Suffolk is attempting to make the 10-man, first round cut, determined at the end of Thursday’s fishing. The top 10 professional and 10 co-anglers, based on total weight after the first two days of fishing, will advance to the second round of action on Friday. At the conclusion of Friday’s fishing, the co-angler competition is completed and the pro field is cut to five. Saturday’s final round of fishing will determine the winner of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour Pro Division, based on total catch weight for that day. In addition to $100,000, the winning pro (and co-angler) receive a berth in the Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship, presented by CITGO, September 22-25, 1999, on Ft Gibson Lake in Wagoner, Oklahoma.
The Pro Division leader at the end of Thursday’s action will receive 75 points in the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year race. The professional angler accumulating the most points through the second day of the Forrest Wood Open, sixth stop on the tour, will be featured on a nationally-distributed, special edition box of Wheaties. Superstar angler, Denny Brauer, was the first angler in history to grace the famous cereal box, having won the 1998 race.
Darrell Stevens of Roseland, Virginia, is leading the 165-man co-angler field with a five bass catch weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces. Co-anglers are competing for a share of $101,000, with $20,000 going to the winner. The big bass on day one was caught by Mickey Bruce of Buford, Georgia. His bass weighed 5 pounds, 8 ounces, good for $750. The big bass winner for the tournament will receive $1000 from Coca-Cola. The overall winner for the season will receive $5000.
Thursday’s indoor weigh-in will be held from 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. at Prairie Creek Park Marina in Bentonville, Arkansas. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Bentonville Wal-Mart Supercenter. Friday’s weigh-in begins at 5 p.m. Activities on Saturday begin at 11:30 a.m.
All tour events are scheduled to be televised on ESPN approximately two weeks after the tournament. The Wal-Mart FLW Tour Beaver Lake will be televised on ESPN, May 8, 1999, at 2:00 p.m. EDT.
The highest-finishing Ranger boat owner in the tournament will qualify to enter the $3.5 million Ranger M1 Millennium tournament, the richest bass event in history, with a $1 million first-place cash prize at stake. The Ranger owner who catches the largest bass in each division over the course of the season will also qualify for the Ranger Millennium tournament to be held in November, 1999, at a location to be named.
Sponsors of the 1999 Wal-Mart FLW Tour include: Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola, Land O’Lakes, CITGO Petroleum Products, Chevy Trucks, Uniroyal Tires, Fujifilm, EverStart Batteries, Eveready Flashlights, Black and Decker, Coleman Company, Ranger Boats, Mitchell Rods and Reels, Spiderwire, Evinrude Outboard Motors, Evinrude Electric Trolling Motors, Eagle Electronics, Timex Expedition, Wrangler, Chex Mix, Hamburger Helper, and Wheaties. The Beaver Lake event of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour is hosted by the Bentonville Advertising and Promotion Commission.