Grand Lake set to host Costa FLW Series Southwestern Division event
Category: press release
Mar 30th, 2016 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Mar 30th, 2016 at 12:00 AM
The Costa FLW Series is headed to Grand Lake April 7-9 for a tournament presented by Evinrude when as many as 400 pros and co-anglers will take to the water for the second stop of 2016 in the Southwestern Division.
“Grand Lake is setting up to fish well for this event,” said Walmart FLW Tour pro Bradley Hallman of Norman, Oklahoma, who won the first Tour event of 2016 in February on Lake Okeechobee. “We’ve had a lot of flooding this past winter, so the water will look a bit different than in previous years in terms of clarity, but I still expect it to be a great tournament.
“Right now, the upper end of the lake is pretty clear, while the lower end is still muddy,” Hallman continued. “I think we’re going to see a lot of prespawn patterns with maybe a few spawners caught here and there. It depends on how warm the weather gets over the next couple of weeks.”
Hallman said that no matter where competitors choose to fish, bait choices will likely revolve around jigs, crankbaits and spinnerbaits.
“If anglers head north, there are a lot of docks, wood and log jams to choose from,” said Hallman. “Brown and green-pumpkin-colored baits will do well. Those who stay south may choose to hit some areas on the Neosha River. That’s where black-and-blue colors will be a good bet.”
Hallman went on to say that a three-day catch worth 65 pounds should be enough to win the tournament.
“We’ve seen some big weights coming in over the past couple of weekends,” said Hallman. “It will all depend on how much the water clears up as the tournament approaches.”
Anglers will take off from Wolf Creek Park located at 963 N. 16th St. in Grove at 7 a.m. CST each day. Weigh-ins will be held at the park beginning at 3 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public. The event is being hosted by the City of Grove.
Pros will fish for a top award of $40,000 plus a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard if Ranger Cup guidelines are met. Co-anglers will cast for a top award consisting of a Ranger Z175 with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $5,000 if Ranger Cup guidelines are met.
The Costa FLW Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western. Each division consists of three tournaments with competitors vying for valuable points that could earn them the opportunity to fish in the Costa FLW Series Championship. The 2016 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Nov. 3-5 on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com.