Category: MLF BIG-5

AUSTRALIA’S JOCUMSEN LEADS DAY ONE OF COSTA FLW SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP ON LAKE GUNTERSVILLE

November 2, 2018  by FLW Communications

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – Pro Carl Jocumsen of Queensland, Australia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 2 ounces Friday – the only 20-plus-pound limit of the day – to grab the lead after Day One of the Costa FLW Series Championship on Lake Guntersville. Jocumsen will bring a slim 3-ounce advantage into the final day of the event, which was shortened to two days after inclement weather moved through the area Thursday. The full field will fish again Saturday with the winner being determined by their two-day cumulative weight.

The Costa FLW Series Championship, hosted by the Marshall County Convention & Visitors Bureau, features anglers from across the world casting for a $95,000 prize package in the Pro Division, including a new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and automatic qualification to the 2019 Forrest Wood Cup – the world championship of bass fishing.

“I started out by jumping around. We’ve been off of the lake for two days [due to a mandatory off day and a cancellation day due to severe weather] so I knew I’d have to go fishing a little bit,” said Jocumsen. “I picked up a big glide bait and a pretty decent-sized swimbait and just kind of went for it.”

Jocumsen said that he went one-for-one with his co-angler, Jared West, (who leads the co-angler race) throughout the day, which made it difficult to pinpoint what the fish were doing. After the two logged catches with a few different baits, and with four good keepers in the livewell, Jocumsen said he decided to commit to the glide bait for the final two hours of the day.

“I usually wouldn’t pick up the glide bait with two hours to go, but everything was right and I’d gotten some awesome bites on it Saturday [my best day of practice],” said Jocumsen. “I went for it and a 5½-pounder crushed it beside the boat. Once that happened, I never put it down. With about 35 minutes to go, I caught another 5-pounder and got rid of a 2½-pounder – that put me at 20 pounds.

“This year, for me, has been ‘the year of the glide bait’,” continued Jocumsen. “It has pulled me out of some really bad situations. I’ve been dialing in on it for about four or five years, just trying to put it into my tournament arsenal rather than just have it be a bait that you throw for giants. I’ve sort of figured out how to do that and it’s paid off.”

Jocumsen said that tomorrow, he’s going to have to make some major adjustments in order to follow up his big day.

“I had some of the worst practice days ever Tuesday, Monday and most of Sunday and tomorrow is supposed to be the same conditions as those days,” said Jocumsen. “I’m going to have to adjust like crazy. I couldn’t get them to eat the glide bait in sunny conditions without wind. It had to be cloudy, rainy, windy, nasty weather, and that’s what I had today.”

The Texas pro went on to say that while the weather may not play into his hand Saturday, there is still a chance the glide bait could produce some big bites for him, saying that stain in the water could mimic cloud cover and trigger some bites.

“If everything goes to plan I can get on that early morning bite and get five by 10 o’clock, and then I can pick up the glide and things could get pretty scary,” said Jocumsen. “I think I need to get two big bites, but I don’t think I can get five. These fish are the smartest fish I’ve ever fished for right now.”

The top 10 boaters after Day One of competition on Lake Guntersville are:

1st: Carl Jocumsen, Queensland, Australia, five bass, 20-2

2nd: Kyle Walters, Grant Valkaria, Fla., five bass, 19-15

3rd: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., five bass, 18-3

4th: Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, five bass, 18-2

5th: Casey Smith, Macedon, N.Y., five bass, 17-8

6th: Dennis Shawn Perrigo, Rienzi, Miss., five bass, 17-6

7th: Terry Tucker, Gadsden, Ala., five bass, 16-6

8th: David Hudson, Jasper, Ala., five bass, 16-3

9th: Brandon Perkins, Counce, Tenn., five bass, 15-7

9th: Troy Gibson, Mountain Home, Ark., five bass, 15-7

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

Competitors qualified for the Costa FLW Series Championship through five U.S. divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western – and an International division that features anglers from Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa and Spain. The highest finishing pro from each U.S. division and the International division will qualify for the 2019 FLW Cup. A total of six FLW Series boaters will advance to the 2019 FLW Cup, which will be held at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 9-11.

Jared West of Mont Belvieu, Texas, caught five bass weighing 17 pounds, 15 ounces, to lead the Co-angler Division, followed by Roger Stubbs of Locust Grove, Georgia, in second place with five bass weighing 16-1.

