redding, Calif., 15 bass, 27-8, $1,219

 10th: Claudio Silva, Riverbank, Calif., 11 bass, 23-3, $1,016

Laguna caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Friday, a fish weighing 7 pounds, 12 ounces. He earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $130.

The Costa FLW Series on the California Delta presented by Power-Pole was hosted by Russo’s Marina and the Sugar Barge RV Resort & Marina. It was the third and final tournament in the 2019 regular season for Western Division anglers. The next tournament for FLW Series anglers will also be in the Southwestern Division, the Costa FLW Series at Grand Lake presented by T-H Marine, held Oct. 3-5 in Grove, Oklahoma. For a complete schedule, visit FLWFishing.com.

The Costa FLW Series consists of five U.S. divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western – along with the International division. Each U.S. division consists of three regular-season tournaments with competitors vying for valuable points that could earn them the opportunity to compete in the season-ending Costa FLW Series Championship. The 2019 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Oct. 31 – Nov. 2 on Lake Cumberland in Burnside, Kentucky.

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August 26, 2019 by FLW Communications

TRENTON, Mich. – Boater Mike Trombly of Belleville, Michigan, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Michigan Division tournament on the Detroit RiverSaturday after catching five bass weighing 24 pounds, 13 ounces. For his day on the water, Trombly took home $4,545.

“I fished the north shore of Lake Erie – everything came from 24 to 28 feet,” said Trombly, who earned his eighth career win in FLW competition – all launching out of the Detroit River. “I used shad-style baits – all of the fish that I weighed in came from drop-shot rigs.”

Trombly said he used a few different baits on his drop-shot rigs – a Zoom Fluke, a Strike King 3X ElazTech Z Too Soft Jerkbait and a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flatnose Minnow. He also rotated in a Lure Craft Big D darter-style bait, adding that everything he used was in shad-style colors.

“I had to soak it through the rock piles and breaks I was fishing to get the fish to bite,” said Trombly. “They were finicky – we had a strong northeast wind and the current ran the opposite, moving from west to east. You had to play the current to get them to strike. It was all about presentation.”

Trombly said he caught around 10 keepers throughout the day – all smallmouth. He credited his G. Loomis [IMX822S DSR IMX] Dropshot Spinning Rod and Shimano STRADIC CI4+ reel as being key components of his day.

“With the amount of current I was fishing, at those depths, the sensitivity really made an impact on my catch – I could feel the bites.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st: Mike Trombly, Belleville, Mich., five bass, 24-13, $4,545

2nd: Brett Haake, Shorewood, Ill., five bass, 24-11, $1,973

3rd: Jim Vitaro, Wooster, Ohio, five bass, 24-1, $1,731

4th: John Devries, Fishers, Ind., five bass, 21-7, $1,077

5th: Pat Upthagrove, Monroe, Mich., five bass, 21-6, $709

6th: Andrew Gaul, Saint Clair Shores, Mich., five bass, 20-7, $650

7th: Ross Parsons, Williamston, Mich., five bass, 20-1, $591

8th: David Reault, Livonia, Mich., five bass, 20-0, $532

9th: Troy Stokes, Brownstown, Mich., five bass, 19-14, $443

9th: Heath Wagner, Angola, Ind., five bass, 19-14, $443

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Gary Solomon of Clinton Township, Michigan, caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 15 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $445.

Erik Jacques of Marine City, Michigan, won the Co-angler Division and $1,973 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 25 pounds, 9 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1st: Erik Jacques, Marine City, Mich., five bass, 25-9, $1,973

2nd: Brian Kich, Berea, Ohio, five bass, 18-13, $936

3rd: Zach Laupp, Plainwell, Mich., five bass, 18-12, $591

4th: Jeffrey Thomson, Birmingham, Mich., five bass, 18-8, $414

5th: Darwin Griva, Hamilton, Ind., five bass, 18-3, $355

6th: Mike Eldridge, Blairsville, Pa., five bass, 17-2, $325

7th: Craig Fanning, Elwood, Ill., five bass, 16-8, $295

8th: Bill Dodge, Laingsburg, Mich., five bass, 16-7, $266

9th: Robert Busby, Fenton, Mich., five bass, 16-6, $236

10th: Andy Fryer, Westerville, Ohio, five bass, 16-3, $357

Neil Heisler of Plymouth, Michigan, caught the heaviest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 13 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $222.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 17-19 BFL Regional Championship on Kentucky and Barkley lakes in Buchanan, Tennessee, presented by Evinrude. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard.

The 2019 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they 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 BFL All-American. The 2020 BFL All-American will be held April 30-May 2 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina, and is hosted by Visit Anderson. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.