ROGERS, AR- The fourth event in the 19th
season of the major leagues of professional bass-fishing, the Walmart FLW Tour,
kicks off April 10-13 with the Walmart FLW Tour at Beaver Lake presented by Rayovac. Hosted by the Rogers Convention and Visitors Bureau,
the tournament will feature a full field of the world's best bass-fishing pros
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.
"I always look forward to going back to Beaver Lake," said Walmart
pro Mark Rose of West Memphis, Ark., an eight-time Forrest Wood Cup qualifier.
"This tournament is going to be very different than our past few
visits."
The differences that Rose speaks of include the delayed bass spawn, and a rule
change implemented by FLW in 2014 that bans the use of umbrella rigs on the FLW
Tour.
"It's been a really cold winter and in past seasons the fish would already
be spawning," Rose said. "The lake is so far behind right now that
I'm predicting that this event will be a pre-spawn tournament.
"Not being able to throw an umbrella rig is definitely going to be a
factor in this tournament," Rose continued. "That bait and that
profile really seems to catch the upper-class fish that are in Beaver Lake. It
really showed off the quality of fish that live there. But, with the new rules,
I think we may see a return to the days where catching 10 pounds is a pretty
good day."
Normal Beaver Lake pre-spawn tactics are expected to be employed by the
tournament anglers. Jigs, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, Storm Wiggle Warts,
swimbaits and shaky-head rigs are all expected to be popular baits thrown.
"I predict a four-day total of 49 pounds will win this event," Rose
went on to say.
In FLW Tour competition, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of
qualifying for the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass
fishing. The 2014 Forrest Wood Cup will be in Columbia, S.C., Aug. 14-17 on
Lake Murray and is hosted by Capital City Lake Murray Country. Anglers could
win as much as $500,000 - professional bass-fishing's richest prize.
Anglers will take off from Prairie Creek Park Marina located at 9300 N. Park
Road in Rogers at 7 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 at the John Q. Hammons Center on
Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. prior to the final weigh-ins. The Expo
includes Ranger boat simulators, the opportunity to interact with professional
anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by
sponsors, and fans can 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 superstar Rodney Atkins 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 when "FLW" airs June 14 from 11 a.m.-12
p.m. ET. The Emmy-nominated "FLW" television show is hosted by Jason
Harper 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 FLWOutdoors.com. For regular
updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing
and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.
ABOUT FLW
FLW is the industry's premier tournament-fishing organization, providing
anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize
money nationwide in 2014 over the course of 229 tournaments across five
tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport's richest
payday and most coveted championship trophy - the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW
tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated "FLW" television
show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it
the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the
world. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the
"Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water." For more information about
FLW visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube.
FLWOutdoors.com
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