Two FLW Tour anglers disqualified for Okeechobee
FLW has announced the disqualification of two anglers for the Walmart FLW Tour season opener at Lake Okeechobee Feb. 6-9.
Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, S.C., and Frank Clark of Benton, Ill., were in violation of rule five of the official rules. FLW said in both cases the rules violations were inadvertent. Rule five states that 30 days prior to the first practice day pros are only permitted on tournament waters alone or accompanied by a contestant in the tournament, a member of their immediate family, approved sponsor representatives, approved youth age 18 or younger or approved media representatives.
“On Monday, Jan. 6, I was on Okeechobee practicing for the Rayovac event,” said Gagliardi, the 2006 FLW Tour Angler of the Year. “I practiced with a friend of mine from South Carolina, who was a co-angler in the Rayovac. He is not fishing the FLW Tour event. I was aware of the rule, but at the time I just didn’t think about it; it never crossed my mind. It was a careless, unintentional mistake and it won’t happen again.”
The FLW Tour field and FLW Fantasy Fishing field have both been adjusted to show a field of 178 anglers. The FLW Tour event will pay down to 88 places.
About FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2014 over the course of 229 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water.” For more information about FLW visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.