2003 season premieres Jan. 25; new shows promise more on-the-water coverage, in-depth profiles from Hank and Larry
Is there a better way to start a new season of FLW Outdoors television than with Hank Parker and Larry Nixon? Probably not. The two bass-fishing legends are locked and loaded for a big 2003 season of bringing you the world of FLW Outdoors.
Carlton Wing and Taylor Carr return as hosts of “FLW Outdoors,” which will air its first show of the 2003 season on Outdoor Life Network Jan. 25. Look for big things from the show as the crew moves the action out of the studio and into the outdoors.
“You will not see a studio this year,” Wing says. “We’re going to be on location everywhere. Fishing is an outdoor-oriented sport, and you get a much more natural feel for it in the outdoor setting. We’re really excited about it. We think we have a better feel about what we can do and how we can do it.”
That includes a flood of on-the-water tournament coverage. While tournament weigh-ins will still be broadcast live at Wal-Mart stores throughout the country, “FLW Outdoors” TV will be tape-delayed by exactly a week all year. This allows producers time to gather and package the best on-the-water tournament footage possible.
“Because we’re no longer as worried about live TV, we can focus much more on the fishing,” says Charlie Evans, FLW Outdoors executive vice president of operations and weigh-in host. “There will be very little of the actual weigh-in compared to what it used to be. All in all, it’s going to be much more educational and entertaining.”
Show producers are especially thrilled about the addition of Parker and Nixon, longtime pro anglers who have each hosted their own fishing shows previously. Parker’s role as an “FLW Outdoors” personality will be played out on the front end of tournaments as he interviews anglers preparing for FLW Tour action. Nixon, who will zero in on winning pros and their methods, will be featured in episodes to air after the conclusion of tournaments.
The likable Parker will use his talents to focus on the personalities of professional fishing as well as to find out a little about how the anglers are catching them.
“Hank has a great vision for TV,” Wing says. “He’s a fun guy to hang around with. I guess that’s why his show has been so popular.”
The knowledgeable Nixon, when he’s not in a boat competing on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, will handle much of the technique profiles for “FLW Outdoors.”
“We worked with him a little bit last year,” Wing explains. “With Larry, it was amazing to watch how easily he just sat down and got good stuff out of the anglers. He really gets into the techniques and just talks turkey with them.”
“For all of us here, it’s really exciting,” Evans says. “The sport of fishing is growing, getting stronger. One of the biggest deals for us will be tracing the action all year long on the road to Richmond (Va., site of the Jacobs Cup) and all the way up to the half-million-dollar grand prize (to the Jacobs Cup champion). It’s going to be a great year.”
Again, the new season of “FLW Outdoors” TV begins Jan. 25 on OLN. This first program will feature Parker interviewing anglers during the pre-fishing segment of the FLW Tour season opener to be held Jan. 22-25 on Lake Okeechobee, Fla.
OLN will present “FLW Outdoors” at 7 p.m. Eastern time each Saturday. Anyone who misses the Saturday prime-time airing of “FLW Outdoors” will have another chance to see that week’s program the following day, Sunday, at 1 p.m. Eastern time.
Catch the action.