Lake Chickamauga will host the fourth stop on the MLF Bass Pro Tour schedule with the event scheduled for April 9-14 in Dayton, Tenn.
"We are thrilled to have this opportunity to bring the MLF Bass Pro Tour to our backyard in its inaugural season," Dennis Tumlin, Executive Director of Economic Development for Rhea County and Director of Dayton's "Fish Dayton" brand, said in a release announcing the addition to the BPT schedule. "It's a great matching of our exceptional bass fishing to the sport's most exciting competition in MLF's catch, weigh and immediate-release format."
"Rhea County is proud to showcase our world-class fishery during one of the prime times of the season for giant double-digit bass. If you've never tried our legendary fisheries firsthand, I encourage you to make plans now to come and join in on the festivities and see if you can catch your own personal best!," added Rhea County Mayor George Thacker.
Chickamauga will be familiar to most of the 80-angler Bass Pro Tour field as it has hosted many major bass tournaments over the years. In fact, living in the proximity of the 36,240-acre lake are a handful of MLF pros, including Michael Neal, Andy Morgan, Wesley Strader, Jacob Wheeler and John Murray.
The sizable Chickamauga and its nearly 60-mile length seem to always make the lake a tournament wildcard because of its vastness, diverse cover and generous population of bass over 10 pounds.
"Just this past weekend, we had a 14.2-pounder caught and released, and the lake has really been fishing well for the past several years. We invite everyone to come participate in the activities throughout the competition days to witness firsthand our fabulous fishing and Southern hospitality. Please put this Dayton visit on your calendars now," Tumlin added.
As in all Bass Pro Tour events, the Tennessee River venue will feature seven hours of daily live stream coverage during each competition day, with free access to the real-time broadcast found at www.majorleaguefishing.com.
Also, the Dayton event will be developed into a two-hour television show that will air on Discovery Channel in the fourth quarter of 2019. It will repeat on Sportsman Channel in first and second quarters of 2020.
MLF programming also airs on Outdoor Channel, World Fishing Network, CBS, CBS Sports Network and Discovery Channel, and all episodes are available on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).
For more information about Dayton and Rhea County, visit www.fishdayton.com. For more information about MLF and its anglers, rules and sponsors, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Here's an updated look at the 2019 MLF Bass Pro Tour schedule:
> Jan. 29-Feb. 3: Kissimmee Chain of Lakes – Kissimmee, Fla.
> Feb. 12-17: Lake Conroe – Conroe, Texas
> March 26-31: Falls Lake/Shearon Harris Reservoir/Jordan Lake – Raleigh, N.C.
> April 9-14: Lake Chickamauga – Dayton, Tenn.
> April 30-May 5: TBA
> May 17-22: TBA
> May 31-June 5: TBA
> June 25-30: TBA
> Aug. 21-25: RedCrest Championship (TBA)
