Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series to kick off 2007 season
Feb. 22-24 Eastern Division event to take place at Clearwater, Fla.
CLEARWATER, Fla. – The Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Eastern Division will make its first of four $200,000 regular-season stops Feb. 22-24 in Clearwater, Fla. The lucrative tournament will feature as many as 150 redfish teams casting for a top award of $25,000 cash, guaranteed, and $25,000 in Ranger, Yamaha and Evinrude bonuses.
“I’m hoping for it to really blow hard to blow the water out so we can sight fish,” said Chris Hueston of Miami, Fla., who, along with Ronald Hueston of Naples, Fla., won the 2006 Fernandina Beach event and finished the season fourth in the points standings in the Eastern Division. “That area is traditionally a better blind casting area, but if the water does get low, there can be some good sight fishing this time of year.”
Hueston said the weather will play a major factor in the Clearwater event, particularly because it is so unpredictable In February.
“This time of year, with the fronts coming in and out, you can be on fish one day, and the next day they’re gone,” Hueston said. “Nothing is set in stone until the night before the tournament.”
Hueston predicts anglers that weigh 12 pounds a day on the opening two days will make the cut to the top five on day three.
Anglers will take off at 6 each morning from Coachman Park located at 301 Drew Street in Clearwater. Weigh-ins will also be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. daily. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free, and the community is invited to attend the festivities.
The Clearwater FLW Redfish Series event is hosted by the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The winning team will receive a top award of $25,000. If Ranger contingency guidelines are met, the winning team will also receive a $12,500 cash bonus. If Yamaha or Evinrude contingency guidelines are met, the winning team will receive an additional $12,500 cash bonus for a total of $50,000.
The top 50 teams in the FLW Redfish Series based on points standings at the end of the season will advance to the $300,000 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Championship presented by BP Oct. 18-20 in Orange Beach, Ala. The winning team at the championship will earn as much as $100,000.
In FLW Redfish Series competition, 150 points are awarded to the winner, 149 for second, 148 for third, and so on. All teams that receive weight credit will receive points that determine team standings. All FLW Redfish Series events are three-day tournaments (Thursday, Friday and Saturday). The full field competes during the first two days, and the top five teams based on accumulated weight advance to day three. Final standings are determined by the total weight from all three days.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 238 events in 2007.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.