$7.6 MILLION WAL-MART FLW TOUR TO KICK OFF ON
LAKE OKEECHOBEE
January 10, 2005
CLEWISTON, Fla. (Jan. 10, 2005) – The $7.6 million
Wal-Mart FLW Tour will kick off its 10th year of competition Jan.
19-22 with a $900,000 event presented by EverStart Batteries on Lake
Okeechobee in Clewiston, Fla. Hosted by Roland and Mary Ann Martin’s
Marina and Resort, the tournament features 400 anglers from the United
States, Japan, Spain and Australia, with 200 of the world’s best
bass pros fishing for a top award of $100,000 cash. Two hundred co-anglers
will also compete for a top award of $20,000 cash.
The nation’s most lucrative bass-fishing circuit has kicked off
nine of the past 10 seasons from Lake Okeechobee, but don’t expect
the sprawling Florida fishery to be too familiar to competitors. After
experiencing several hurricanes last summer, the lake is high and
significant amounts of vegetation are gone.
“There is a lot less vegetation in areas that were really good
last year,” said pro Ray Scheide, winner of last year’s
FLW Tour stop on Lake Okeechobee. “Anglers will probably be bunched
up in the few remaining areas that have vegetation and clear water.
If someone can find a little clear water and separates himself from
the pack, he has a good chance of winning. Flipping is always a key
technique when you go to Okeechobee, but there may be a more prevalent
spinnerbait and crankbait bite this year because of more off-colored
water.”
Anglers take off each morning from Roland and Mary Ann Martin’s
Marina and Resort at 7 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday’s weigh-ins
will also be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday’s
weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 1005 W. Sugarland
Highway in Clewiston beginning at 5 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.
The community is invited to attend the free Family Fun Zone Friday
and Saturday outside the weigh-in tent in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
The Family Fun Zone, which opens at 3 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday,
features interactive displays, product samples and games for the entire
family to enjoy.
The full field competes in the two-day opening round for one of 10
slots in Friday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated
weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition
concludes following Friday’s weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue
competition Saturday, with the winner determined by the heaviest two-day
weight.
In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each
day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing
against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other
co-anglers.
The Okeechobee event marks the beginning of the most lucrative FLW
Tour season to date, as the popular tournament series features a $7.6
million purse in 2005, including four $900,000 events and two $1.25
million open events during the regular season. Each event leads up
to the $1.5 million Forrest L. Wood Championship and Outdoor Show,
which will be held July 13-16 on Lake Hamilton near Hot Springs, Ark.
The prestigious championship features 48 pros, 48 co-anglers and bass
fishing’s largest guaranteed cash award – a $500,000 first-place
prize for the winning pro. Held in conjunction with the tournament
is a world-class outdoor show featuring 140 booths and displays for
everything from crankbaits to bass boats.
Coverage of the Lake Okeechobee tournament will be broadcast to 82
million Fox Sports Net (FSN) subscribers as part of the “Wal-Mart
FLW Outdoors” television program. “Wal-Mart FLW Outdoors”
airs Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. Eastern time on FSN.
The second regular-season FLW Tour stop will be held Feb. 9-12 on
Lake Toho near Kissimmee, Fla., followed by a stop March 9-12 on the
Ouachita River near Monroe, La., and the Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake
near Rogers, Ark., April 13-16. Wheeler Lake near Florence, Ala.,
will host the fifth tour stop May 11-14 followed by the Potomac River
Open in Charles County, Md., June 22-25.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood,
FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour and seven other national
tournament circuits offering a combined $30 million in awards through
214 events in 2005. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of
America’s largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including
the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, EverStart Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League,
Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart
FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish
Series.
For more information on FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs,
visit FLWOutdoors.com
or call (270) 252-1000.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies
support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on
as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the title sponsor
of all FLW Outdoors events. For more information on Wal-Mart, visit
Wal-Mart.com.
