$9.5 Million Wal-Mart FLW Tour to Visit Potomac River

$9.5 Million Wal-Mart FLW Tour to Visit Potomac River

400 anglers set to converge on nation's capital for $1 million tournament

CHARLES COUNTY, Md., May 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The $9.5 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour will stop in Charles County, Md., June 14-17 for its fifth regular-season tournament, presented by Snickers on the Potomac River. Hosted by the Charles County Economic Development and Tourism department and Greater Washington Sports Alliance, the tournament features 400 anglers from 37 states, Australia and Japan, with 200 of the world's best bass pros fishing for a top award of $125,000 cash. Two hundred co-anglers will compete for a top award of $25,000 cash.

"We couldn't have picked a better place for this tournament to be held," said Castrol team pro David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va., who tasted FLW Tour victory on the James River in Richmond, Va., in 2003 and has amassed more than $2 million in career earnings in FLW Outdoors events. "If we were to go to a lake in the summer months, it would be tough fishing. But any time you go to a river system in the summer months, the fish still bite no matter how hot it is."

Dudley said the grass in the Potomac River will not have reached its maximum height at tournament time, which will make fish more accessible to fishermen. However, Dudley said grass won't be the only target for anglers.

"There's always going to be a lot of wood in a river system," Dudley said. "Lily pads and other vegetation is everywhere. The Potomac is a body of water that whatever your strong point is in shallow-water applications, you can go catch them."

Dudley said he expects to see a lot of limits cross the weigh-in stage and believes fishermen will need 28 pounds to make Saturday's top-10 cut. Even though he grew up fishing the Potomac River, Dudley does not feel that he has an edge over other anglers in the event.

"Home-lake advantages happen when there's a deep-water bite," Dudley said. "When there's a shallow-water bite, most anglers are up to par and the home- lake advantage goes out the door. If it was a deep-cranking bite or a situation where you're fishing ledges, dropoffs or underwater points, I might have the advantage. Am I going to be the dominant, hot pick for this tournament? I doubt it. There are too many good fishermen who can fish shallow."

Dudley said the Potomac River's tides, which normally fluctuate 2 to 3 feet, will play into anglers' strategies. But he believes anglers would be better suited learning how fish react to the tides instead of running the tides.

"If you've located a lot of fish and you understand where the fish are during a high tide and where they are during a low tide, you don't have to run the tides," Dudley said. "You learn the area and where they are during the tides in a specific area and you can catch them.

"It just boils down to this," Dudley added. "Any time there's current and shallow grass, you can catch them just about any way you can think of. But this tournament will be won by flipping."

Anglers will take off at 6:30 a.m. Thursday and Friday, June 14-15, from Smallwood State Park located at 2750 Sweden Point Road in Marbury, Md. Thursday and Friday's weigh-ins also will be held at Smallwood State Park beginning at 3 p.m. Anglers will take off at 6:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, June 16-17, from Anacostia Park located at 1900 Anacostia Drive SE in Washington, D.C. Saturday and Sunday's weigh-ins will be held at the DC Armory located at 2001 E. Capitol St. in Washington, D.C., next to RFK Stadium, beginning at 4 p.m.

Prior to the weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday, FLW Outdoors will host a free Family Fun Zone and outdoor show at the DC Armory from noon to 4 p.m. each day. The Family Fun Zone is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers and review products from Berkley, Lowrance, Ranger, Evinrude, Yamaha and other manufacturers while children are treated to fishing themed games and rides like the Ranger Boat simulator. The first 300 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone Saturday will receive a free FLW Outdoors hat. On Sunday, the first 300 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone will receive a free rod and reel combo. On Sunday a member of the audience will also win a free trip for two to Hot Springs for the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup championship and Outdoor Show and a chance to win a $53,000 Ranger Z20 powered by Yamaha. Participants must be present during the 4 p.m. weigh-in Sunday to win.

In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The full field of 400 anglers competes in the two-day opening round for one of 10 slots in Saturday's competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Saturday's weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.

The total purse for the Potomac River tournament is $1 million, including $10,000 through 50th place in the Pro Division. This makes the event the most lucrative tour-level bass tournament ever hosted in the nation's capital.

Coverage of the tournament will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on July 29 and Aug. 5 as part of the "FLW Outdoors" television program. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. "FLW Outdoors" is also broadcast internationally to 429 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed fishing program in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 service members stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.

With a $9.5 million cash purse, including three $1 million qualifiers and three $1.5 million opens during the regular season, this is the most lucrative FLW Tour season to date. Each event leads up to the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol, which will be held Aug. 2-5 on Lake Ouachita in Hot Springs, Ark. The prestigious championship and outdoor show hosted by the Hot Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau will feature 81 pros, 81 co-anglers and bass fishing's largest cash award - a potential $1 million first-place prize for the winning pro.

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 241 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 http://www.walmart.com/. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit http://www.flwoutdoors.com/ or call (270) 252-1000.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: FLW Outdoors

CONTACT: Dave Washburn, Vice president of Communications of FLW
Outdoors, +1-270-252-1607

Web site: http://www.mc.flwoutdoors.com/
http://www.flwoutdoors.com/
http://www.walmart.com/

Note to Editors: Visit the FLW Outdoors Media Center at http://www.mc.flwoutdoors.com for additional information and photos.

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Profile: International Entertainment