Anglers From Around the World to Compete in Kentucky for $100,000 Top Prize

BURNSIDE, Ky. (Oct. 17, 2019) – The Costa FLW Series will close out the 2019 season next week, Oct. 31-Nov. 2, in Burnside, Kentucky, at the Costa FLW Series Championship on Lake Cumberland. The no-entry fee bass-fishing championship, hosted by the Somerset Tourist & Convention Commission and the Burnside Tourism Commission, will feature more than 400 of the best regional pros and co-anglers from around the world casting for a top prize of up to $100,000 on the pro side – including the keys to a new Ranger Z518L boat with a 200-horsepower outboard – and $35,000 on the co-angler side, including a new Ranger Z175 with a 115-horsepower outboard.

The Costa FLW Series consists of five U.S. divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western – along with an International division that features anglers from Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe. This event features the top 40 professionals and top 40 co-anglers from each of the five U.S. FLW Series divisions, plus two pros and two co-anglers from each international country.

“This is a really good time to be fishing on Lake Cumberland – most of the lake is fishing really well, and I expect that we will see all three species of bass – largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass – come into play,” said FLW pro Ryan Davidson of Branchland, West Virginia, who has one previous top-10 finish on Lake Cumberland in FLW competition. “The bass are moving into their typical fall patterns. The shad get back in the creeks, and the fish are migrating with the bait. Guys are going to be able to fish their strengths and catch them a lot of different ways.”

Davidson said that he expects “plopper-style baits” – like a River2Sea Whopper Plopper or a Berkley Choppo – to be heavily in play for tournament anglers, along with buzzbaits and other moving baits as anglers look to cover a lot of water.

“I don’t think this tournament will be a spot-specific tournament. We’re going to have to see a lot of water and fish for both smallmouth and largemouth,” Davidson said. “But, that doesn’t necessarily mean that anglers will have to fish super shallow for largemouth or out deep for smallmouth – the fish set up on a lot of the same stuff.

“Normally on Cumberland, tournaments are won targeting the smallmouth,” Davidson continued. “But, this time of year, I don’t think a guy can win solely with them. We’re going to need both species in our bag to be in contention for the win.”

Davidson went on to predict that the winning angler would weigh in three days of mixed-species totaling 48 to 52 pounds.

“I think it’ll take a minimum of 16 pounds a day – 48 total – to be there at the end, but it could be as high as 52,” Davidson went on to say. “We’re going to see a lot of nice fish caught and it’s going to be an extremely fun tournament to fish.”

Anglers will take off from the General Burnside Island State Park, located at 8801 S. Hwy. 27 in Burnside, at 8 a.m. EDT each morning. Each day’s weigh-in will be held at the State Park beginning at 4 p.m. All takeoff and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

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 and YouTube.