Open letter from Charlie Evans

Dear Angler:

One of the things we take great pride in at FLW Outdoors is the fact that we listen to you – our customers – and that we are flexible enough to adjust when needed. When we made our announcement about next year’s programs during the ICAST show in Las Vegas, we felt very good about what we had planned for 2007. We make a lot of decisions every day at FLW Outdoors and our track record is pretty good, but we are not perfect, nor do we claim to be. Occasionally, we miss. After hearing from many of you it is apparent that the purses are well received but the distribution of dollars has caused some concern. This concern prompted us to go back and revisit the 2007 paybacks, and in doing so we found that we agreed with the input we were receiving. Principally that anglers should be rewarded for their performance, and that there should be a greater disparity between someone finishing 35th and someone finishing 100th. Therefore, we have revised our plan for 2007.

In that same spirit, I’d like to call your attention to the following rule concerning consultation that will apply to the FLW Tour next season:

• After the entry/balance deadline date for each tournament and during competition days, contestants may not solicit and/or receive fishing information from any noncompetitor other than publicly available information.

Additionally, regarding registration at FLW Tour events, tournament waters will be off limits beginning at 12 p.m. (noon) on Wednesday of the tournament week. Registration will be from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. and the pretournament meeting will start at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

As always, we appreciate your support, and we ask for your input so that together we can continue to move our sport forward.

Sincerely,

Charlie Evans

President/CEO