Walmart FLW Tour set for annual trek to Beaver Lake
Category: press release
Apr 21st, 2015 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Apr 21st, 2015 at 12:00 AM
The third tournament of the 20th anniversary season of the Walmart FLW Tour, the most competitive tour in professional bass-fishing, kicks off April 23-26 with the Walmart FLW Tour at Beaver Lake presented by Rayovac. Hosted by the Rogers Convention & Visitors Bureau, the tournament will feature 154 of the world’s best bass-fishing professionals and co-anglers casting for top awards of up to $125,000 cash in the pro division and up to $25,000 cash in the co-angler division.
“Beaver Lake is fishing really good right now,” said FLW Tour pro Travis Fox of Rogers, Arkansas, who finished this event in fourth place last year. “Competitors in this tournament are going to be able to catch them from one end of the lake to the other. I’ve heard some recent reports that the fish are already starting to get on beds, so I think that we’re going to hit it right smack dab in the middle of the spawn. It’s going to be a lot of fun.
“This is going to be one of those events where throwing everything but the kitchen sink will be the key,” Fox continued. “I honestly believe that there will not be a bait that won’t catch fish in this tournament. If you like fishing a jig, you can catch them on a jig. If you prefer a swimbait, you’ll catch them. Crankbaits, jerkbaits, shaky-head rigs – it’s going to be a junk fisherman’s paradise.”
Fox said that due to the health of the fishery that he expects anglers will be spread out all over the lake. He predicted that weights would be well above average for Beaver Lake, but they may not be as high as last year.
“The weights have been going up every year and the lake is fishing so much better than it has in past visits,” Fox said. “Last year we hit it just right and there had been a week-long warming trend just prior to the tournament and the big suspended fish moved up. This year, those fish are already up. Anglers are going to have to fish in the moment and really try to figure out some sort of key to trigger those big bites and catch a kicker.
“I think it will take 12 to 12½ pounds to make the top-20 cut and fish the weekend,” Fox went on to say. “I’m going to say that the tournament winner will have a four-day total of 56 pounds.”
In FLW Tour competition, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2015 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing. The 2015 Forrest Wood Cup will be in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 20-23 on Lake Ouachita and is hosted by Visit Hot Springs. The Forrest Wood Cup Champion could win as much as $500,000 – professional bass-fishing’s richest prize.
Anglers will take off from the Prairie Creek Park Marina located at 9300 N. Park Road in Rogers at 6:30 a.m. each day of competition. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will be held at Prairie Creek Park beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s final weigh-ins will be held at the John Q. Hammons Center, located at 3303 Pinnacle Hills Parkway in Rogers beginning at 4 p.m.
Fans will also be treated to the FLW Expo on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. at the John Q. Hammons Center prior to the final weigh-ins. The Expo includes a Ranger boat simulator, the opportunity to interact with professional anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities. All activities are free and open to the public. Also on Sunday, country music artists Backroad Anthem will perform a free live concert on the Walmart weigh-in stage at 3 p.m.
Coverage of the Beaver Lake tournament will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) October 12 from 7 p.m.-8 p.m. ET. when Season 20 of “FLW” returns this fall. The Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show airs on NBCSN, the Pursuit Channel and the World Fishing Network and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.