Little Grey Gull wins $30,000 FLW Striper Series event

Team reels in win plus bonuses from New London, Conn., tourney

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Team Little Grey Gull, captained by Walter Anderson of

White Plains, N.Y., caught two striped bass weighing 28 pounds, 12 ounces Saturday to win $30,000 at the third stop of the Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series in New London, Conn.

“We had a plan to fish the entire eastern end of Long Island Sound,” Anderson said. “We immediately shot across the Sound and fished one side of Plum Island, then fished Plum Gut on the other. After that we went to Mattatuck on the New York side; from there we went to Horton Point before crossing Long Island Sound. We also fished Hatchett Reef and Valiant Rock.”

Little Grey Gull caught its second big fish near Valiant Rock in its last 45 minutes of fishing. “There were about 30 or 40 boats fishing there, and we caught a fish right out from under them,” Anderson said.

The team – which consists of Frank Kiernan of Madison, Conn., Keith Salisbury of Westbrook, Conn., and Scott Kesselman of Greenwich, Conn. – fished with teasers on wire line and very small and light Parachute jigs that flip more in the water.

“We had a lot of laughs and a lot of fun during the day,” Anderson said. “We did not think that we were going to win the tournament when we weighed in second or third and were put on the leaderboard. What we didn’t realize was what a difficult day everyone had. Most of the bass are still up in the rivers or in the western end of the sound and have not migrated yet – usually, they will already be there. I’d say in the next week to 10 days, they will definitely be up in the east end – they’re not going to go to summer like that.”

In accordance with tournament regulations, both fish fell within a 28- to 34-inch slot limit and were successfully weighed in alive and subsequently released to fight again.

Rounding out the top five finishers were Team Reelnice, captained by Captain Steve Nigro of Clinton, Conn. (two fish, 28 pounds, 10 ounces, $3,750); Team Bayrat, captained by Scott Barrett of Hampton, Conn. (two fish, 28 pounds, 8 ounces, $2,500); Team Lucky Stripes, captained by Michael Greene of Ship Bottom, N.J. (two fish, 28 pounds, 7 ounces, $2,250); and Team Triton/Mercury, captained by David Chieffo of Block Island, R.I. (two fish, 27 pounds, 7 ounces, $2,000).

Teams, ranging in size from two to four anglers each, compete for a guaranteed top award of $10,000 cash in each event and as much as $20,000 cash based on boat and engine bonuses from Hydra-Sports, Seaswirl, Wellcraft, Evinrude and Yamaha. The winning team is determined by the heaviest accumulated weight of two striped bass falling within a 28- to 34-inch slot limit.

The next FLW Striper Series tournament will be held at Bass River Marina in West Dennis, Mass., Aug. 9.

Entry fees are $450 per team for all entries received prior to the day of registration for each tournament. The entry fee for entries received on registration day for a tournament or on-site during tournament registration is $500 per team. Teams may register online at FLWOutdoors.com or by calling (270) 252-1000.

Tournament pros aren’t the only ones winning big this season. With the introduction of FLW Fantasy Fishing, FLW Outdoors offers anyone the opportunity to enter for their chance to land the catch of a lifetime with the opportunity to win $7.3 million in cash and prizes. Players can become a virtual pro angler by signing up for Player’s Advantage, providing them with exclusive insider information that could guide them to a $100,000 victory at every Wal-Mart FLW Tour stop and the Forrest Wood Cup. Player’s Advantage will give them an edge over the competition and increase their shot for a $1 million cash grand prize that will be awarded to the FLW Fantasy Fishing cumulative points winner. Those who visit FantasyFishing.com today can sign up for Player’s Advantage and FLW Outdoors will include a $15 Wal-Mart gift card.

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. In 2008 alone the organization is offering more than 90,000 anglers the chance to win over $40 million through 230 tournaments in 10 circuits targeting bass, walleye, redfish, kingfish and striped bass. FLW Outdoors is also taking fishing mainstream with the largest cash awards in the history of fantasy sports, $7.3 million.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.

Awards are based on a full field of 125 boats in every tournament.