GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – Record bass catches may be on tap when bass fishing’s most lucrative series kicks off its 2000 season Jan. 26 on Lake Okeechobee and 350 of the world’s best anglers square off for a share of the tournament’s $500,000 purse and a berth in the Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship.
Anglers should experience some of the best bass fishing ever on the famous lake, known for decades as “the bass factory.” In the EverStart Series tournament held on the lake Jan. 5-8, Rick Gunter of Holly Hill, Fla., landed a one-day EverStart Series record of five bass weighing 30 pounds, 5 ounces.
Anglers in the event, presented by Eagle Electronics, are returning to Lake Okeechobee for a shot at the tournament’s $100,000 first-place cash. Last year’s winner, Joel Richardson of Kernersville, N.C., and defending FLW Tour Champion, Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla., are among the elite field. In 1999, Robertson earned $250,000 for winning the FLW Tour Championship, and collected another $600,000 for winning the Ranger M1 Millennium, the richest bass tournament in history.
The event will also mark the introduction of NASCAR-like Chevy tow vehicles. Styled with vivid colors and graphics matching the Ranger Comanche fishing machines used on the final competition days, each truck is designed to feature a specific Wal-Mart FLW Tour sponsor using each sponsor’s specific colors, graphics and logos. BFGoodrich Tires, CITGO, Coleman, Energizer, EverStart, Fujifilm, Kellogg’s, Land O’Lakes, Poulan/Weed Eater, Timex, Visa USA, Wal-Mart and Wrangler will each sponsor one of the custom trucks. Other sponsors of the tour include: Black & Decker, Chevrolet, Coca-Cola, Eagle Electronics, Evinrude outboards, Mitchell, Ranger boats, Shop-Vac and Spiderline.
Coverage of the Lake Okeechobee tournament on ESPN is scheduled to air Feb. 20 at 4 p.m. EST. Additionally, the tournament’s final weigh-in will be broadcast live to the electronics department of more than 2,400 Wal-Mart stores nationwide beginning at 3:30 p.m. EST Saturday, Jan. 29.
Field sizes have been increased for 2000. A field of 175 anglers from the Professional Division and 175 from the Co-Angler Division take to the water Wednesday for two days of competition, where they will attempt to make the first-round cut. The top 10 anglers from each division advance to the second round of competition on Friday.
Roland Martin’s Marina located at 920 East Del Monte Ave. in Clewiston, Fla., is the site of each day’s 7 a.m. take-off. Weigh-ins for the first two days of competition will also be held at Roland Martin’s Marina at 3 p.m. Weigh-ins Friday, Jan. 28, and Saturday, Jan. 29, will be held at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 1005 South Sugarland Highway in Clewiston, Fla., at 5 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. respectively.
Already the most lucrative tournament series in history, the FLW Tour has increased cash awards for the fourth consecutive year, bringing the total purse for the seven-event season to $4.4 million.
Named after the founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, the FLW Tour has elevated professional fishing to new levels of national awareness since its introduction in 1996.