MINNEAPOLIS (Oct. 27, 2009) - FLW Outdoors announced its 2010 schedules and tournament details; many of which have been modified to address the challenges many anglers are facing at all levels of the sport.
"Many of our anglers have been directly affected by the current economic downturn," said Charlie Evans, President and CEO of FLW Outdoors. "We thoroughly studied every aspect of our tournaments and carefully developed our 2010 programs to minimize the time and expense required to compete while at the same time visiting quality fisheries that will provide exciting events that anglers and fans alike will enjoy. We are confident that the adjustments we made will serve our anglers well and position the sport for continued prosperity."
The FLW Tour, whose schedule was released earlier this year and is listed below, culminates with the Forrest Wood Cup in Atlanta.
Date Fishery Location
Feb. 10-13 Red River Shreveport, La.
March 3-6 Table Rock Lake Branson, Mo.
March 24-27 Lake Norman Charlotte, N.C.
April 21-24 Ft. Loudoun/Tellico lakes Knoxville, Tenn.
May 26-29 Lake Ouachita Hot Springs, Ark.
June 23-26 Lake Guntersville Huntsville, Ala.
Forrest Wood Cup
Aug. 5-8 Lake Lanier Atlanta, Ga.
The FLW Tour will feature a cumulative weight format in 2010. The field of 150 pros and 150 co-anglers will compete Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with the top five pros advancing to Saturday. The total weight from the first three days will determine the winning co-angler Friday, and the total weight from all four days will determine the winning pro on Saturday. Weigh-ins will be held lakeside the first three days, moving to an arena in conjunction with the Tour's popular Family Fun Zone and Outdoor Show on day four. Practice for each event has been condensed from four to three days - Saturday, Sunday and Monday - and tournament waters will go off-limits 13 days prior to practice, with registration on Tuesday.
Pro entry fees will be $4,000 per tournament and deposits have been reduced to $1,000 for each event. Pro anglers will continue to compete for a $100,000 top award in each event, with payouts of $10,000 through 50th place. Co-angler entry fees are $700 per event, and the top co-angler award in each tournament is $20,000 with payouts of $800 through 50th place.
The top 30 pros and co-anglers from the 2010 season will qualify for the Forrest Wood Cup. The 2010 Forrest Wood Cup champion will earn $500,000 in the pro division and $50,000 in the co-angler division, unchanged from last year. Every pro that qualifies and fishes will earn a minimum of $7,000 while every co-angler earns a minimum of $1,500.
Sponsor contingency awards are being developed with our partners and will be announced for all circuits in the near future.
The top 100 pros and top 100 co-anglers from the 2009 FLW Tour and the 2009 FLW Series, top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers from each division of the 2009 Stren Series and the boater and co-angler champion from the 2009 BFL All-American may register beginning Monday, Nov. 2 and must enter by Dec. 7 in order to secure their priority entry position for the 2010 season. Ranger boat owners may enter beginning Dec. 7, followed by Champion and Stratos boat owners and TBF members Dec. 8. General public entries will be accepted beginning Dec. 9. Deposits for all six events will be accepted online at FLWOutdoors.com or by calling (270) 252-1000. Phones are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time. For additional information, visit FLWOutdoors.com.
The FLW Series will be adjusted with the Eastern Division being discontinued. The 2010 National Guard FLW Series will serve anglers in the Western United States and its schedule is below.
Date Fishery Location
Jan. 13-16 Lake Shasta Shasta Lake, Calif.
May 5-8 Lake Mead Las Vegas, Nev.
June 9-12 California Delta Stockton, Calif.
Sept 22-25 Lake Roosevelt Payson, Ariz.
The FLW Series field of 150 pros and 150 co-anglers will compete Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with the top five pros advancing to Saturday. The total weight from the first three days will determine the winning co-angler Friday, and the total weight from all four days will determine the winning pro Saturday. Practice for each event has been condensed from four to three days - Sunday, Monday and Tuesday - and tournament waters will go off-limits six days prior to practice.
Pro entry fees have been reduced to $2,000 per tournament and co-angler entry fees have been reduced to $350 per event. Anglers will compete for top awards of $50,000 in the pro division and $10,000 in the co-angler division, with awards of $5,000 and $400, respectively, extending through 50th place. The top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers at the end of the season will qualify for the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup.
