FLW Series to Visit Lake Mead
Category: Tournament
Apr 16th, 2008 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Apr 16th, 2008 at 12:00 AM
HENDERSON, Nev. (April 16, 2008) – The $10 million Wal-Mart FLW Series® will visit Lake Mead in Henderson, Nev., May 7-10 for its second National Guard Western Division tournament of the season. Hosted by the City of Henderson Department of Cultural Arts and Tourism, the tournament will feature as many as 400 top bass anglers from seven states and Japan casting for top awards of $125,000 in the Pro Division and $25,000 in the Co-angler Division.”I’ve fished Lake Mead a lot and usually do pretty good there,” said Team Coppertone pro Brett Hite of Phoenix, who is coming off of back-to-back victories after winning the FLW Tour opener at Lake Toho and the FLW Series National Guard Western Division opener at the California Delta two weeks later. “Lake Mead can be tough, but I kind of like that. You’re only going for eight or 10 bites a day. They don’t have to be big ones. You don’t have to have giant stringers. You just have to catch fish every day.”Hite said anglers will concentrate their efforts on post-spawn bass with finesses baits, but some fish could be taken on reaction baits or topwater lures if the wind is right. Hite said Lake Mead’s growing smallmouth bass population could be a factor in the tournament.”Fish are going to be kind of finicky,” Hite said. “You have to have a totally different mindset for Lake Mead. It’s going to be a mentally tough thing. If you can get 10 pounds a day for three days, you’re going to be in the hunt.”Hite predicts anglers will need 30 pounds to make the top-10 cut. The key to making the cut, Hite said, is consistency.”You might have 12 pounds one day and 8 pounds the next day,” Hite said. “It goes up and down. Somebody may weigh in 15 pounds one day, but then again, you might not see 15 pounds. 40 to 42 pounds will be pretty close to winning it.”Anglers will take off from Callville Bay-Forever Resorts in Lake Mead National Recreation Area at 6:30 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 Wal-Mart store located at 300 E. Lake Mead Drive in Henderson 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 Wal-Mart. Activities in the Family Fun Zone include the Kellogg’s 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 Mead tournament is $1 million, including $10,000 through 50th place and $2,000 through 75th place in the Pro Division. Ultimately, all anglers in the tournament will also be competing for valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the BP East-National Guard West Fish-Off and a shot at advancing to the $2 million, 2009 Forrest Wood Cup, where the winning pro will earn as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award. Coverage of the Lake Mead FLW Series tournament will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program airing July 6. “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. The program airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time in most markets. Check local listings for times in your area. FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. In 2008 alone the organization is offering more than 90,000 anglers the chance to win over $40 million through 230 tournaments in 10 circuits targeting bass, walleye, redfish, kingfish and striped bass. FLW Outdoors is also taking fishing mainstream with the largest cash awards in the history of fantasy sports, $7.3 million.