BUFFALO, N.Y. (July 18, 2018) – Lake Erie and the city of Buffalo is set to host as many as 350 boaters and co-anglers July 26-28 for the Costa FLW Series Northern Division event at Lake Erie presented by Polaris. Hosted by the Buffalo Niagara Sports Commission, the three-day bass-fishing tournament will feature a top prize of up to $85,000, including a brand new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard engine.

“The fishing, from what I hear, is very good right now. There are fish everywhere on the eastern part of Lake Erie,” said FLW Tour pro Chris Johnston, of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, the 2017 FLW Series Northern Division Angler of the Year. “It’s one of the best fisheries in the world in terms of the number of 3- to 4-pound smallmouth.

“I think we’re going to see a fifty-fifty split of people fishing the Canadian and the U.S. side of the lake,” Johnston continued. “The highest concentration of boats should be from Buffalo out to the Myers Reef area [on the U.S. side] and across. There’s so many fish in that area that if someone gets on the right ones, the tournament could definitely be won there. Some boaters may run farther, but it’s a little more of a gamble.”

Johnston said that the majority of bigger fish will be found anywhere from 20 to 45 feet of water, and that standard deep-water tactics will be in play.

“The number one bait out there is still a tube,” said Johnston. “People are going to be drifting with the wind and dragging tubes. Soft-plastics on drop-shot rigs are going to be good as well.”

Johnston predicted it would take around 23 pounds a day – a three-day cumulative of 68 to 69 pounds of bass to win.

“I think we’ll see a lot of weights from 21 to 23 pounds, but staying consistent each day will be the challenge,” said Johnston. “You can catch them one day and they’ll leave the next, or they just won’t bite like they did on day one.”

Anglers will take off from Safe Harbor Marina, located at 1111 Fuhrmann Blvd., in Buffalo, at 6 a.m. EDT each day. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will also take place at Safe Harbor Marina, and will begin at 2 p.m. each day. Saturday’s final weigh-in will take place at Cabela’s, located at 2003 Walden Ave., in Cheektowaga, New York, and will begin at 3 p.m. All takeoffs and weigh-ins are free to attend and open to the public.

In Costa FLW Series regular-season competition, payouts are based on the number of participants competing in the event. At Lake Erie, pros will fish for a top prize of up to $85,000, including a brand new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard if Ranger Cup qualified. Co-anglers will cast for a brand new Ranger Z175 boat with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Me rcury outboard, and $5,000 if Ranger Cup qualified.

The Costa FLW Series consists of five U.S. divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western – along with the International division. Each U.S. division consists of three regular-season tournaments with competitors vying for valuable points that could earn them the opportunity to compete in the season-ending Costa FLW Series Championship. The 2018 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Nov. 1-3 on Lake Guntersville in Guntersville, Alabama, and is hosted by the Marshall County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Costa FLW Series on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.