$1.7 MILLION WAL-MART FLW KINGFISH TOUR FILLS FIELDS, MAY EXPAND

February 25, 2005

BENTON, Ky. (Feb. 25, 2005) – FLW Outdoors announced Friday that fields for the new $1.7 million Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour – the most lucrative kingfish tournament trail in the world – filled in less than 48 hours after the open of registration Feb. 21. The FLW Kingfish Tour consists of four $300,000 qualifying events with teams fishing for as much as $100,000 cash and the no-entry-fee $500,000 Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour Championship, scheduled for Oct. 6-8 in D’Iberville, Miss., where teams will compete for as much as $150,000.

“Response to the new Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour has been so overwhelming that we are considering expanding the field size and payout for each event,” said Charlie Evans, president and CEO of FLW Outdoors. “The demand for a lucrative, professionally operated kingfish trail is obviously very high, and we do not want to exclude anglers who have a desire to compete.”
Evans explained that the current field size of 100 boats per event may be adjusted upward with a corresponding increase in payouts based on continued strong demand from kingfish anglers.
Anglers interested in competing on the FLW Kingfish Tour may still register for events by calling (270) 252-1000 or visiting FLWOutdoors.com. If the waiting list for events continues to rise, FLW Outdoors will consider expanding field sizes and payouts.

In qualifying events, teams of up to five people compete for two days to determine the winner based on the heaviest kingfish of the tournament. The winning team earns $40,000 cash, and if the team captain is the registered owner of an Aquasport, Hydra-Sports, Seaswirl or Wellcraft boat that is used during the tournament, the team receives a $30,000 bonus. Additionally, if the winning captain is the registered owner of a Yamaha outboard that is used during the tournament, the team receives another $30,000 bonus for a total award of $100,000 cash.

Every team that receives weight credit in a tournament earns points that determine angler standings. Two hundred points are awarded to the winner, 199 points for second, 198 points for third, and so on. The top 50 teams at the end of the regular season will advance to the championship, where they will compete for two days for a berth in the final round of 10 teams. The championship winner is guaranteed $75,000 cash and may earn cash bonuses equaling $75,000 from Aquasport, Hydra-Sports, Seaswirl, Wellcraft and Yamaha for a total of $150,000.

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and seven other national tournament circuits offering a combined purse of $30 million 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 the EverStart Series or any of FLW Outdoors’ eight tournament trails, visit FLWOutdoors.com.

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