BENTON, Ky. (April 15, 2020) – Major League Fishing (MLF) and FLW have come up with another solution for how anglers can continue to shelter in place safely while also scratching their fishing itch. To help everyone weather the COVID-19 pandemic at home, the organizations are offering the current April/May 2020 issue of Bass Fishing magazine for FREE to everyone – subscriber or not – in digital form at FLWFishing.com/emagazine.

Here’s a summary of what’s inside:

Features

• A Tribute to Bass Fishing’s Greatest Gentleman – Bass fishing legend Hank Parker pays tribute to one of his good friends and mentors, the late Forrest L. Wood, who passed away in January at age 87. Parker’s stories and memories shine some light on why Forrest was bass fishing’s greatest gentleman.
• Treble Trouble – Not many anglers are willing to sling treble hook baits into the tight confines of docks, cypress trees and other snaggy cover … which is exactly why MLF and FLW pros Wesley Strader, James Watson and Nick LeBrun do just that. Using crankbaits, Whopper Ploppers and the like, they’re able to catch unpressured fish that many other anglers miss.
• 8 Tidal Strategies from the Locals – Pros Bradley Dortch and Wayne Vaughan have spent decades mastering tidal river fishing in their respective backyards. We picked their brains to find eight keys to continued success on tidal fisheries no matter the season or scenario.
• From Competition Bass to Combating Carp – For former Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI angler Lance Freeman, the fight against invasive Asian carp on Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley is personal. He grew up on the sister lakes, which is why he’s traded his bass boat for a commercial fishing boat and is helping to eradicate the nuisance fish one netload at a time.
• Finding Gold in Freshwater Springs – Exploring freshwater springs that flow into lakes, rivers and reservoirs around the country is in some ways the new frontier of bass fishing. It’s also a heavily guarded secret among professional anglers. We got the scoop on how to find and fish them from any pros that were willing to talk.

Columns

• Balog on Bass Fishing – Industry veteran Joe Balog details the unique “fish-them-all” approach of FLW road warrior Dakota Ebare, whose strategy for developing his fishing skills is to compete in as many major tournaments as possible.
• Newell’s Notes – You ever wonder how a professional bass angler keeps all those rods organized on the front deck? Rob Newell did. He spends this issue’s column dishing on the obsessiveness of fishing rod organization and how it factors into some MLF pros’ fishing styles.
• Conservation – Habitat is everything when it comes to the health of our fish and wildlife species, but it’s also key to finding and catching more bass. Tournament angler and former fisheries biologist TJ Maglio offers a guide to evaluating bass habitat with the goal of catching more fish.
• Tactical Bassin’ – While sight-fishing is fun, it’s not the only way to catch a giant bass around the spawn. Big-bass experts Tim Little and Matt Allen reveal some of their favorite “no-see” strategies for capitalizing on what they think is the best season for catching a new personal best.

And More …

• Tim Frederick shares a cool customized (and formerly secret) topwater bait that crushes giant bass in Florida.
• Q&A: Wunderkind Jordan Lee answers questions about just how in the heck he got so good so fast.
• Step-by-step: How Bradley Dortch makes his buzzbait squeak even louder (that’s a good thing).
• Winning tactics from all MLF and FLW’s springtime events.
• Product review: 13 Fishing Trash Panda Poppin’ Frog.
• Associate Editor Justin Onslow attempts to translate some of FLW class clown Darold Gleason’s one-liners, which Onslow dubbed “Gleasonisms.”

The free magazine can be found online at FLWFishing.com/emagazine.

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

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 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, FLW and its partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe.

FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show while Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. Acquired by Major League Fishing in late 2019, FLW is expanding its programming in 2020 to the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel as well as on-demand at MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).