To avoid a conflict with the Toyota Texas Bass Classic next spring, FLW has rescheduled its Tour event at Kentucky Lake to June 26-29, 2014. The host city of Paris, Tenn., will remain the same.
The tournament was originally slated for May 8-11, but will now serve as the season finale. The TTBC at Lake Fork in Texas is scheduled for May 9-11, 2014.
Here's a look at the revised 2014 FLW Tour schedule:
> Feb. 6-9: Lake Okeechobee – Clewiston, Fla.
> March 6-9: Lake Hartwell – Seneca, SC
> March 27-30: Sam Rayburn Reservoir – Lufkin, Texas
> April 10-13: Beaver Lake – Rogers, Ark.
> June 5-8: Pickwick Lake – Florence, Ala.
> June 26-29: Kentucky Lake – Paris, Tenn.
> Aug. 14-17: Forrest Wood Cup – Lake Murray, Columbia, SC
When the conflict was discovered after FLW announced its 2014 Tour schedule at the Forrest Wood Cup, there was some concern among the anglers who'd qualified for the TTBC (the top 15 in AOY points earned entry into the 2013 and '14 TTBC) that they'd miss out on the chance to fish Lake Fork next May. Now, they'll get that opportunity.
"It was strictly unintentional," Bill Taylor, FLW tournament director, told BassFan today. "It was just a lack of communication. The bottom line is we've got it worked out. We certainly didn't intend to schedule our event on top of the Toyota Texas Bass Classic."
Taylor said there was some communication with the TTBC organizers as early as December 2012 regarding 2014 tournament dates, but at the time only the Lake Okeechobee, Beaver Lake and Forrest Wood Cup dates were solidified.
"They asked about a May date and we didn't have a May date at that point," Taylor said. "We take a lot into consideration as to when and how we choose our dates."
Taylor said the change didn't create too many ripples across the master FLW schedule for 2014 other than shifting a couple BFL events.
"They have done the proper thing timing-wise," said Matt Reed, president of the PAA. "They did what they should’ve done and moved it."
Reed said the conflict was causing some anglers (mostly FLW Tour regulars) to hold off on committing to fish the Table Rock PAA next week and the Grand Lake PAA in November. The top 15 in 2013 AOY points from the Bassmaster Elite Series, FLW Tour and PAA Series gained entry into this year's and next spring's TTBC.
"Even if they'd qualified for the (spring) TTBC, they wouldn't be able to fish it because of the Tour event," Reed said. "In their eyes, the value of fishing these last two PAAs was diminished."
Reed himself is hoping to qualify for this fall's TTBC at Lake Conroe as well as the Fork event via the PAA AOY standings (he's currently sixth). FLW Tour anglers were relieved the issue was worked out sooner rather than later.
"I'm glad to see it was changed," said Bryan Thrift, who won the TTBC last fall at Lake Conroe. "With the economy now and having just six (FLW) tournaments to fish, it's hard to make a living at it as it is. Then to have an opportunity at one more and not being able to fish it would've been bad for a lot of guys."
"I think it was an honest oversight," said Brent Ehrler, who finished 8th in FLW Tour AOY points and qualified for the next two TTBCs. "There were going to be 15 of us that stood to lose a decent amount of money. It's a no-entry fee event and even if you show up and finish last, you still walk away with $3,500. It definitely could've cost us a lot of money."
