ROCKPORT, Texas – The $1.9 million Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series – the most lucrative redfish tournament trail in the world – was headed to Rockport Friday and Saturday for the Western Division’s final regular-season tournament after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the original host site in Venice, La. The threat of another tropical system, however, has forced tournament officials to cancel the event, as Tropical Storm Rita is gaining strength and is projected to make landfall near Rockport as a hurricane by the weekend.
The cancellation, announced Monday, means the top 50 teams in the current Western Division standings will advance to the no-entry-fee $300,000 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship in Orange Beach, Ala., Oct. 27-29 where they will compete against the top 50 teams from the Eastern Division for a shot at as much as $100,000. Championship festivities had been scheduled for Mobile, Ala., prior to the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina.
Daily takeoffs and day one and two’s weigh-ins at the FLW Redfish Series Championship hosted by the city of Orange Beach will be held at Zeke’s Landing Marina located at 26619 Perdido Beach Blvd. at 7 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively. The final championship weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart located at 170 Fort Morgan Road in Gulf Shores, Ala., beginning at 3 p.m.
Teams will compete for two days to determine the top 10 teams who will compete on day three. The winning team will be determined by the heaviest combined weight from all three days. Each team is allowed to weigh two redfish per day.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and eight other national tournament circuits offering a total purse in excess of $32 million through 230 events in 2006. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of America’s largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, 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, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
Wal-Mart and many 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 on Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.