Toyota Series to Host Event on Wheeler Lake

The 2020 Toyota Series Southeastern Division will continue with a tournament next week in Decatur, July 30- Aug. 1, with the Toyota Series at Wheeler Lake. Hosted by Decatur Morgan County Tourism, 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.

“This is going to be a fun tournament to watch,” said Major League Fishing pro Jesse Wiggins of Addison, Alabama, “I think it is going to play out very similar to the FLW Cup event that John Cox won here in 2016. There will be some fish out deep, but it won’t be a complete offshore tournament.

“A guy can catch them out of the eelgrass and do well,” Wiggins continued. “The smallmouth have been biting well, lately, and I think the tournament could be won on smallmouth if they can figure them out. There are a lot of ways that this tournament could be won, but the key is going to be finding the fish to be consistent for three days.”

Wiggins said that if he was competing in the event, he’d have a drop-shot rig, a jerkbait, a shaky-head rig and a shallow-diving crankbait all tied on.

“It’s summertime in Alabama so it may be a grind, but we’re going to see some good limits,” Wiggins went on to say. “I think a guy is going to have to average 15 to 16 pounds a day to be there at the end. I predict the winner ends up with a three-day total of 48 to 50 pounds.”

Anglers will take off daily at 6 a.m. CDT from Ingalls Harbor, located at 701 Market St. NW, in Decatur. Weigh-ins will also be held Ingalls Harbor and will begin at 2:30 p.m. Attendance is limited to competing anglers and essential staff only. Fans are encouraged to follow the event online through the “FLW Live” weigh-in broadcasts and daily coverage at FLWFishing.com.

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.

About FLW - FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, FLW and its partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe.

FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show while Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. Acquired by Major League Fishing in late 2019, FLW is expanding its programming in 2020 to the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel as well as on-demand at MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).

For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagramand YouTube.