California Delta on deck for $7.1 million FLW Series

National Guard Western Division tournament to feature top bass anglers from 10 states, Japan

OAKLEY, Calif. – The $7.1 million Walmart FLW Series will visit the California Delta in Oakley, Calif., Sept. 23-26 for the third of its four stops in the National Guard Western Division circuit. Hosted by the City of Oakley, the tournament will feature as many as 300 top bass anglers casting for top awards of $125,000 in the Pro Division and $25,000 in the Co-angler Division.

“It’s tough fishing in the Delta right now,” said Team National Guard pro Justin Lucas of Folsom, Calif., who is currently ranked 10th in the National Guard Western Division. “The Delta is not normal. You used to be able to catch 3-pound fish; now it’s hard to catch anything above 2 1/2 pounds.”

Lucas believes that anglers will need to bag 10 pounds per day to get a check and 14 pounds per day to make the top-10 cut. The Delta is tide-oriented, and the biggest decision for each of the anglers will be to stay put or chase the tide.

“Either way can burn you,” said Lucas. “And I’ve been burned both ways!”

Lucas has four or five areas that he is planning to fish during the tournament and hopes that they will be enough to last three or four days. He believes there are plenty of fish; it’s just a matter of if they are feeding or not. He is hoping for a win to remain in the top 10 in the point standings in the Western Division, which will put him in position for a shot at the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup.

Anglers will take off from Russo’s Marina, located at 3995 Willow Road in Bethel Island, Calif., at 7 each morning. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will also be held at the marina beginning at 2:30 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Walmart store located at 4893 Lone Tree Way in Antioch, Calif., beginning at 4 p.m. Children will also be treated to a Family Fun Zone prior to Saturday’s weigh-in at Walmart from noon to 4 p.m. Activities in the Family Fun Zone include a 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 California Delta tournament is nearly $900,000, including $10,000 through 50th place in the Pro Division. Ultimately, all anglers in the tournament will also be competing for valuable points in the hope of qualifying for a shot at advancing to the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup, where the winning pro will earn as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award.

Coverage of the California tournament, hosted by the City of Oakley, will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS, the network which brings anglers the best fishing programming on television featuring the most-trusted authorities on the water. The Emmy-nominated “FLW Outdoors,” will air Oct. 25 from 12:30 to 1:30 ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide, including internationally through agreements with WFN (World Fishing Network) and Matchroom Sport to such countries as Canada, Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world

Total awards are based on a full field of 150 boats in every tournament.

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports. Sign up for Player’s Advantage 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.