$1.7 million Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour to visit Venice

Second event of season to take place June 10-11

VENICE, La. – The $1.7 million Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour – the most lucrative kingfish tournament trail in the world – is headed to Venice, La., June 10-11 for the circuit’s second $300,000 event presented by Raymarine.

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.

“This could be a tournament where everyone above 20th place catches a 40-pounder,” said veteran kingfish angler Jack Wood of Wake Forest, N.C. – captain of Team Predator, who finished fifth at the FLW Kingfish Tour’s first event at Fort Pierce, Fla. “It could take a 60-pounder to win the event.

“Depending on where the bait is, boats could be going 130 miles in either direction. Hopefully, the fish are closer, but you never know. A lot of boats will go straight to the oil rigs.”

Venice Marina at 237 Sports Marina Road in Venice will host daily takeoffs and weigh-ins at 6 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 features four regular-season tournaments, each with a $300,000 purse.

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.