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+--- Thread: FLW Tour to open season on Lake Travis (/showthread.php?tid=307478)
FLW Tour to open season on Lake Travis - FishNews - 02-06-2007
AUSTIN, Texas - The $9.5 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour will stop in Austin, Texas, Feb. 15-18 for its first regular-season tournament, presented by Kellogg's on Lake Travis. Hosted by the Austin Sports Commission, the tournament features 400 anglers from 37 states, Australia, Japan, Spain and Italy, with 200 of the world's best bass pros fishing for a top award of $125,000 cash. Two hundred co-anglers will compete for a top award of $25,000 cash.
"Lake Travis is a deep, rocky and clear highland lake," said Kellogg's pro Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas, who has amassed more than $1.2 million in career winnings. "There's lots of rock on the shoreline and very little wood cover. Right now visibility is around four to five feet. I've seen it a lot clearer than it is right now. But it's the lake's level that is going to determine how the tournament plays out."
Lake Travis' water level is currently 36 feet lower than normal.
"We're getting a little more rain now, and the ground's wet, and there's a chance that with the right amount of rain, it could fill up pretty quickly," Wendlandt said. "If the water level really changes, it could add a whole new aspect to the tournament. If it comes up just a foot or two, it won't make a difference."
Wendlandt predicts the February tournament will be a classic prespawn pattern with the majority of bites coming on crankbaits and jerkbaits. However, warmer weather could move the fish shallow. Wendlandt estimates it will take a two-day catch of 22 pounds in the Pro Division to make the top-10 cut for the third day of competition.
Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. CST Thursday and Friday, Feb. 15-16, from Highland Lakes Marina located at 16120 Wharf Cove in Volente, Texas. Thursday and Friday's weigh-ins will also be held at Highland Lakes Marina beginning at 3 p.m.
Capitol Chevrolet located at 6200 I-35 South in Austin will host Chevy Pro Night featuring Jimmy Houston, Larry Nixon, Luke Clausen, Kim Stricker, Dion Hibdon and David Fritts from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday. These anglers, who together account for eight FLW Tour victories and more than $3 million in winnings, will visit with fans, sign autographs and pose for photos. Fans attending Chevy Pro Night at Capitol Chevrolet can also register to win fishing rods, fishing tackle, die cast Ranger boats and a trip for two to the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup championship and outdoor show in Hot Springs, Ark., where they could ultimately win a $47,000 Ranger Z20 powered by Yamaha.
Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 17-18, from Travis County Mansfield Dam Park located at 14370 Mansfield Dam Road in Austin. Saturday and Sunday's weigh-ins will be held at the Austin Convention Center located at 500 East Cesar Chavez St. in Austin beginning at 4 p.m.
Prior to the weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday, FLW Outdoors will host a free Family Fun Zone and outdoor show at the Austin Convention Center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. The Family Fun Zone is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers and review the latest products from Berkley, Lowrance, Ranger, Evinrude, Yamaha and other manufacturers while children are treated to fishing themed games and rides like the Ranger Boat simulator. The first 300 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone Saturday will also receive a free FLW Outdoors hat from KASE 101 FM. On Sunday, 98.1 KVET FM will give the first 300 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone a free rod and reel combo.
In FLW Tour 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 full field of 400 anglers competes in the two-day opening round for one of 10 slots in Saturday's competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Saturday's weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
The total purse for the Lake Travis tournament is $1 million, including $10,000 through 50th place in the Pro Division. This makes the event the most lucrative tour-level bass tournament hosted in Texas in 2007.
Coverage of the tournament will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on March 18 and 25 as part of the "FLW Outdoors" television program. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. "FLW Outdoors" is also broadcast internationally to approximately 350 million households in Europe, Africa and Asia, making it the most widely distributed weekly fishing program in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.
With a $9.5 million cash purse, including three $1 million qualifiers and three $1.5 million opens during the regular season, this is the most lucrative FLW Tour season to date. Each event leads up to the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol, which will be held Aug. 2-5 on Lake Ouachita in Hot Springs, Ark. The prestigious championship and outdoor show hosted by the Hot Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau will feature 81 pros, 81 co-anglers and bass fishing's largest cash award - a potential $1 million first-place prize for the winning pro.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 238 events in 2007.
Wal-Mart and many of America's largest and most-respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world's leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.