MINNEAPOLIS (Oct. 30, 2009) - FLW Outdoors announced Friday that it has reinstated the FLW Series Eastern Division.
"As we mentioned before, many of our anglers have been directly affected by the current economic downturn," said Charlie Evans, President and CEO of FLW Outdoors. "There were a number of things taken into account when the original schedule was finalized, but we are now in position to bring back an Eastern division schedule for 2010."
The FLW Series will return to its recent format with an Eastern Division and the FLW Series Western Division. The schedules are below.
FLW Series Eastern Division Date Fishery Location Jan. 27-30 Lake Okeechobee Okeechobee, Fla. March 10-13 Lake Eufaula Eufaula, Ala. Aug. 25-28 Lake Champlain Plattsburgh, N.Y. Sept. 15-18 Lake Chickamauga Chattanooga, Tenn. FLW Series Western Division 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 fields of 150 pros and 150 co-anglers in each division 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.
Sponsor contingency awards are being developed with our partners and will be announced for all circuits in the near future.
With the Eastern division being reinstated, there were some minor changes to what is currently the Stren Series and FLW College Fishing for 2010. Please visit FLWOutdoors.com to see an updated schedule in the near future.
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.