$7.1 Million Walmart FLW Series to Visit Lake Eufaula
Category: press release
Mar 18th, 2009 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Mar 18th, 2009 at 12:00 AM
BP Eastern Division tournament to feature top bass anglers from 25 states, Japan
EUFAULA, Ala. (March 18, 2009) – The $7.1 million Walmart FLW Series® will visit Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Ala., April 1-4 for the second BP Eastern Division tournament of the season. Hosted by the Eufaula Barbour County Chamber of Commerce, the tournament will feature as many as 300 top bass anglers casting for top awards of $125,000 in the Pro Division and $25,000 in the Co-angler Division.
“Eufaula’s always been good, and I don’t expect anything other than that this time,” said Team BP pro David Walker of Sevierville, Tenn., who is 33rd in the FLW Series Eastern Division Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year points race and is leading the FLW Tour Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year points race. “I’ve just got great confidence after my first two FLW Tour events and the first FLW Series event, and once you get good confidence, you expect to do well and it just continues.”
“Lake Eufaula is a very good spinnerbait lake,” Walker added. “It’s got a lot of shallow grass. And anytime you’re searching for fish and they’re up spawning, a spinnerbait is great. Guys will also be throwing a floating worm.”
Walker said traditional ledge fishing and structure fishing also will play a part in the early April tournament and weights should be solid. Walker cited the 1997 FLW Tour event where David Fritts of Lexington, N.C., caught a whopping 21 pound-per-day average to win the event.
“I don’t look for it to be anything out of control,” Walker said. “A few guys are certainly going to catch big stringers, but it won’t be anything crazy.”
Anglers will take off from Lakepoint Resort State Park located at 104 Lakepoint Drive in Eufaula at 7 each morning. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will also be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Walmart store located at 1252 S. Eufaula Ave. in Eufaula beginning at 4 p.m. Children will also be treated to a Family Fun Zone prior to Saturday’s weigh-in from noon to 4 p.m. at Walmart. Activities in the Family Fun Zone include a trout pond, a Ranger boat simulator and assorted fishing-themed games. All activities are free and open to the public.
The entire field competes for the first three days of FLW Series events. Co-angler winners are determined on day three based on the heaviest accumulated three-day weight. The top 10 professionals continue competition on day four, and the winner is determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from all four days.
In FLW Series competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The total purse for the Lake Eufaula tournament is nearly $900,000, including $10,000 through 50th place in the Pro Division. Ultimately, all anglers in the tournament will also be competing for valuable points in the hope of qualifying for a shot at advancing to the $2.5 million, 2010 Forrest Wood Cup, where the winning pro will earn as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award.
Coverage of the Lake Eufaula FLW Series tournament will be broadcast as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast in Canada on WFN (World Fishing Network) and to more than 429 million households in the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East through a distribution agreement with Matchroom Sport, making it the most widely distributed fishing program in the world. Check local listings for broadcast times in your area.
Total awards are based on a full field of 150 boats in every tournament.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors also is taking fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $10 million in cash and prizes. Sign up for Player’s Advantage for only $10 to get your edge and win.