The top 10 co-anglers on Lake Guntersville are:

1st: Jared West, Mont Belvieu, Texas, five bass, 17-15

2nd: Roger Stubbs, Locust Grove, Ga., five bass,   16-1

3rd: Brad Hostetler Jr., Franklin, Ind., five bass, 13-15

4th: Alex Redwine, Cincinnati, Ohio, four bass, 13-11

5th: Jeremy Johnson, Kansas City, Kan., five bass, 13-1

6th: Robbie Bartoszek, Hampshire, Tenn., four bass, 12-9

7th: James Callaghan, DeBerry, Texas, five bass, 12-7

8th: Robert Olivier, Amanzimtoti, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, five bass, 12-5

9th: Glenn Mason, Alpharetta, Ga., four bass, 12-3

10th: Scott Bern, San Rafael, Calif., five bass, 11-3

Co-anglers are casting this week for a top award of a Ranger Z175 boat with a 90-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $5,000 if Ranger Cup guidelines are met.

Anglers will take off Saturday from Guntersville City Harbor, located at 201 Blount Ave., in Guntersville, at 7:30 a.m. CDT. Saturday’s final weigh-in, originally scheduled to take place at Cabela’s in Huntsville will now remain at Guntersville City Harbor, and will begin at 3 p.m.

Area youth are encouraged to attend the free FLW Foundation Unified Fishing Derby at Guntersville City Harbor on Saturday, Nov. 3, from 1-2:30 p.m. The all-inclusive event is open to youth (18 and under) and Special Olympics athletes (all ages). Tackle, bait and expert assistance will be provided. Registration begins on site at noon.

In Costa FLW Series competition, 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.

 

LEXINGTON’S WALSER WINS T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ON LAKE NORMAN PRESENTED BY COSTA SUNGLASSES

October 22, 2018  by FLW Communications – Photo courtesy of FLW Tour

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – Boater Robert Walser of Lexington, North Carolina, caught a three-day cumulative total of 15 bass weighing 35 pounds, 8 ounces, to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Regional championship on Lake Norman presented by Costa Sunglasses. Walser earned $66,000 for his efforts, including a new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and automatic entry into the 2019 BFL All-American Championship.

Walser said he made a 20- to 25-minute run to the Buffalo Shoals Road bridge near Long Island, North Carolina, each morning of the tournament and fished his way back to the takeoff ramp. Along his route, he flipped docks using a Texas-rigged, green-pumpkin-colored Zoom Baby Brush Hog and a Zoom Z Craw Jr. with 5/16th-ounce Echo Pro tungsten weights and 3/0-sized Berkley Fusion19 offset hooks. He also caught some bass on the bank between docks with a Rush Lures spinnerbait.

Check out Robert Walser Tackle Selection @ Tackle Warehouse

Zoom Baby Brush Hog https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Zoom_Brush_Hogs/descpage-ZBBH.html

Zoome Z Craw Jr. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Zoom_Z_Craw/descpage-ZRPOCC.html

ECho Pro Tungsten https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Eco_Pro_Tungsten_Elite_Series_Flipping_Weights/descpage-EPDRTFW.html

Berkley Fusion 19 Off-set hook https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Berkley_Fusion19_Hooks_Offset_Worm/descpage-SFOW.html

“I probably hit 80 to 100 docks each day. I’d fish three or four in a stretch and then move on,” said Walser, the 2006 BFL All-American champion who logged his 11th career victory in BFL competition. “A lot of the docks I targeted had brush, which I could see on my Garmin Panoptix electronics, so that’s where I concentrated my casts. All of my fish came from less than 10 feet of water.

“I keyed in on docks that have had fish on them over the past couple of weeks. Depth- and structure-wise, there wasn’t really anything that made one dock better than the next, they just needed to have fish,” continued Walser. “You could have three or four bites at one dock, and then not have anything at any others in the area.”

Walser said he caught 8 or 10 keepers each day Thursday and Friday, and at least three or four limits on Saturday. He used an 8-foot Lamiglas 806 flipping rod with a Pflueger 7:1 Supreme reel and 20-pound-test Berkley Trilene 100-percent fluorocarbon line.

Check out his line @ Tackle Warehouse https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Berkley_Trilene_100_Fluorocarbon_Line_Clear/descpage-NTB.html

“I think the south wind pushing the cold front toward us made them bite better Saturday,” said Walser. “There was also less fishing pressure [since only the top 12 anglers fish on Saturday].”

Walser went on to say that in addition to catching fish, he also had to deal with various mechanical issues. The North Carolina boater said he ended up needing to use a different boat each day of the event.

“An employee at Angler’s Choice Marine brought me the other boat I own on Thursday, which I used until a gasket failed on Friday. I’d like to give them a special thanks for helping me,” said Walser. “The mental strain of having all that stuff fail was a lot, but I got through it and it all worked it out.”

