LA CROSSE, Wis. (May 4, 2017) – The FLW Tour, the most competitive circuit in professional bass fishing, is set to compete on the Mississippi River May 18-21 in an event presented by Evinrude, when 322 of the world’s most decorated bass pros and co-anglers will be 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. The event, which is hosted by Explore La Crosse, is the sixth stop of 2017 – the Tour’s 22nd season.

FLW Tour anglers will launch in Pool No. 8, and have the option to lock upriver to Pool No. 7 or downriver to Pool No. 9. These three impoundments provide an ample amount and variety of cover for bass to reside. Vast swaths of vegetation, wing dams, rock jetties, backwater pools and shallow laydowns will all be targeted by anglers.

“I’m hoping the weather warms up a little as the tournament approaches,” said Yamamoto Baits pro Tom Monsoor of La Crosse, a 14-year Tour veteran and six-time Forrest Wood Cup qualifier. “If it does, it’s going to be on fire and they’re really going to catch them. The bass are getting ready to spawn, but this cold snap we’ve had has kind of shut them down. It’s going to all come down to the temperature for this event.

“If the weather warms, both smallmouth and largemouth bass are going to be very active,” Monsoor continued. “They’ll be able to catch both species together in the same spot, which is going to surprise some of the competitors. There are several great backwater lakes in all three pools. Each of them has the potential to produce what’s needed to win this tournament – that’s how good they are.”

Monsoor said the dominant cover for largemouth bass will likely be wood, while smallmouths should converge near rock.

“I’m going to utilize a jig because you can catch both species with it,” said Monsoor. “The rest of the field will be running a variety of lures including ChatterBaits, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, frogs, worms – they’re going to use just about everything. Whatever technique each angler specializes in, they’re going to catch them doing it.”

Monsoor said anglers will likely need a four-day cumulative weight surpassing the 60-pound mark to take home top honors.

“It could take more weight to win, but it will depend on how consistent the guys can be,” said Monsoor. “It’s anybody’s game – believe me. These guys are going to come up here and find bass that have never been fished. They’re going to look at things different than everyone else, and someone’s going to find spots that are new and unique. It’s going to be a fun tournament.”

Competitors will take off at 6:30 a.m. CDT each day from Veterans Freedom Park, located at 1 Clinton St., in La Crosse. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins, May 18-19, will be held at Veterans Freedom Park beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins, May 20-21, will also be held at Veterans Freedom Park, but will begin at 4 p.m.

Prior to the weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday, fans are encouraged to come out and experience the free Family Fishing Expo at Veterans Freedom Park from noon to 4 p.m. The Family Fun Expo is a unique opportunity for fishing fans of all ages to engage with their favorite anglers, enjoy a variety of games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.

Youth are also invited to participate in the free FLW Foundation’s Unified Fishing Derby at Copeland Park, located at 1130 Copeland Park Drive in La Crosse, on Saturday, May 20, from 9-11 a.m. The event, hosted by FLW Foundation pro Cody Kelley along with other FLW Tour anglers, is free and open to area youth (18 years of age and younger) and Special Olympics athletes (all ages). Rods and reels are available for the first 50 participants to use, but youth are encouraged to bring their own if they own one.

As part of the FLW Tour’s community outreach initiative, FLW Tour professionals will visit children and patients at Gundersen Health Systems located at 1900 South Ave., in La Crosse, Wednesday, May 17, from 8:30-10:30 a.m. Professional anglers will interact with guests, snap photos, sign autographs for patients and staff, and share fishing stories before the tournament kicks off Thursday.

In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The full field competes in the two-day opening round. Co-angler competition concludes following Friday’s weigh-in, while the top 20 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.

Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup, the world-championship of professional bass fishing. The 2017 Forrest Wood Cup will be on Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, Aug. 11-13.

The total purse for the FLW Tour at Mississippi River presented by Evinrude is more than $800,000, including $10,000 through 50^th place in the Pro Division.

Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Mississippi River presented by Evinrude will premiere in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) Aug. 2 from 12 p.m.-1 p.m. EDT. The Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show airs on NBCSN, the Pursuit Channel and the World Fishing Network 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 FLWFishing.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 world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2017 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 274 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.