The top 100 pros and top 100 co-anglers from the 2009 FLW Series and the top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers from the 2009 Stren Series may register beginning Monday, Nov. 2 and must enter by Dec. 15 in order to secure their priority entry position for the 2010 season. Ranger boat owners may enter beginning Dec. 15 followed by Champion and Stratos boat owners and TBF members Dec. 16. General public entries will be accepted beginning Dec. 17. Pros and co-anglers who enter all four tournaments with a counterpart by Dec. 17 will be given priority over anglers who enter less than four events. Deposits for all four events will be accepted online at FLWOutdoors.com or by calling (270) 252-1000. Phones are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time. For additional information, visit FLWOutdoors.com.
The current Stren Series will consist of four divisions in 2010 - Central, Northern, Southeast and Texas - with the Western division being discontinued. Each division will consist of three tournaments and the full schedule is below.
Central Northern
Date Fishery Location Date Fishery Location
March 18-20 Lake of the Ozarks Osage Beach, Mo. June 3-5 Potomac River Marbury, Md.
April 15-17 Lake Ouachita Mount Ida, Ark. July 15-17 Lake Champlain Plattsburgh, N.Y.
May 13-15 Kentucky Lake Gilbertsville, Ky. Sept. 9-11 Lake Erie Erie, Pa.
Southeast Texas
Date Fishery Location Date Fishery Location
Feb. 25-27 Lake Okeechobee Clewiston, Fla. Jan. 7-9 Lake Falcon Zapata, Texas
April 29-May 1 Lake Eufaula Eufaula, Ala. Feb. 4-6 Sam Rayburn Jasper, Texas
Sept. 30-Oct. 2 Pickwick Lake Florence, Ala. June 17-19 Toledo Bend Manning, La.
Invitational
Date Fishery Location
Nov. 4-6 Wheeler Lake Decatur, Ala.
The fields will consist of 150 boats fishing Thursday and Friday and the top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers advancing to Saturday. Winners will be determined by total weight from all three days. The points champion from each division will qualify for the Forrest Wood Cup and a fifth Forrest Wood Cup qualifier will advance from an Invitational event that is open to the top 50 anglers from each division.
Pro entry fees remain $825 per tournament and co-angler entry fees remain $325 per tournament. Anglers will compete for top awards of $25,000 in the pro division and a Ranger Boat in the co-angler division, with awards of $800 and $350 extending through 50th place, respectively. The entry fee in the Invitational is the same as a tournament entry fee.
The top 40 pros and top 40 co-anglers from each division of the 2009 season and the top 40 boaters and top 40 co-anglers from each division of the 2009 Bass Fishing League may register beginning Monday, Nov. 2 and must enter by Dec. 10 to secure their priority entry position for the 2010 season. Ranger boat owners may enter beginning Dec.10 followed by Champion and Stratos boat owners and TBF members Dec. 11. General public entries will be accepted beginning Dec. 14. Pros and co-anglers who enter all three tournaments in a division with a counterpart by Dec. 15 will be given priority over anglers who enter less than three events. Entries are accepted online at FLWOutdoors.com or by calling (270) 252-1000 beginning Monday, Nov. 2. Phones are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time. For additional information, visit FLWOutdoors.com.
The Bass Fishing League continues in 2010 with 24 divisions serving weekend anglers. There will be four divisions merging and they are the Everglades with Gator; Empire with Northeast; Texas/Louisiana with Cowboy; and Dixie with Bama. Payouts, formats and entry fees for qualifiers and Super Tournaments remain unchanged.
The 2010 All-American will be held on DeGray Lake in Hot Springs, Ark., May 27-29. This no-entry-fee tournament will pay the winning boater $100,000 and the winning co-angler $50,000. Every angler will cash a check, with the 54th place boater earning $1,500 and the 54th place co-angler earning $750.
Entries for the 2010 season will be accepted by division on the following dates: Dec. 7 - Hoosier, Michigan, Music City, and Volunteer; Dec. 8 - Bulldog, Cowboy, Great Lakes, Illini and Mississippi; Dec. 9 - Bama, Buckeye, Choo Choo, Gator and Mountain; Dec. 10 - Arkie, LBL, North Carolina, Northeast and Okie; and Dec. 11 - Ozark, Piedmont, Savannah River, South Carolina and Shenandoah. Entries are accepted online at FLWOutdoors.com or by calling (270) 252-1000. Phones are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time. For additional information, visit FLWOutdoors.com.
