MINNEAPOLIS (June 15, 2011) – FLW Outdoors announced the 2012 FLW Tour schedule Wednesday. The 2012 season will feature 10 tournaments: six FLW Tour Majors and four FLW Tour Opens. The Forrest Wood Cup will return to Lake Lanier and the Gwinnett Center in Hall and Gwinnett Counties, Ga., following the tremendous success seen there in 2010.
Along with the FLW Tour schedule, FLW Outdoors also announced that the 2012 Walmart BFL All-American will be held at National Harbor on the Potomac River in conjunction with an FLW Tour Major at the same location.
“We take great pride in providing the highest quality events for our anglers, sponsors and fans,” said Kathy Fennel, president, FLW Outdoors Operations Division. “In 2012 we will be visiting some of the nation’s top fisheries at peak times, so the catch at each stop should be outstanding. We are especially excited to be hosting the All-American in our nation’s capital in conjunction with the FLW Tour Major on the Potomac River. This unique venue provides the perfect setting to host two of the sport’s biggest events.”
The 2012 FLW Tour schedule is listed below.
Date Fishery Location Tournament
Feb. 9-12 Lake Okeechobee Clewiston, Fla. FLW Tour Open
March 8-11 Lake Hartwell Greenville/Anderson, S.C. FLW Tour Major
March 29-April 1 Table Rock Lake Branson, Mo. FLW Tour Major
April 26-29 Beaver Lake Rogers, Ark. FLW Tour Major
May 17-20 Potomac River National Harbor, Md. FLW Tour Major
June 7-10 Kentucky Lake Murray/Gilbertsville, Ky. FLW Tour Major
June 28-July 1 Lake Champlain Plattsburgh, N.Y. FLW Tour Major
Aug. 9-12 Lake Lanier Duluth/Gainesville, Ga. Forrest Wood Cup
Aug. 23-26 Detroit River Detroit, Mich. FLW Tour Open
Sept. 20-23 Lake Wheeler Decatur, Ala. FLW Tour Open
Oct. 11-14 Sam Rayburn Reservoir Lufkin, Texas FLW Tour Open
The six FLW Tour Majors, which will feature 150-boat fields, are open to professional anglers that enter all six tournaments. Pros fishing the FLW Tour Majors will receive priority when entering FLW Tour Opens, and pros entering all four FLW Tour Opens will receive priority over individual entrants. FLW Tour Opens will feature 150-boat fields as well. Complete details regarding registration requirements will be available in the near future at FLWOutdoors.com, or you can call (270) 252-1000 for more information.
Pro anglers will compete for a top award of up to $125,000, and co-anglers will vie for a top prize of up to $25,000 in each tournament. With a full field, the paybacks will be $10,000 through 50th place and $4,000 through 60th place on the pro side and $1,000 through 50th place and $700 through 60th place on the co-angler side. Entry fees will remain unchanged for 2012 at $4,000 per tournament for pros and $700 per tournament for co-anglers.
The 2012 Forrest Wood Cup will consist of 46 pros and 46 co-anglers. In 2012, the top 35 ranked pros and as many co-anglers from the FLW Tour Majors, along with the top five in the rankings from the 2011 FLW Tour Opens, will qualify for the Cup along with the 2011 FLW Tour Angler of the Year and Co-angler of the Year, and 2011 Forrest Wood Cup pro and co-angler champions. The 2012 BFL All-American boater and co-angler champions, 2011 EverStart Series pro and co-angler champions, 2012 FLW College Fishing champions and 2012 TBF National Championship winners will round out the field.