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FLW Outdoors Fishing Report - FLW Outdoors in Benton

WKMS | By Matt Markgraf

Published March 3, 2011 at 4:25 PM CST

By Scott Ellison

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkms/local-wkms-955709.mp3

Western Kentucky – Today we begin a new series, the FLW Outdoors Fishing Report, with Scott Ellison. In this inaugural piece we meet Scott and learn more about FLW Outdoors in Benton.

Hello, my name is Scott Ellison. In the weeks ahead, I'll be bringing you the latest news on fishing in the Four Rivers area, with particular emphasis on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes.

I promise you, in the not-too-distant future, we'll spend lots of time discussing what's biting and where, and who's making waves in the local fishing scene.

For now, though, I wanted to acquaint you with my background.

Growing up in southern Illinois as I did, it was not unusual for me to spend a weekend fishing lakes and rivers with my brother and dad in our aluminum boat. Fishing and the outdoors have always been an important part of my life. In fact, The array of outdoor recreation options in western Kentucky is one of the key reasons why I chose to attend Murray State University.

Upon completion of a Masters degree in Business Administration from Murray State, I had the opportunity to join the FLW Outdoors team just up the road in Benton, KY. As you may or may not know, FLW outdoors is the world's largest fishing tournament organization. We put on bass and walleye tournaments all across the country almost 200 of them a year. We produce a television program shown on versus TV each Sunday from noon til one and have a couple of magazines dedicated to bass fishing and walleye fishing. If you want to learn more, feel free to visit our web site at flwoudoors.com.

Working for the company whose TV programs my brother and I watched has been a dream come true. I currently serve as the Promotions Manager for FLW outdoors National Guard FLW College Fishing circuit. Part of my job in this capacity is to select host communities for our regional and national championships, and promote these events on college campuses.

I began my career at FLW Outdoors in our Community Outreach department where I was involved in such projects as conducting fundraisers with charities across the country in conjunction with the Walmart FLW Tour and scheduled professional angler visits to schools, hospitals and community events. I feel very lucky to have seen many different lakes and places all across the country during my time with FLW Outdoors. These experiences have taken my love for the outdoors to a whole new level.

As I said, there's not much to talk about on the fishing scene yet. but when spring breaks, it breaks quickly around here. when the redbuds and dogwoods start blooming, Kentucky Lake will come to life again with crappie fishermen and bass tournaments.

Speaking of tournaments, we've got a couple of big ones lined up on Kentucky Lake and Murray for this spring. The National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship is set for early April and the weigh-ins will take place in the CFSB Center, along with a College Festival which is our free interactive show that features sponsor booths, games and lots of interesting things to see and do. then, in June, an FLW Tour Major Tournament is set for Kentucky Lake and, likewise, the weigh-ins will be in the CFSB Center it will also have an outdoor expo. You won't want to miss either of those events and I'll have more about them later.

I hope you'll join me as we review all the fishing news and other outdoor happenings as winter gives way and warm weather arrives for good. Here's hoping it won't be too much longer.

Scott Ellison is a lifelong fisherman and FLW Outdoors College Fishing Promotions Manager.