BRANSON, Mo. (Feb. 25, 2009) The Walmart FLW Tour presented by Berkley will stop in Branson, Mo., March 12-15 for the second tournament…
BRANSON, Mo. (Feb. 25, 2009) The Walmart FLW Tour presented by Berkley will stop in Branson, Mo., March 12-15 for the second tournament of the 2009 season on Table Rock Lake that will feature anglers from across the United States, Mexico and Japan fishing for top awards of $125,000 cash in the Pro Division and $25,000 cash in the Co-angler Division.
Kelloggs pro Greg Bohannan of Rogers, Ark., came in second in the 2008 Stren Series Championship on Table Rock Lake and said Table Rock is unique in that anglers can have a legitimate shot at landing a 4-pound largemouth bass, a 4-pound spotted bass and a 4-pound smallmouth bass in one outing.
Youll catch a lot of big fish this time of year, but youve really got to slow down, Bohannan said. Ill look for several bags over 20 pounds in this tournament.
Anglers targeting smallmouth will want to fish pea gravel 5 to 15 feet deep with tubes and shakey-head rigs during the tournament. The early spawning smallmouth should be more shallow than the largemouth. Anglers may opt to target deep trees for spotted bass with a single-tail grub. Anglers should find largemouth willing to bite a crankbait or jerkbaits fished painfully slow with water temperatures in the low 40s.
Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. each day from the Table Rock State Park Marina located at 380 State Park Marina Rd. in Branson. Thursday and Fridays weigh-ins will also be held at the Table Rock State Park Marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sundays weigh-ins will be held at the Branson Convention Center located at 200 W. Main St in Branson, beginning at 4 p.m.
Another event taking place in Branson is The Bass Federation National Championship presented by the National Guard, March 12-14, on Bull Shoals Lake where the best of the nations TBF club anglers will complete for berths into two of the sports most coveted events the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup and the $1 million BFL All-American presented by Chevy.
The TBF National Championship presented by the National Guard begins Wednesday, March 11, with an official practice day, and competition begins Thursday at 7 a.m. with takeoff from K Dock Marina located at 295 Highway K Marina Drive in Kirbyville, Mo. K Dock Marina will also host takeoff Friday and Saturday at 7 a.m. Anglers will weigh in Thursday and Friday at 4 p.m. at the Branson Convention Center. Saturdays weigh-in will begin at 3 p.m.
In conjunction with the weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday, FLW Outdoors will host a free Family Fun Zone and outdoor show at the Branson Convention Center each day at noon. The Family Fun Zone offers fans a chance to meet their Fantasy Fishing team anglers face-to-face and review the latest products from Berkley, Lowrance, Ranger, Evinrude, Yamaha and other sponsors while children are treated to giveaways, fishing themed games and rides like the Ranger Boat simulator. Children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone on Sunday will receive a free rod and reel combo courtesy of US 97 FM while supplies last. One lucky member of the audience will even win a new Ranger boat courtesy of the Springfield News-Leader that will be given away during the final 4 p.m. weigh-in Sunday, March 15. Admission is free, and you must be present to win.
On Saturday, March 14, musical group and local favorite DoGtag will perform between the TBF Championship weigh-in and the FLW Tour weigh-in at the Branson Convention Center. Legendary artist Moe Bandy will perform prior to the weigh-in on Sunday starting at approximately 3:15 p.m.
In a partnership with Goodwill, FLW Outdoors invites you to drop off your clean, gently-used clothing and household materials at the Branson Convention Center, March 14 and 15 starting at noon. In return, the first 500 to donate will receive a free BP die-cast boat, while supplies last. Donations will be sold at local Goodwill stores to help people with disabilities and other disadvantages receive job training and other important services.
In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The full field competes in the two-day opening round for one of 10 slots in Saturdays competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Saturdays weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
Coverage of the tournament, hosted by the Branson/Lakes Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, will be broadcast on VERSUS, the network which brings anglers the best fishing programming on television featuring the most-trusted authorities on the water. The Emmy-nominated FLW Outdoors, will air April 19 from 12:30 to 1:30 ET. FLW Outdoors, hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide, including internationally through agreements with WFN (World Fishing Network) and Matchroom Sport to such countries as Canada, Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world.
The FLW Tour will award more than $8 million in cash to the worlds top bass anglers in 2009. Regular season competition includes three qualifiers and three opens. Each event takes anglers a step closer to the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by BP and Castrol, which will be held July 30-Aug. 2 on the Three Rivers in Pittsburgh, Pa. The prestigious championship and outdoor show hosted by VisitPittsburgh will feature 77 pros, 77 co-anglers and bass fishings largest cash award a potential $1 million first-place prize for the winning pro.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors also is taking fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $10 million in cash and prizes. Sign up for Players Advantage for only $10 to get your edge and win.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Players Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.
