no-entry-fee tournaments with the
chance to qualify for their respective
national championships.
Nothing is changing for high
school and college anglers in 2020,
except that the prize packages in the
circuits’ respective championships
have expanded to include more
entries into other FLW championship
events. Both members of the FLW
High School Fishing National
Championship-winning team qualify
for the FLW Series Championship as
co-anglers. The winners of the FLW
College Fishing National
Championship will fish the FLW
Series Championship as pros. The
anglers on the second-, third- and
fourth-place teams at the college
championship qualify for the Bass
Fishing League All-American as
boaters. Members of the fifth- and
sixth-place college teams qualify to
the All-American as co-anglers.
unchanged. Amateur anglers will still
be able to work their way up the lad-
der to the pro ranks while competing
at whatever level they desire along
the way.
The biggest differences are all
positive: more tournaments to fish,
more rungs on the competitive lad-
der, more TV and internet broad-
casts, and more dollars to be earned.
Here are some notable details
about individual FLW circuits.
FLW High School Fishing and
FLW College Fishing Presented
By YETI
The competitive climb begins with
FLW High School Fishing and FLW
College Fishing presented by YETI
tournaments, where students com-
pete as two-angler teams in low- or
WINTER 2020 I FLWFISHING.COM
Phoenix FLW Bass Fishing League
The next level is the foundation of
FLW: the Phoenix Bass Fishing
League presented by T-H Marine. It’s
the series for weekend anglers,
where boaters and co-anglers com-
pete in affordable tournaments close
to home for the chance to qualify to
no-entry-fee Regional championships
and the All-American, which pays six
figures to the winner. The highest-
finishing boater and co-angler from
each Regional championship and
Wild Card at the All-American also
advance to the FLW Series
Championship.
The most notable change for
BFL anglers is the reduction in
entry fees: $200 per boater and
$100 per co-angler for one-day
qualifiers, and $300 per boater and
$150 per co-angler for two-day
Super Tournaments. Though entry
fees go down, payouts remain the
same.
FLW Series
Anglers looking to win more or
work their way toward the pro ranks
can fish the FLW Series, which is
expanding from five divisions to eight.
The new division roster includes
Southwestern, Western, Central,
Southeastern, Plains, Northern,
Eastern and Southern. FLW also part-
ners with tournament organizations
abroad to conduct International
Division tournaments in 10 countries
outside the United States.
Top finishers from each division
and participating nations qualify for
the no-entry-fee FLW Series
Championship, which now pays out
$200,000 cash to the pro winner and
a $30,000 17-foot bass boat with a
115-hp outboard to the co-angler
winner. A $10,000 bonus goes to the
highest-finishing pro from each of
the eight U.S. FLW Series divisions
and the International Division at the
championship.
More good news: FLW Series entry
fees have been reduced to $1,700 for
pros and $550 for co-anglers.
FLW Pro Circuit
After more than 20 years as FLW’s
flagship tournament circuit, the FLW
Tour will transition to the FLW Pro
Circuit beginning in 2020. From the
Pro Circuit, the top 10 performing
anglers advance to the no-entry-fee
Bass Pro Tour after the 2021 season
(and every season after).
Other than that, the new Pro
Circuit will look very familiar to fans
and anglers as the highest level of
competition in a traditional five-bass
weigh-in format. Each of the 150
pros on the roster must qualify from
FLW’s hierarchy of tournaments.
They compete in seven four-day,
regular-season events and weigh in
their five best bass each day. The
Pro Circuit pays $100,000 to each
winner and cash prizes down to
75th place.
The new championship event,
called the FLW TITLE, will feature six
days of MLF-style competition, exclu-
sive to the top 50 Pro Circuit anglers
each season. The FLW TITLE offers a
$200,000 first-place award and
checks of at least $10,000 to every
participant.
Most importantly for fans, fol-
lowing FLW’s top pros will be easier
than ever. The final two days of
regular-season tournaments and
the championship will stream live
online, with five cameras running
at regular-season events and 10 at
the FLW TITLE. FLW Pro Circuit
anglers will also be featured in 312
hours of programming on the
Outdoor Channel and Sportsman
Channel.
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