Trophy Bass and Timber: The FLW Tour Returns to One of Texas' Most Productive Professional Fisheries

The FLW Tour at Lake Sam Rayburn runs February 12 through 21, 2026, with professional anglers launching at 7 AM daily from the Hudson Bridge Ramp and weigh-ins at 4 PM, alongside a Family Fishing Expo providing public access to the professional field with angler meet-and-greets, interactive activities, and sponsor giveaways on one of the American South’s largest largemouth bass reservoirs.

Event details

The Fishing League Worldwide Tour returns to Lake Sam Rayburn in the Sabine National Forest country of East Texas in February 2026, staging one of professional bass fishing’s most consistently anticipated annual events on one of the largest reservoirs in the southern United States. Sam Rayburn Reservoir covers approximately 114,500 acres in Jasper, Sabine, Angelina, and Nacogdoches counties, fed by the Angelina River, and carries a Florida-strain largemouth bass population that produces fish of a size and density that the tournament circuit has returned to reliably for decades. The 2026 event runs February 12 through 21, with the Hudson Bridge Ramp serving as the daily launch facility, weigh-ins beginning at 4 PM each competition day.

The Competition and the Fan Expo

The FLW Tour format places professional anglers on Sam Rayburn’s vast impoundment across multiple competition days, with daily launches at 7 AM from the Hudson Bridge Ramp and afternoon weigh-ins that draw spectators to watch the catch results live. The tournament’s Family Fishing Expo provides public access to the professional field in a setting designed for non-competing visitors: participants can meet professional anglers, interact with sponsor demonstrations, take part in interactive fishing activities for children, and collect sponsor giveaways. The expo model transforms a professional tournament with limited spectator access during competition hours into a weekend-of-record experience for families and casual fans who want direct contact with the professional circuit without following the boats across open water.

Good to Know: Sam Rayburn Reservoir sits in the heart of the Angelina National Forest, which means the timber-lined coves and creek arms visible from the Hudson Bridge area carry a quiet, cathedral quality unrelated to the tournament energy at the ramp. Families attending the weigh-in with younger children benefit from arriving 30 minutes before the 4 PM start to secure shaded seating near the weigh tanks, where the fish and the scale results are most clearly visible from the spectator area.

Sam Rayburn’s East Texas Setting

The lake operates as the dominant recreational anchor of a densely forested region of Southeast Texas where Interstate 69 provides the primary access corridor from Houston, approximately three hours to the southwest. The Angelina National Forest surrounding the reservoir offers hiking trails, camping facilities, and waterside access independent of the tournament venue, which makes a multi-day trip to Sam Rayburn workable as a combined fishing-and-wilderness itinerary rather than a single-purpose tournament visit. For families staying near the lake for the tournament window, Lake.com lists the Cozy Texas Glamping Tent with Starry Views as a vacation rental option that delivers the outdoor, forest-adjacent character that East Texas at its best consistently provides.