FLW Walleye League Visits Mississippi River
Category: Tournament
Apr 22nd, 2008 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Apr 22nd, 2008 at 12:00 AM
RED WING, Minn. (April 22, 2008) – The Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Minnesota Division will stage its first tournament of the season May 3 on the Mississippi River in Red Wing, Minn. The tournament is expected to draw as many as 200 weekend walleye anglers to the area, with Boater Division competitors casting for a top award of as much as $7,500 and co-anglers in the hunt for a top award of as much as $3,750.Anglers will take off from Bay Point Marina located at 1429 Levee Road in Red Wing at 7 a.m., and the weigh-in will be held there beginning at 3 p.m. The community is invited to attend both the takeoff and weigh-in, which are free and open to the public. The winning boater will earn as much as $7,000 cash for the win, and if the winner is the registered owner of a qualifying Ranger or G3 boat used during the event, the winner receives a $500 boat bonus for a top award of $7,500 cash. The winning co-angler will earn as much as $3,500, and if the winner is the registered owner of a qualifying Ranger or G3 boat, the winner will receive a $250 bonus for a top award of $3,750.Boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired for the event and fish for a combined boat weight. Boaters compete against other boaters, and co-anglers compete against other co-anglers. Cash payouts extend through 20th place based on a full field of 100 boats. Four FLW Walleye League divisions – Michigan, Minnesota, Heartland and Wisconsin – each feature three one-day events. Every angler who receives weight credit earns points, with 100 points awarded to the winner, 99 for second, 98 for third, and so on. These points determine angler standings.The top 30 boaters and top 30 co-anglers from each FLW Walleye League division at the end of the season advance to the $133,400 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Finals set for Sept. 11-13 on the Mississippi River in Winona, Minn. The boater and co-angler point’s champions from each division also advance to the $650,000 no-entry-fee Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship in Bismarck, N.D., Sept. 24-27 for a chance to compete for as much as $150,000 in the Pro Division and $20,000 in the Co-angler Division. Anglers finishing the season in the top 10 in each division also receive priority entry into the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour for 2009.Minnesota Division anglers will visit Cass Lake in Cass Lake, Minn., June 7. The third and final regular-season event will be on Lake Bemidji in Bemidji, Minn., July 19.To enter the May 3 tournament on the Mississippi River call 270.25.1000 or visit FLWOutdoors.com. If the tournament is not yet full, entries will also be accepted during registration, which will be held May 2 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Minnesota Army National Guard building located at 885 E. 7th St. in Red Wing. Entry fees are $300 for boaters and $150 for co-anglers. Tournament anglers aren’t the only ones winning big this season. With the introduction of FLW Fantasy Fishing™, FLW Outdoors® offers anyone the opportunity to enter for their chance to land the catch of a lifetime with the opportunity to win $7.3 million in cash and prizes. Players can become a virtual pro angler by signing up for Player’s Advantage, providing them with exclusive insider information that could guide them to a $100,000 victory at every Wal-Mart FLW Tour® stop and the Forrest Wood Cup. Player’s Advantage will give them an edge over the competition and increase their shot for a $1 million cash grand prize that will be awarded to the FLW Fantasy Fishing cumulative points winner. Those who visit FantasyFishing.com today can sign up for Player’s Advantage and FLW Outdoors will include a $15 Wal-Mart gift card. 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.For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.All awards are based on 100-boat fields in qualifying events.