‘Wal-Mart FLW Outdoors’ TV airs Forrest L. Wood Championship on Lake Hamilton

World’s best bass anglers compete for the sport’s top award – $500,000

MINNEAPOLIS – Tune in Sunday, Aug. 7, to “Wal-Mart FLW Outdoors” on FSN as co-hosts Charlie Evans and Keith Lebowitz take viewers to the 2005 Forrest L. Wood Championship on Arkansas’ Lake Hamilton. The final event of the 2005 season awarded $500,000, the sport of bass fishing’s top award, to the winning pro angler.

The one-hour show is the first of a two-part series covering the season-ending event of the $7.6 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour season and concludes with the winning co-angler receiving a check for $25,000.

The show presents features with two of the hottest pros on tour – Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year Greg Hackney and Prosperity, S.C., native Anthony Gagliardi. Both anglers recently finished the best season of their respective careers, with Hackney registering two top-10 finishes and Gagliardi finishing third in the FLW Tour standings. Gagliardi placed third in last year’s championship and has greater ambitions for Lake Hamilton. Both anglers have earned more than $350,000 fishing in FLW Outdoors events.

Bryant, Ark., native Scott Suggs also gives viewers a tour of Lake Hamilton and the surrounding Hot Springs, Ark., community.

FSN also flashes back to the 2002 Forrest L. Wood Championship where Wyandotte, Okla., native John Sappington out-dueled Gerald Swindle in dramatic fashion to earn a first-place check of $260,000.

In addition, FLW Tour pro Dion Hibdon participates in this edition of Fishing 101. Hibdon, who claimed the 2000 Forrest L. Wood Championship on the Red River, shows fishing fans the nuances of catching bass under docks.

FSN is the industry leader in providing the most up-to-date technology in TV production. FSN puts viewers in the boats with the pros, shadowing them from sunrise until the final weigh-in using innovative camera work that gives fishing fans the most intimate viewing experience available.

FSN broadcasts “Wal-Mart FLW Outdoors” Sundays from 11 a.m. to noon ET. Check local listings for show times and channels in your area.

During each tournament show, “Wal-Mart FLW Outdoors” hosts Charlie Evans and Keith Lebowitz go on location to provide on-the-water coverage. While tournament weigh-ins are broadcast live at Wal-Mart stores throughout the country, “Wal-Mart FLW Outdoors” is tape-delayed to bring audiences nationwide the best tournament footage possible throughout the season.

FSN reaches more than 78 million homes through its network of 20 regional sports channels. FSN, based in Los Angeles, serves as the cable-TV home to 60 of the 81 MLB, NHL and NBA teams based in the United States and produces over 4,500 live events each year. In addition to home-team games, FSN telecasts a wide variety of national sports events and programming, including the “Best Damn Sports Show Period” and “Beyond the Glory.” For the latest up-to-the-minute sports news and opinions, visit the FOX Sports/FSN Web site at FoxSports.com.

“Wal-Mart FLW Outdoors” is also televised on the American Forces Network, which reaches over 800,000 service men and women stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard naval ships.

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers eight national tournament circuits offering more than $30 million in awards through 214 events in 2005. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of America’s largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart EverStart Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series.

Wal-Mart and more than 40 of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the title sponsor of all FLW Outdoors events. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its bass, walleye, redfish and kingfish tournament programs, browse FLWOutdoors.com.