PORT ARANSAS, Texas – The $1.9 million Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series – the most lucrative redfish tournament trail in the world – is headed to Port Aransas, Texas, May 4-6 for the second Western Division event of 2006. Up to 150 teams will be competing in the tournament, which features a $200,000 cash purse.
Anglers, competing in two-man teams, will fish for a top award of as much as $50,000. Competitors will also be vying for valuable points that could earn them a berth into the no-entry-fee, $300,000 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship in Pensacola, Fla., Oct. 19-21 for a shot at as much as $100,000.
“The fish are eager to bite this time of year,” said Team Castrol redfish pro Chief Tauzin of Kingwood, Texas. “A lot of teams will weigh fish and that’s why people like to come to this event.”
Tauzin, who finished eighth in the same event last year with his teammate, Clark Jordan of Pearland, Texas, believes the weather will be the determining factor on who wins and who comes up short.
“We’re supposed to have a lot of cloud cover and wind,” he said. “If that’s the case, it’s going to hurt those who are sight-casting and play right into the hands of the locals. You’ll have a lot of people making long drifts on popular flats, but most will target fish in 3 to 6 feet of water.”
Anglers will take off at 6:45 a.m. each morning from Port Aransas City Marina located at 710 West Ave. A in Port Aransas. Weigh-ins on day one and day two will be held at the marina beginning at 2:45 p.m. Day three’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 1920 W. Wheeler Road in Aransas Pass, Texas.
The full field will compete Thursday and Friday, and the top five teams, based on heaviest accumulated weight from the first two days, will compete on Saturday. Two redfish may be weighed in per team, per day. The winning team will be determined by the heaviest combined weight from Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The winning team earns $25,000 cash, based on a full field. If a member of the winning team is the original owner of a Ranger, Champion, Wellcraft or Hydra-Sports boat that is used during the tournament, the team will also receive a $12,500 bonus. Additionally, if a member of the winning team is the original owner of a qualifying Yamaha outboard that is used during the tournament, the team receives a $12,500 bonus from Yamaha for total award of $50,000.
Every team that receives weight credit in a tournament earns points that determine team standings. One hundred and fifty points are awarded to the winners, 149 points for second, 148 points for third, and so on. The top 50 teams from each of the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series’ two divisions – Eastern and Western – will advance to the championship.
Each FLW Redfish Series division features four regular-season tournaments.
Openings are still available for this event. Entry fees are $750 per team. Anglers may register online at FLWOutdoors.com or by calling (270) 252-1000. Entries will also be accepted on-site at tournament registration, which will be held Wednesday, May 3, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Port Aransas Civic Center located at 710 West Ave. A in Port Aransas.
Coverage of the FLW Redfish Series Port Aransas event will be broadcast June 18 to 78 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sundays at 11 a.m. Eastern time. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast internationally to more than 300 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard naval ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series, as well as the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $36.9 million through 241 events in 2006.
For more information on 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 world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information on Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.