The general consensus on the schedule is that it’s strong. This year, in my opinion, the FLW Tour failed to produce the same level of excitement that was/is being offered up by the BASS Elite Series schedule. Next year may be different. I’m really excited to see what kind of results Guntersville gives up in February and Table Rock (my home lake growing up) in March. Should be exciting!
 2009 Schedule:
Feb. 12-15: Lake Guntersville, Huntsville, Ala.
March 12-15: Table Rock Lake, Branson, Mo.
April 23-26: Lake Norman, Charlotte, N.C.
May 14-17: Beaver Lake, Rogers, Ark.
June 11-14: Kentucky/Barkley lakes, Benton, Ky.
Aug. 9-12: Lake Champlain, …read more

Dudley lets success go to his head as he performs a balancing act with 
the AOY trophy.  Photo Credited: Patrick Baker/FLW Outdoors   
     With every success comes failure and that’s exactly what happened this past weekend at the FLW Tour’s Chevy Open in Detroit. David Dudley of Lynchburg, VA went into the event sitting 5th in the AOY standings and walked away from the event the Land O’ Lakes Angler of the Year over runner-up Brent Ehler.
     Dudley’s AOY title is his first in a successful career. “I’ve won at every level and now I can add Angler of the Year to the list. To me, that’s …read more

     Over this past weekend there were a couple of significant happenings in the world of tournament bass fishing.
Alvin Shaw Wins The Chevy Open In Detroit

photo credited: Rob Newell / FLW Outdoors
   Kellogg’s Pro, Alvin Shaw won FLW’s Chevy Open this past weekend in Detroit. He defended his day 3 lead with a day 4 sack that weighed 18-13 lbs. earning him the $200,000 payday. His 4 day total of 80-14 lbs. beat out 2nd place finisher and local Pringles Pro, Vic Vatalaro by just 3 ounces.
   Shaw used tube baits ripped from grass in the “Miles Road” area of …read more

     After day 1 of the final event of the FLW Tour regular season, a new FLW Tour record was set with a new total day weight. Pros and Co-Anglers combined, hauled in 5,137 pounds and 6 ounces of bass breaking the previous weight record set on Lake Champlain in 2006 by 262 pounds. Most of the bigger bags are coming out of Lake St. Clair rather than Lake Erie.
     Local Pro and favorite, Vic Vatalaro caught the big bag of the day with 21-11 lbs. “I couldn’t get Erie to do the job so I changed up and went to St.Clair …read more

     As of current, here is the roster of anglers who have qualified for the 2008 Forrest Wood Cup to be held August 14-17 on Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina. The roster will be completed once the FLW Tour pro are added concluding their final event on the Detroit River this weekend. To see the current Tour Standings and find out who is on the bubble click here.
Current Qualifiers:

Professional Field
Qualifier(s) from Wal-Mart FLW Series BP Eastern
KEVIN BISHOP
GEORGE COCHRAN
DAVID DUDLEY
DAVID FRITTS
DION HIBDON
STEVE KENNEDY
JT KENNEY
KOBY KREIGER
DAVE LEFEBRE
KYLE MABREY
SCOTT MARTIN
LARRY NIXON
DEREK REMITZ
JOEL RICHARDSON
MARK ROSE
CLARK WENDLANDT
Qualifier(s) from Wal-Mart FLW Series National Guard Western …read more

*photo credited: FLW Outdoors     
     With a 4 day total of 29-11 lbs, Lynchburg, VA native David Dudley earned his 5th win this weekend on the Fort Loundon Tellico Lakes. “This win means a lot to me because I did it using what used to be my biggest weakness and that’s deep cranking”, Dudley said.
     Dudley cranked his way to victory coming from a 4 and a half pound deficit over three day leader Art Ferguson, earning him a $125,000 payday. His key area was a ledge with a boulder type area sticking out the side of it into the main river …read more

     Is there a problem with the FLW in which they release public statements regarding protests and infractions? Some of their touring Pros seem to think so. Unlike BASS or most other major sports, the FLW maintains a non-disclosure policy when it comes to protests and infraction rulings etc. Bassfan.com was able to question some of the FLW’s biggest stars to get their opinion on the topic and to bring up some valid points as to whether or not we as fans should be concerned. The focal point of this had to do with things regarding invested public interest such as …read more

     FLW Outdoors is sporting a new look on their website. For anglers familiar with their previous homepage layout you may not see to much of a difference, but for those of you who aren’t, you will find a more streamlined site than before. With more links to guide you throughout the rest of the site, streaming video feeds, and an overall new look, the site is not so cluttered looking and much more user friendly. It’s worth checking out and learning more about FLW Outdoors.
     Check it out at: www.flwoutdoors.com  

     Football and Baseball aren’t they only thing that you can occupy your empty hours with anymore. The sports of fishing is now on tap at many of your favorite fantasy counters. In some cases you can win things like trucks, boats, cash, and tons of other prizes.
     The two authority on fishing organizations (ESPN/BASS and FLW/FOX SPORTS) offer different leagues which both feature separate anglers.
     BASS has not yet updated their Fantasy Web page at: http://games.espn.go.com/basschallenge/bass/frontpage so I can’t tell you as of now what prizes will be up for grabs, but the Elite Series season doesn’t begin until March so at …read more

     After 2008 kicked off it’s tournament season last weekend with a record setting tournament in the Texas Stren Series at Falcon Lake, BASS will now begin their 2008 season with the Southern Open on the St. Johns River in Florida from Jan 17-19th. While I don’t expect the tidal fishery to pump out any record setting catches, I do expect that we will see some stiff competition between many pros we hear about during both the Elite Series events and the FLW Tour events.
     Released by BASS was this weekends participant roster. Some big BASS names fishing will include: Ish Monroe, Michael Iaconelli, and John Crews. FLW big names …read more