2020
NEWS &
NOTES
SCHEDuLE
The 2020 FLW Tour schedule was
announced at the FLW Cup pre-tourna-
ment banquet in Hot Springs, Ark., in
August. The season kicks off in January
and wraps up with the seventh stop just
ahead of Independence Day weekend.
The full schedule is as follows:
1. SAM rAyburN rESErVOIr
January 23-26 — Brookeland, Texas
Hosted by the Jasper County
Development District
2. HArrIS CHAIN OF LAkES
February 20-23 — Leesburg, Fla.
Hosted by Lake County, Fla.
3. LAkE MArTIN
March 19-22 — Alexander City, Ala.
Hosted by the Alexander City Chamber
Of Commerce
4. CHErOkEE LAkE
April 2-5 — Jefferson City, Tenn.
Hosted by the Jefferson County
Chamber of Commerce
5. LAkE HArTWELL
6. LAkE DArDANELLE
May 14-17 — Russellville, Ark.
Hosted by Russellville Advertising
& Promotion Commission
7. DETrOIT rIVEr
June 25-28 — Trenton, Mich.
Hosted by Detroit Sports Commission
Team USA dominated the Pan American Black Bass Kayak
Championship on Center Hill Lake at the end of May. FLW Tour pro Eric
Jackson (center) won the individual all-around gold medal with a two-day
catch of 21 bass that totaled 191.5 scorable inches as U.S. anglers
claimed the top five spots and eight out of the top 10. Drew Gregory (left)
won silver, with the bronze going to Emily Jackson (right), daughter of
Eric, who also won the individual women’s gold medal.
Anglers also fished in three-person men’s and women’s teams. Eric
Jackson’s team, which included Gregory and Matt Ball, won the gold
medal among the men. The U.S. women’s team of Bridgett Howard,
Shannon Williams and Jenn Nolan also won gold.
In the overall event, the U.S. earned gold medal honors among the
eight competing nations, followed by Canada with silver and Costa Rica
with bronze. Other participants were Mexico, El Salvador, Puerto Rico,
Honduras and Dominican Republic.
For complete results, visit usabass.org.
SMITH HONOrED FOr
SPOrTSMANSHIP, LEADErSHIP
Capt. Blake Smith, an FLW Tour pro from
Lakeland, Fla., was presented with the 2019 Forrest
L. Wood Sportsmanship & Community Leadership
Award by the award’s namesake at the FLW Cup pre-
tournament banquet in Hot Springs, Ark., in August.
A father of four, Smith travels the Tour with his
family and participates in FLW community outreach
programs in communities the Tour visits. He also
hosts about 30 outreach events of his own each year. They include
Christian programs and Meet the Pros nights. Smith is known among his
peers as a hard worker and a gentleman who’s always willing to lend a
hand for a good cause.
WHIT
April 23-26 — Anderson, S.C.
Hosted by the Anderson Convention
& Visitors Bureau
u.S. SWEEPS GOLD MEDALS AT PAN AM
kAyAk CHAMPIONSHIP
WHITE WINS MArSHAL bASS bOAT GIVEAWAy
10
Don White’s career BFL earnings total a little more than
$1,500, but his earnings as an FLW Marshal are substan-
tially higher now. At the FLW Cup in Hot Springs, White’s
name was drawn to win a new Ranger Z518L powered by
a 200-hp Evinrude in the first-ever Marshal boat giveaway.
The Columbus, Miss., man participated in the Marshal
program at the FLW Tour event at Lake Chickamauga and
the FLW Cup at Lake Hamilton, earning four entries (one
per day) into the boat drawing. A total of 683 marshals
were entered in the drawing.
“I’ve still got some tournaments back home. I’m fishing
the BFLs back in Mississippi, and my kids have been want-
ing me to move up from co-angler to angler,” White said
during an FLW Live interview on day three at the Cup. “I’ve
always said, when I win the boat I’m moving up. So, there
you go, I guess I’m moving up to boater next year.”
FLWFISHING.COM I FALL 2019