Big Sam Showdown – MLF Toyota Series Southwestern Division Presented by Outlaw Ordnance Finale Set for Sam Rayburn
Category: article
Apr 27th, 2022 by Keith Worrall
Modified Apr 27th, 2022 at 3:56 PM
BROOKELAND, Texas (April 27, 2022) – Major League Fishing (MLF) is set to return to Jasper and Sam Rayburn for a tournament next week, May 4-6, with the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. at Sam Rayburn Reservoir. The three-day bass fishing tournament, hosted by the Jasper-Lake Sam Rayburn Chamber of Commerce, is the third and final event of the regular season for the Toyota Series Southwestern Division Presented by Outlaw Ordnance.
The tournament will showcase a field of the region’s best bass-fishing pros and Strike King co-anglers casting for a top prize package of up to $75,000 in the pro division and a new Phoenix 518 pro boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard motor, in the co-angler division.
With just one event remaining in the Toyota Series Southwestern Division Presented by Outlaw Ordnance regular season, Kris Wilson of Montgomery, Texas, leads the Pro Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 510 points, while Albert Ignacio of Dallas, Texas, and Robert Chavers of Knoxville, Arkansas are tied atop the leaderboard in the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 505 points. The AOY in the Pro Division will receive $5,000 and the winning Strike King Co-angler will receive $2,000.
“This is going to be a real good event,” said Wilson, who has nine top-10 finishes on Sam Rayburn in MLF competition. “The weights on Rayburn have been good but I look for them to drop off a little bit, just because of the season.
“I think it’s going to be primarily a spawn and postspawn tournament,” Wilson continued. “I think the lake is still a couple of weeks behind, so there may still possibly be a few fish on beds, but it’s mainly going to be a postspawn deal. The water levels have come up recently – it’s just over a foot below normal pool. And there is enough water in the bushes to where a shallow-water bite is going to be a huge player – especially the guys targeting the shad spawn in the mornings.”
Wilson said that he expects frogs and swimjigs to be the most popular lures thrown by tournament anglers, but he also predicts that guys fishing offshore will catch them cranking – in less than 15 feet – and throwing a Carolina rig.
“The Carolina rig is always a player at Rayburn,” Wilson said.
“I think if a guy can catch 20 pounds a day, that will be really strong – definitely finish in the top three,” Wilson went on to say. “I think 20 pounds a day would be good, but I think 65 (pounds) will do it for the win.”
Anglers will take off each day at 6:30 a.m. CT from the Umphrey Family Pavilion, located at 5438 Sam Rayburn Parkway in Brookeland, Texas. Weigh-ins will also be held at the Pavilion, beginning at 2:30 p.m. each day. Fans are welcome to attend and encouraged to follow the event online through the “MLF Live” weigh-in broadcasts and daily coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
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 160-boat field, pros fish for a top prize of $40,000, plus an extra $35,000 if Phoenix MLF Bonus qualified. Strike King co-anglers cast for the top prize of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard (valued at $33,500). With a 260-boat field, pros fish for a top award of $65,000, plus an extra $35,000 if Phoenix MLF Bonus qualified. Strike King co-anglers cast for the top prize of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard (valued at $33,500) plus $5,000 cash.
The 2022 Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. consists of six divisions – Central, Northern, Plains Presented by Outlaw Ordnance, Southern, Southwestern Presented by Outlaw Ordnance and Western – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International and Wild Card divisions. Anglers who fish in any of the six divisions and finish in the top 25 – or the top 12 from the Wild Card division – will qualify for the no-entry-fee Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. Championship for a shot at winning up to $235,000 cash. The winning Strike King co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard. The 2022 Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. Championship will be held Nov. 3-5 on Lake Guntersville in Guntersville, Alabama, and is hosted by Marshall County Tourism and Sports.
Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, AFTCO, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Gary Yamamoto Baits, General Tire, Lew’s, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Outlaw Ordnance, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X and YETI.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF Toyota Series on the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, the Discovery Channel, the Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, the World Fishing Network, and on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with offices in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 13 countries. In 2019, MLF expanded its portfolio of catch, weigh, and immediately release events to include the sport’s strongest five-biggest-fish format tournament circuits. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement, and fish care.
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