Question for everyone here who fish the BFL tour?

How do you like it? Is it smoothly run, good paybacks compared to entry fee, etc? I’m looking at entering the Ozark region as a non-boater possibly for the 2008 year.

Fish the Great Lakes Division for a few years now. I would recommend it. Good people fishing and well run. Give it a try

Go for it. I’ve been at it for 4 years, and really enjoy it. Good luck!

DerekD – I’ve fished the GreatLakes Div for the last two years now as well as a few other tourneys…you won’t find a better smoother run circuit than FLW’s. Paybacks are pretty decent, especially if you can break a couple top 10’s. As a co, I’ve been respected by all of my boaters (except maybe one). I like the circuit and the organization and will be fishing the Great Lakes again next year.

Looking at the entry form I take it that I mark myself as a guaranteed co-angler if I’m linking up with a boater for registration? Also if I’m a co-angler do I need to write down the truck, boat, and outboard brand of the boater I’m linking with? THanks

So everyone seems to like it allot. Do you recommend that you should start out as a co-angler to get a feel for things are run? Thinking about maybe going as a boater in a few. Can you do that? Go half boater half co-angler?

If everything goes well I will have my boat before open water next year. But with that being said I’m going as a non-boater in the BFL for the first year to get my feet wet.

Derek,

If you sign up online – all you have to know if your Boater’s membership number. If you call in to register, just having their name will work.

David,

To qualify for regionals, you have to fish all 5 tourneys as either a Boater or a Co……but if the regionals aren’t really a concern for you – then you can switch back and forth between boater and co.

Are payments due at time of sign up or when I arrive for a tournament? Just figuring out if I need to save up enough money to pay in one lump sum or not. Also how hard is it usually to register maybe a week or two out from the tournament if one didn’t want to pre-register for all tournaments? Thanks

You have the option of getting your money in before the priority deadline, which is usually about three weeks before each event. If you and your guaranteed boater are paid up by the priority deadline, you’ll be assured a spot in the tournament. If you miss the deadline you go on a waiting list…. not a good thing. There is also a late fee that starts in there too.

Go here to have this all make sense. It’s the list of events with the deadlines listed.
http://bfl.flwoutdoors.com/schedule.cfm?bTournamentRef=0&cid=2&did=19&state=ALL&tmonth=0&tyear=2008&ln=

Typically the first couple events you can get away without guarantee’s (just register before the priority deadline)…after those first couple the numbers seem to dwindle down and those anglers in the hunt are already hooked up with a guarantee’d boater/co so it makes it that much tuffer to get in.