The top six boaters that qualified for the 2019 BFL All-American were:

1st: Robert Walser, Lexington, N.C., 15 bass, 35-8, $66,000

2nd: Scott Beattie, Lincolnton, N.C., 15 bass, 32-1, $10,000

3rd: Dylan Fulk, Concord, N.C., 15 bass, 30-10, $5,200

4th: Bryan New, Belmont, N.C., 15 bass, 29-14, $3,100

5th: Michael Fox, Statesville, N.C., 15 bass, 29-11, $2,000

6th: Travis Young, Charlotte, N.C., 15 bass, 29-9, $1,800

Rounding out the top-10 boaters were:

7th: Jack Dice, Lynchburg, Va., 15 bass, 29-4, $1,600

8th: Jake Frye, Charlotte, N.C., 13 bass, 27-7, $1,400

9th: Chad Poteat, Mount Airy, N.C., 15 bass, 27-1, $1,200

10th: Cole Huskins, Mt. Holly, N.C., 12 bass, 25-8, $1,000

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Wayne Smelser of Rural Retreat, Virginia, won the Co-angler Division and a new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard with a three-day cumulative catch of 15 bass weighing 28 pounds, 12 ounces.

The top six co-anglers that qualified for the 2019 BFL All-American were:

1st: Wayne Smelser, Rural Retreat, Va., 15 bass, 28-12, $45,200

2nd: Larry Freeman Jr., La Crosse, Va., 13 bass, 27-11, $5,000

3rd: Tristen Trull, Mt. Holly, N.C., 13 bass, 25-13, $2,500

4th: Ben Dacey, Chesterfield, Va., 15 bass, 25-3, $1,550

5th: Jeff Rikard, Leesville, S.C., 12 bass, 23-7, $1,000

6th: Khris Williams, Mount Holly, N.C., 13 bass, 21-3, $900

Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers were:

7th: Ronnie Cutshall, Piedmont, S.C., 12 bass, 18-15, $800

8th: Darren Kelly, Wartburg, Tenn., 10 bass, 18-8, $700

9th: David Blakely, Kingsport, Tenn., 10 bass, 18-6, $600

10th: Bart Beasley, Mount Pleasant, S.C., eight bass, 16-13, $500

The T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Lake Norman presented by Costa Sunglasses was hosted by Visit Lake Norman, Visit Charlotte and Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation.

The 2018 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 2019 BFL All-American will take place May 30-June 1 on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland, and is hosted by the Charles County Board of Commis

Photo courtesy of FLW Tour

October 18, 2018  by FLW Communications \\ Photo Credit FLW Tour Alex Davis

LAKE GUNTERSVILLE SET TO HOST COSTA FLW SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – More than 200 of the top semi-professional bass anglers from both the United States and around the world will visit the Guntersville area Nov. 1-3 for the 2018 Costa FLW Series Championship at Lake Guntersville. The three-day event, hosted by the Marshall County Convention & Visitors Bureau, features a top prize of $95,000 in the Pro Division, including a Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and an automatic qualification to the 2019 Forrest Wood Cup – the world championship of bass fishing.

Competitors qualified for the Costa FLW Series Championship through five U.S. divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western – and an International division that features anglers from Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa,and Spain. The highest finishing pro from each U.S. division and the International division will qualify for the 2019 FLW Cup. A total of six FLW Series boaters will advance to the 2019 FLW Cup, which will be held at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 9-11.

“Overall, Lake Guntersville should fish well for this event,” said FLW Tour pro Alex Davis of Albertville, Alabama, who has logged three career wins on Lake Guntersville in FLW competition. “There should still be some grass left, but it will be more scattered instead of matted up. Most of the lake should be productive, especially Mud Creek, Crow Creek, and the Goose Pond area. The area around Alred Marina on the lower end should produce some notable bites as well. Those locations have the most amount of grass right now.”

Davis said that fans should expect to see a variety of lures being used to pick apart the grass.

“It will be your typical frog deals on the grass mats, as well as some flipping and punching beaver-sty

 

le baits,” said Davis. “A buzzbait and a spinnerbait should be good as well. There’s been some wind and rain which moves the grass and makes the mats a lot smaller. If the grass keeps decreasing the way it is, an umbrella rig could be a factor as well.”

Davis went on to say that it will likely take a three-day cumulative of about 54 pounds to win the event.

“Finding that 3½- to 4½-pound bite instead of the [more common] 2- and 3-pound bass will be key,” said Davis.

Anglers will take off from Guntersville City Harbor, located at 201 Blount Ave., in Guntersville, at 7:30 a.m. CDT each day. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will also take place at the harbor, and will begin at 3 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will take place at Cabela’s, located at 7090 Cabela Drive in Huntsville, Alabama, and will begin at 3:30 p.m. All takeoffs and weigh-ins are free to attend and open to the public.

Area youth are encouraged to attend the free FLW Foundation Unified Fishing Derby at Guntersville City Harbor on Saturday, Nov. 3, from 1-2:30 p.m. The all-inclusive event is open to youth (18 and under) and Special Olympics athletes (all ages). Tackle, bait and expert assistance will be provided. Registration begins on-site at noon.