FLW Outdoors launched National Guard FLW College Fishing in 2009. The national championship for the first season will take place at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., on Fort Loudoun/Tellico lakes, April 10-12, 2010.
The 2010 schedule will consist of four qualifying events and one regional tournament in each division - Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western - and is below.
Central Northern
Date Fishery Location Date Fishery Location
March 20 Lake of the Ozarks Osage Beach, Mo. March 27 Mt. Island Lake Mount Holly, N.C.
April 17 Lake Ouachita Mount Ida, Ark. June 5 Potomac River Marbury, Md.
May 15 Kentucky Lake Gilbertsville, Ky. July 17 Lake Champlain Plattsburgh, N.Y.
July 24 Mississippi River La Crosse, Wis. Sept. 11 Lake Erie Erie, Pa.
Central Regional - Indiana University Northern Regional - North Carolina State
Oct. 30-Nov. 1 Lake Monroe Bloomington, Ind. Nov. 6-8 Lake Jordan Raleigh, N.C.
Southeast Texas
Date Fishery Location Date Fishery Location
Feb. 27 Lake Okeechobee Clewiston, Fla. Jan. 9 Lake Falcon Zapata, Texas
March 13 Old Hickory Lake Gallatin, Tenn. Feb. 6 Sam Rayburn Jasper, Texas
May 1 Lake Eufaula Eufaula, Ala. March 6 Red River Natchitoches, La.
Oct. 2 Pickwick Lake Florence, Ala. June 19 Toledo Bend Manning, La.
Southeast Regional - University of South Carolina Texas Regional - University of Texas
Nov. 13-15 Lake Murray Columbia, S.C. Oct. 23-25 Lake Austin Austin, Texas
Western
Date Fishery Location
Jan. 16 Lake Shasta Shasta Lake, Calif.
May 8 Lake Mead Las Vegas, Nev.
June 12 California Delta Stockton, Calif.
Sept. 25 Lake Roosevelt Payson, Ariz.
Western Regional - Sacramento State
Oct. 16-18 Folsom Lake Sacramento, Calif.
Full-time students at four-year institutions with a bass fishing club are eligible to compete. There is no entry fee, boats are provided and each team receives a travel allowance. Each qualifying event will accept up to 40 teams with the top five teams from each division advancing to their respective regional championship. The top five teams from each regional championship advance to the national championship. The team that takes home the national championship title qualifies for the Forrest Wood Cup.
Each team consists of two students competing for awards that are split between their bass fishing club and their respective school. Entries will be accepted online at CollegeFishing.com beginning Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 8 a.m. Central time. For additional information, please visit CollegeFishing.com.
The FLW Walleye Tour will consist of two divisions; East and West. Each division will host three tournaments with a field of 150 boats and these tournaments will culminate with the FLW Walleye Tour Championship. The schedule is listed below.
East West
Date Fishery Location Date Fishery Location
April 8-10 Detroit River Trenton, Mich. May 20-22 Mississippi River Red Wing, Minn.
April 29-May 1 Illinois River Spring Valley, Ill. June 24-26 Lake Oahe Pierre, S.D.
July 15-17 Lake Winnebago Oshkosh, Wis. July 29-31 Devils Lake Devils Lake, N.D.
FLW Walleye Tour Championship
Sept. 23-25 Leech Lake Walker, Minn.
Pro entry fees will be $750 per tournament and co-angler entry-fees will be $250. Anglers will compete for top awards of $25,000 in the pro division and $5,000 in the co-angler division, with awards of $1,000 and $400, respectively, extending through 50th place. Anglers that participated in the FLW Walleye League, which will be discontinued, are encouraged to participate in the FLW Walleye Tour.
The top 50 pros and top 50 co-anglers from the 2009 FLW Walleye Tour and the top 10 boaters and top 10 co-anglers from the 2009 FLW Walleye League may register beginning Monday, Nov. 2 and must enter by Jan. 11 in order to secure their priority entry position for the 2010 season. Ranger boat owners may enter beginning Jan. 11 followed by Champion and Stratos boat owners and TBF members Jan. 12. General public entries will be accepted beginning Jan. 13. Pros and co-anglers who enter all three tournaments in a division with a counterpart by Jan. 13 will be given priority over anglers who enter less than three events. Deposits for all three events will be accepted online at FLWOutdoors.com or by calling (270) 252-1000 beginning Monday, Nov. 2. Phones are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time. For additional information, visit FLWOutdoors.com.