Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series Teams Eye $125,000 Purse in Westbrook

June 22, 2006

WESTBROOK, Conn. — The new $1 million Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series will stop at Westbrook Town Dock in Westbrook, Conn., June 24 for a $125,000 catch-and-release striped bass tournament that will award the winning team $20,000 cash, guaranteed, and as much as $50,000 cash based on boat and engine bonuses from Hydra-Sports, Seaswirl, Wellcraft, Evinrude and Yamaha. The top 25 teams will also advance to a three-day, no-entry-fee championship where they will compete for a share of $150,000, including a top award of $50,000, on FSN (Fox Sports Net).

It's not too late to get in on the action, either. Openings are still available in the tournament, which has an early entry fee of $450 per team and an on-site entry fee of $500 per team. Teams ranging in size from two to four anglers may register online at FLWOutdoors.com or by calling 270-252-1000. Entries will also be accepted during on-site registration from 3 to 6 p.m. at Atlantic Outboard located at 475 Boston Post road in Westbrook.

In FLW Striper Series competition, each team may weigh in two striped bass ranging in size from 28 to 34 inches (unless local regulations dictate otherwise). The fish must be kept alive in new KeepAlive boxes developed by FLW Outdoors that will be available for purchase or rent during registration. The innovative boxes, based on proven live-release techniques, will allow all FLW Outdoors striper tournaments to be catch-and-release events – thus helping to protect the nation's striped bass population and ensure a vibrant fishery for generations to come. Teams are charged a 2-pound penalty for any fish that is not weighed in alive.

Teams fishing the tournament hosted by Greater New Haven Convention and Visitors Bureau will take off from Westbrook Town Dock at 6:30 Saturday morning, June 24. The scales open at 3:30 p.m. at Westbrook Town Dock. The morning start and weigh-in are free and open to the public.

Following the Westbrook event FLW Striper Series tournaments will be held at Marina Bay on Boston Harbor in Quincy, Mass., Aug. 19; Bass River Marina in West Dennis, Mass., Sept. 16; Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City, N.J., Sept. 30; Cedar Creek Marina in Slaughter Beach, Del., Oct. 28; and Gootee's Marine in Cambridge, Md., Nov. 4.

The FLW Striper Series Championship in Virginia Beach, Va., Dec. 7-9 will be televised as part of “FLW Outdoors” on FSN (Fox Sports Net), which reaches 81 million subscribers in the United States. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast internationally to more than 350 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners' Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.

Wal-Mart and many of America's largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world's leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com .

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.

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