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Mississippi River to Host Walmart FLW Walleye League Event

Category: press release

 Apr 22nd, 2009 by OutdoorsFIRST 

Modified Apr 22nd, 2009 at 12:00 AM

RED WING, Minn. (April 22, 2009) – The Walmart FLW Walleye League Minnesota Division will stage its first tournament of the season May 2 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 $9,000 and co-anglers in the hunt for a top award of as much as $3,500.

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.

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 2009 Walmart FLW Walleye League Finals set for Sept. 17-19 on Lake Wissota in Chippewa Falls, Wis., where they will compete for a Ranger 621 powered by a 200 horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard and a Ranger Reata 1760 Angler, respectively. Anglers competing in the no-entry-fee League Finals may also participate in an optional payout that could boost boater winnings by $8,400 and co-angler winnings by $4,200 based on 120 boaters and co-anglers participating. The fee for participation in the optional payout is $300 for boaters and $150 for co-anglers. Qualifiers may elect to participate any time after qualifying through the Sept. 16 FLW Walleye League Finals pretournament meeting. Please check the online rules to view the payout table.

The boater and co-angler point’s champions from each division also advance to the no-entry-fee 2009 Walmart FLW Walleye Tour Championship in Bismarck, N.D., Sept. 30-Oct. 3 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 Walmart FLW Walleye Tour for 2010.    

Minnesota Division anglers will visit the Leech Lake in Walker, Minn., June 6. The third and final regular-season event will be on Lake Bemidji in Bemidji, Minn., July 11.

To enter the May 2 tournament on the Mississippi River call (270) 252-1000 or visit FLWOutdoors.com. If the tournament is not yet full, entries will also be accepted during registration, which will be held May 1 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Minnesota National Guard Armory located at 885 E 7th St. in Red Wing. Entry fees are $300 for boaters and $150 for co-anglers.

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.

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.