Toyota Series Set for 2020 Season Opener
on Toledo Bend Reservoir
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MANY, La. (Jan. 29, 2020) – The Toyota Series will kick off the 2020 season this week at Toledo Bend, Jan. 30-Feb. 1, with the Toyota Series at Toledo Bend Reservoir. Hosted by the Sabine Parish Tourist Commission, the three-day tournament will feature the best regional bass-fishing pros and co-anglers casting for a top prize of at least $40,000, plus a $35,000 bonus if the winner is a qualified Phoenix Boat owner.
“Wintertime at Toledo Bend can be outstanding, but it’s typically feast or famine,” said Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit angler Darold Gleason of Many, who guides on the lake and has seven top-10 finishes on Toledo Bend in FLW competition. “We’re going to see some really big weights – 25-pound limits and the possibility of a 10-pounder or two weighed in – but it can be really hard to get a lot of bites. The key to this tournament will be capitalizing on the opportunities that you get, because you might not get many.”
Gleason said that although there are fish to be found up shallow, due to the recent cold and rainy weather he expects the tournament to be won offshore.
“I predict the tournament will be won offshore, throwing a big crankbait, a football jig or a Carolina rig,” Gleason said. “We’ve had a lot of rain, lately, so the creeks are pretty muddy. The weather is definitely giving us a few wild cards, but there are so many good anglers fishing in this event that someone is really going to catch them well.
“I think the three-day winner will probably end up right around 60 pounds,” Gleason went on to say. “But, there haven’t been many tournaments here lately and the water is low, so the fish are pretty fresh. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see it take up to 70 pounds to win. It’s going to be a very fun tournament.”
Anglers will take off from Cypress Bend Park, located at 3462 Cypress Bend Drive in Many at 7 a.m. CDT each day of competition. The weigh-ins will be held each day at Cypress Bend Park beginning at 3 p.m. All takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
In Toyota Series regular-season competition, payouts are based on the number of participants competing in the event, scaling up for every 20 boats over 160 and scaling down for every boat below 160. At Toledo Bend Lake, pros will fish for a top prize of at least $40,000, plus an extra $35,000 if FLW PHOENIX BONUS qualified. Co-anglers will cast for the top prize of a brand new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard (valued at more than $30,000).
The Toyota Series consists of eight divisions – Central, Eastern, Northern, Plains, Southeastern, Southern, Southwestern and Western – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International division. Anglers who fish all three qualifiers in any of the eight divisions and finish in the top 25 will qualify for the no-entry-fee Toyota Series Championship for a shot at winning $200,000 cash, plus lucrative contingency bonuses. The winning co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard. The 2020 Toyota Series Championship is being held Nov. 5-7 on Lake Cumberland in Burnside, Kentucky, and is hosted by the Somerset Tourist & Convention Commission and the Burnside Tourism Commission.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Toyota Series on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.