The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

The Walmart Bass Fishing League (BFL) is headed to Sam Rayburn Reservoir Oct. 16-18 for one of six regional championships. The three-day tournament will feature the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from each of the Arkie, Mississippi, Okie and Ozark divisions.

Anglers will take to the water to compete for the top prize of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Evinrude outboard and a Chevy 1500 Silverado in the Boater Division and a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Evinrude outboard in the Co-Angler division. The top six boaters and co-anglers will also qualify for one of the longest running championships in competitive bass fishing – the 2015 Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy.

“The fish should start getting into their true fall patterns very soon,” said FLW Tour pro Andrew Upshaw, who finished eighth when the Rayovac FLW Series tournament was held on Sam Rayburn in early October. “When the Rayovac was there the lake was just turning over and a lot of the bass were still in their summertime spots. I think a lot of the fish will push shallow and it should be a really good event.

“Some anglers will punch the grass and catch them and some guys will fish deep, but I think it will be won shallow,” said Upshaw. “In the fall, when the fish move up you can get 20 to 30 bites per day once you figure it out. It’s a tough time of the year, and you might have to go through five or 10 different techniques before you figure it out, but once you find what they want you can run all over the place and catch fish.

“I like Sam Rayburn in the fall because you don’t get sucked into one part of the lake. It is a big-time pattern lake in the fall,” added Upshaw. “You never know where they’re going to be. Every day is a different day and you have to be willing to drop what you caught them on the day before. ”

Upshaw said that a variety of moving baits like Rat-L-Traps, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, squarebill crankbaits and topwater baits could prove productive when fished around shallow grass.

“The weather is the key in the fall,” said Upshaw. “If there’s no cold front, it will take about 19 pounds per day to win. If a cold front does roll though, it will take 16 or 17 pounds per day to win.”

Anglers will take off from the Umphrey Family Pavilion located at 5438 Rural Route 255 W. in Sam Rayburn, Texas, at 7:30 a.m. each day. Weigh-ins on Thursday and Friday will be held at the launch site beginning at 3:30 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at Walmart located at 800 W. Gibson St. in Jasper, Texas at 4:30 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

The BFL Regional Championship event on Sam Rayburn Reservoir is being hosted by the Jasper County Development District.

The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 40 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Rayovac FLW Series on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.