$7.6 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour to visit Lake Champlain for final qualifier

Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year title, trip to the $1.5 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship on line

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The $7.6 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour will wrap up its regular season in grand style on Lake Champlain in Plattsburgh, N.Y., June 21-24 with the crowning of a $100,000 champion and the 2006 Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year. For anglers on the bubble, the $900,000 tournament presented by Kellogg’s and hosted by Champlain Shores Visitors and Convention Bureau also represents one last chance to qualify for the $1.5 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship in Birmingham, Ala., Aug. 2-5 for a shot at $500,000 – the sport’s largest award.

Team Folgers pro Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, S.C., leads the Angler of the Year race with 868 points thanks to a string of top 50 finishes, including three top-30s and a $200,000 win at the Chevy Open on Lake Murray. Trailing Gagliardi by 35 points is veteran Tyson pro Jim Moynagh of Carver, Minn., who has made two top-10 appearances this season.

Other anglers in the hunt for the Angler of the Year title include Yamaha pro Matt Herren of Trussville, Ala. (832 points); Tylenol Extra Strength Rapid Release Gels pro Gabe Bolivar of Ramona, Calif. (828 points); and Weed Eater pro Ray Scheide of Russellville, Ark. (800 points).

“I feel real good about my chances,” said Gagliardi, who finished third in the Angler of the Year rankings last season. “Last year I was in the other position, trailing the points leader, and I felt a lot more pressure. I haven’t done particularly well on Champlain in the past, but I like the lake and it fits my style of fishing. The results don’t show it, but I’ve had opportunities to finish very well on Champlain, and things just didn’t go my way. All I have to do is finish in the top 35, and I don’t have to worry about what anyone else does. I win.”

Gagliardi has only finished lower than 30th once this season.

Moynah, who has finished third at the FLW Tour stop on Lake Champlain in 2002, likes his chances on the sprawling smallmouth fishery as well. A strong finish and a slip by Gagliardi could land the veteran pro his first Angler of the Year title, which comes with a $65,000 bonus that includes a new Ranger boat powered by Evinrude or Yamaha.

“Champlain is a great lake for me to be finishing the season with,” Moynah said. “For whatever reason, my FLW Tour finishes have always been very strong in June, and I feel right at home on Champlain. I’ll be ready. I’ll know what I need to do and how to do it. There is the problem, however. Anthony has me by 35 points. Even if I perform at a high level, he can hold his own and take the title. I’m not forgetting about the anglers behind me either. Matt and Gabe are right there. I love Lake Champlain, and it suits me well, but I must throw down a top-10 finish to have a shot at the Angler of the Year title. Unfortunately, even if I do that, it may not be enough.”

Both men believe it will take more than 15 pounds per day to make the top-10 cut and that bedding smallmouth will be a factor. If history is any indication, it will take exactly 32 pounds, 13 ounces to land a spot in the top 10. That is the exact weight it took during the tour’s last two stops on Lake Champlain, in 2002 and again in 2004. Interestingly, the top-50 weights were the same each of these years as well at 29 pounds, 12 ounces.

Anglers will take off at 6:30 each morning from Plattsburgh Boat Basin located at 5 Dock Street in Plattsburgh. Wednesday and Thursday’s weigh-ins will also be held at Plattsburgh Boat Basin beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 25 Consumer Square in Plattsburgh beginning at 4 p.m.

The community is invited to attend the free Family Fun Zone Friday and Saturday outside the weigh-in tent in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The Family Fun Zone, which opens at 2 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday, features interactive displays, product samples and games for the entire family to enjoy.

The full field competes in the two-day opening round for one of 10 slots in Friday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Friday’s weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Saturday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.

In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The purse for the Lake Champlain tournament includes $10,000 through 50th place in the Pro Division. Tyson will also release three tagged “Power Bass” worth $6,000 each into Lake Champlain. Any pro or co-angler competing in the tournament is eligible to catch these “Power Bass” and claim the cash award.

As part of the tournament festivities, FLW Tour anglers will be greeting fans at the Plattsburgh Wal-Mart on June 19 from 5 to 7 p.m. Among the pros participating will be Bounty Basics pro Ken Wick of Star, Idaho; Fujifilm pro Randy Blaukat of Lamar, Mo.; BFGoodrich Tires pro Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla.; Wet Ones pro Brennan Bosley of Benton, Ark.; and Tylenol Severe Allergy pro Sean Minderman of Spokane, Wash. These professional bass anglers have 30 top-10 finishes and have amassed more than $1.45 million in winnings competing in FLW Outdoors events.

Bill McBride Chevrolet, located at 5101 US Avenue in Plattsburgh, will host Chevy Pro Night featuring Larry Nixon, Dion Hibdon, Kim Stricker, David Fritts and Luke Clausen on June 21. The world-class anglers, who account for 10 FLW Tour victories and more than $2.5 million in winnings, will be signing autographs, posing for photos and answering questions from 6 to 8 p.m.

This is the most lucrative FLW Tour season to date with a $7.6 million purse, including four $900,000 events and two $1.25 million open events during the regular season. Each event leads up to the $1.5 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship and Outdoor Show presented by Castrol, which will be held Aug. 2-5 on Logan Martin Lake in Birmingham, Ala. The prestigious championship hosted by Birmingham, Pell City and St. Clair County features 48 pros, 48 co-anglers and bass fishing’s largest guaranteed cash award – a $500,000 first-place prize for the winning pro. Held in conjunction with the tournament is a world-class outdoor show featuring more than 140 exhibits. Lake Champlain is the last chance for pros to qualify for the championship.

Coverage of the Lake Champlain tournament will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on Aug. 27 and Sept. 3 as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast internationally to more than 350 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 Navy 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 Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.

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 an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.