$1.7 million Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour to visit Fort Pierce

FORT PIERCE, Fla. – The $1.7 million Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour – the most lucrative kingfish tournament trail in the world – is headed to Fort Pierce April 1-2 for the circuit’s inaugural event presented by Yamaha. A minimum of 100 teams will be competing in the tournament, which features a $300,000 cash purse.

Competitors will fish for a top award of as much as $100,000 and valuable points that could earn them a berth into the no-entry-fee $500,000 Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour Championship in D’Iberville, Miss., Oct. 13-15 for a shot at as much as $150,000.

“April is a great time to fish South Florida,” said Rick Smith of Brunswick, Ga., a Wellcraft pro and captain of the Wild Turkey. “A lot of competitors will head south to Jupiter. The Gulf Stream comes closest to the beach there – about 3 or 4 miles – so you don’t have to get very far offshore to hit the warm water. I think 80-90 percent of the field will be fishing within 5 to 10 miles of the beach.”

Yamaha pro and six-time SKA Nationals qualifier Kirk Whorf of Raleigh, N.C., agrees with Smith that kingfish will be south of Fort Pierce and not far off the beach.

“I tend to think the winner will come from the beach,” Whorf said. “It may come south of Fort Pierce, but the beach is often where an event is won. The key will be how much the water warms between now and then. Historically, at that time of year, the Fort Pierce area will produce a winning fish of 45-50 pounds.”

Fort Pierce Marina at 1 Avenue A will host daily takeoffs and weigh-ins at 7 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.

Teams will compete for two days to determine the winner based on the largest kingfish weighed.

The winning team earns $40,000 cash, and if the team captain is the registered owner of an Aquasport, Hydra-Sports, Seaswirl or Wellcraft boat that is used during the tournament, the team receives a $30,000 bonus. Additionally, if the winning captain is the registered owner and runs Yamaha outboards during the tournament, the team receives another $30,000 bonus for a total award of $100,000 cash.

Every team that receives weight credit in a tournament earns points that determine year-end standings. Two hundred points are awarded to the winner, 199 points for second, 198 points for third, and so on. The top 50 teams at the end of the regular season will advance to the championship, where they will compete for two days for a berth in the final round of 10 teams. The championship winner is guaranteed $75,000 cash and may earn cash bonuses equaling $75,000 from Aquasport, Hydra-Sports, Seaswirl, Wellcraft and Yamaha for a total of $150,000.

The Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour – which filled its 100-boat fields in less than 48 hours after the open of registration Feb. 21 – features four regular-season tournaments, each with a $300,000 purse.

“Response to the new Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour has been so overwhelming that we are considering expanding the field size and payout for each event,” said Charlie Evans, president and CEO of FLW Outdoors. “The demand for a lucrative, professionally operated kingfish trail is obviously very high, and we do not want to exclude anglers who have a desire to compete.”

Teams interested in competing may still register for events by calling (270) 252-1000 or visiting FLWOutdoors.com. If the waiting list for events continues to rise, FLW Outdoors will consider expanding field sizes and payouts. The entry fee for each regular-season tournament is $1,500 per team.

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and seven other national tournament circuits offering a combined purse of $30 million through 214 events in 2005. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of America’s largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, EverStart Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series.

Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the title sponsor of all FLW Outdoors events. For more information on Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.