In Costa FLW Series competition, 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.

 

October 2, 2018  Photo “Courtesy of FLW”

MINNEAPOLIS – FLW announced today the schedule, rules and increased regional payouts for the 2019 T-H Marine Bass Fishing League (BFL), which includes the opportunity to fish 10 no-entry-fee championships awarding more than $3 million. Fishing the BFL puts local anglers in front of the largest fan base in the sport with coverage on FLWFishing.com and FLW’s social media outlets, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter, that reach more than 1 million fans each month. Boaters and co-anglers also have the convenience of fishing close to home for advancement to seven BFL Regional Championships, the T-H Marine BFL All-American and the Forrest Wood Cup, plus a new opportunity to advance directly to the Costa FLW Series Championship.

• The top 45 boaters and co-anglers plus qualifying tournament winners in each division advance to Regional Championships.
• Enter all five events in a division, fish at least two and automatically advance to the Wild Card Regional.
• The top six boaters and co-anglers from each Regional Championship and the Wild Card Regional advance to the All-American.
• The highest-finishing boater and co-angler from each Regional Championship and the Wild Card Regional at the All-American advance to the FLW Series Championship – you only have to beat five anglers from your regional to advance.
• The winning boater at the All-American advances to the FLW Cup.
• The winning boater and co-angler at the FLW Series Championship advance to the FLW Cup. The winning co-angler also receives use of a Ranger Z520L from the championship through the FLW Cup to fish as a pro. Minimum payout at the FLW Cup is $10,000.

For 2019 BFL anglers are eligible for FREE Bass Pro Shops FLW Tournament Incentives at basspro.com/flwincentives. BFL anglers receive a VIP discount card for 25 percent off Bass Pro Shops branded merchandise all year plus incredible tournament bonuses. Lucrative bonuses are also available from Ranger, Triton, Nitro, Evinrude, Mercury, Costa, Leer, Toyota, Power-Pole, T-H Marine and other FLW sponsors.

Guaranteed no-entry-fee Regional Championship payouts have increased to $70,000 for winning boaters and $50,000 for winning co-anglers, up from $65,000 and $45,000 in 2018. Each regional payout includes $10,000 for second and $5,000 for third on the boater side and $5,000 for second and $2,500 for third on the co-angler side. The top 24 boaters and co-anglers in each regional receive checks.

The 2019 All-American will feature FLW Live on-the-water coverage just like the FLW Tour to showcase BFL anglers and their sponsors to FLW’s worldwide audience. FLW Live weigh-in coverage will also be available from every BFL tournament in 2019 for enhanced media coverage at every level.

Entry fees have increased slightly to $300 per qualifier for boaters and $150 per qualifier for co-anglers. Super tournament entry fees remain the same at $350 for boaters and $175 for co-anglers. The popular “Win and You are In” format that automatically qualifies the winners from each of the 96 one-day qualifying tournaments and 24 two-day super tournaments to the Regional Championships along with the top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division based on point standings remains unchanged. In the BFL, anglers are never out of contention for advancement to a no-entry-fee championship.

“FLW was founded on providing affordable, close-to-home weekend tournaments for bass anglers,” said T-H Marine BFL tournament director Daniel Fennel. “BFL anglers are the heart and soul of FLW, and we take great pride in providing them with the best possible tournaments along with a clear pathway for advancement to the sport’s next levels – namely the Costa FLW Series and the FLW Tour. Nowhere else do anglers have the opportunity to fish five close-to-home tournaments with a shot at advancing to not just one, but three of the sport’s biggest championships, the All-American, FLW Series Championship and FLW Cup, where a BFL angler can win a total of $520,000.”

For the complete 2019 BFL schedule, rules and payouts, visit FLWFishing.com.

The BFL is the nation’s largest and most rewarding weekend bass-fishing circuit. Nobody offers better rewards and media coverage to local anglers for a lower cost to compete. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division and tournament winners receive priority entry into the 2020 Costa FLW Series while All-American champions may advance directly to the FLW Tour, the world’s most competitive professional bass-fishing circuit.

Anglers can register for the 2019 BFL season at FLWFishing.com or by calling 270.252.1000 on the dates listed below:

• November 12, 2018 – Hoosier, Michigan, Music City, and Volunteer
• November 13, 2018 – Bulldog, Cowboy, Great Lakes, Illini, and Mississippi
• November 14, 2018 – Bama, Buckeye, Choo Choo, Mountain and Ozark
• November 15, 2018 – Arkie, LBL, North Carolina, Northeast and Okie
• November 16, 2018 – Gator, Piedmont, Savannah River, Shenandoah, and South Carolina