EUFAULA, Ala. (May 27, 2020) – The 2020 Toyota Series will open the Southeastern Division with a tournament next week at Lake Eufaula, June 4-6, with the Toyota Series at Lake Eufaula. Hosted by the Eufaula Barbour County Chamber of Commerce, the three-day tournament will feature the region’s best bass-fishing pros and co-anglers casting for a top prize of up to $65,000, plus a $35,000 bonus if the winner is a qualified Phoenix Boat owner.
The event will be the second Toyota Series tournament held since the organization paused all competition in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic. The tournament will be held under an abundance of caution, with limited attendance to anglers and essential tournament staff only. Fans are encouraged to forgo daily takeoffs and weigh-ins and follow the event online through “FLW Live” weigh-in broadcasts and coverage at FLWFishing.com.
“The key to doing well in this tournament will be timing – timing on the ledges is everything,” said local angler Ryan Ingram of Phenix City, who has 20 career top-10 finishes – including six wins – on Lake Eufaula in FLW competition. “It’s going to be won fishing out offshore. The fish are well into their summertime patterns, now. Someone could catch 25 pounds fishing shallow off the bank, but there is no way they could do it for three days in a row.
“We’re going to catch a lot of fish,” Ingram continued. “We’ll see a lot of 15- to 18-pound limits, but it’s going to take 20 to 21 pounds a day average to win.”
Ingram said that he expects typical ledge-fishing baits – big crankbaits, jigs and big worms – to do well on the river ledges.
“We’ve got a full moon coming during the week of the tournament, and that could really throw a wrench into things if there is a mayfly hatch. That would help the shallow-water fisherman tremendously. But I truly believe that whoever wins the event will be fishing out on the ledges, and they’ll have timed it just right.”
Anglers will take off from the Lakepoint Resort State Park, located at 104 Lakepoint Drive in Eufaula at 6 a.m. CDT each day of competition. The weigh-ins will be broadcast at FLWFishing.com each day from the Lakepoint Resort State Park, beginning at 2 p.m.
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. With a 160-boat field, pros fish for a top prize of $40,000, plus an extra $35,000 if FLW PHOENIX BONUS qualified. Co-anglers cast for the top prize of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard (valued at $33,500). With a 260-boat field, pros fish for a top award of $65,000, plus an extra $35,000 if FLW PHOENIX BONUS qualified. Co-anglers cast for the top prize of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard (valued at $33,500) plus $5,000 cash.
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 $235,000 cash, including a $35,000 FLW PHOENIX Bonus for qualified anglers. 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 will be held Dec. 3-5 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.