ORLANDO, Fla. (July 12, 2018) – Fishing League Worldwide (FLW), the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, announced today its schedule and a key rule change for the 2019 FLW Tour season at a live press event held at the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades (ICAST). Starting in 2019, the longstanding FLW Tour co-angler program will be replaced with a new FLW Tour Marshal program.
The change enhances opportunities for the sport’s top pros and creates new opportunities for marshals while allowing FLW to continue as the leading organization for co-anglers with co-angler awards topping $3.9 million in 144 tournaments. The Costa FLW Series and the T-H Marine Bass Fishing League (BFL) along with their respective championships will continue to offer payouts of up to $32,000 and $60,000, respectively, for co-anglers.
“Co-anglers are incredibly important to FLW – so important that we first coined the term ‘co-angler’ in 1999 because ‘amateur’ and ‘non-boater’ did not adequately describe the quality of angler fishing from the back of the boat in FLW tournaments,” said Kathy Fennel, FLW President of Operations. “It is an apprenticeship like no other. But times have changed, and the co-angler program is no longer the stepping stone to the professional ranks that it once was.
“Anglers with professional aspirations are now starting in our High School Fishing program and continuing through FLW College Fishing. The majority of FLW Tour co-anglers fish other FLW circuits, and most only fish one or two FLW Tour events a season. Going forward, FLW will continue to provide the very best opportunities for co-anglers while expanding our offerings to include the new FLW Tour Marshal program.”
The FLW Tour Marshal program will provide the same learning opportunities that the co-angler program offered, along with the opportunity to win cash and a new Ranger Z518C powered by a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard, without impacting the outcome of the tournament. Each Marshal will attend a VIP dinner and seminar with select FLW Tour pros on the Wednesday before each tournament, plus get behind-the-scenes access to the biggest events in bass fishing. They will receive exclusive FLW clothing and play a vital role in live coverage of each FLW Tour event.
Marshals will be eligible for a top cash award of $2,500 at each regular-season FLW Tour stop based on the combined weight of the pros they are randomly paired with. Marshals will also receive one entry into an exclusive Ranger Z518C giveaway for each day they complete. One lucky marshal will be randomly selected to win the new boat after the season concludes.
The 2019 FLW Tour features seven regular-season tournaments and the Forrest Wood Cup. Each tournament is streamed on FLW Live and broadcast in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network and the World Fishing Network, showcasing the best bass anglers in the world competing in the sport’s most competitive circuit.
2019 FLW Tour Regular-Season Schedule:
- January 10-13 Sam Rayburn Reservoir Brookeland, Texas
- February 7-10 Lake Toho Kissimmee, Fla.
- March 7-10 Lake Seminole Bainbridge, Ga.
- March 28-31 Grand Lake Grove, Okla.
- April 11-14 Cherokee Lake Jefferson City, Tenn.
- May 2-5 Lake Chickamauga Dayton, Tenn.
- June 27-30 Lake Champlain Plattsburgh, NY
The top 100 pros based on average points from the 2018 and 2019 FLW Tour seasons requalify for the 2020 season.
- If a pro finishes outside of the top 100 but has previously earned an FLW Tour Angler of the Year or FLW Cup championship (as a pro) he or she will be granted a one-year exemption.
- Pros who earn entry upon exemption must finish in the top 100 to requalify.
The top five pros based on the final point standings in each U.S. division of the 2019 Costa FLW Series.
- If a top-five pro declines his or her bid into the 2020 FLW Tour, the next eligible pro will qualify. This process will continue through the top 10 pros in each U.S. division, after which eligibility reverts back to the FLW Tour.
The 2019 TBF National Champion and the 2019 BFL All-American Champion in the boater divisions.
- If either angler declines his or her bid into the 2020 FLW Tour, the next eligible FLW Tour pro will qualify.
10 invitations will be issued based on:
- Two entries for the FLW Foundation.
- Eight entries for FLW sponsors.
13 at-large entries will be accepted based on the following entry priority:
- Ranger boat owners who fished the 2019 FLW Tour.
- All other pros who fished the 2019 FLW Tour but did not requalify.