FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. – The $1.9 million Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series – the most lucrative redfish tournament trail in the world – is headed to Fernandina Beach, Fla., July 13-15 for the final regular-season Eastern Division event of 2006 presented by Yamaha. 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.
“We are going to have a negative tide in the morning and that will put fish in very shallow situations,” said Yamaha pro Scott Guthrie of Jacksonville, Fla., who, along with teammate Rick Murphy of Homestead, Fla., has two wins and three top-10 finishes in FLW Redfish Series competition. “This tournament can be won by 9:30 in the morning.”
Due to a bottomed-out tide at the start of the tournament day, Guthrie believes sight-fishing with small plastics will be the key to catching quality redfish.
“There are two strategies,” he said. “The first will be throwing finesse baits the first hour of the incoming tide when the fish are feeding aggressively and then switching to gold spoons and spinnerbaits during high water.”
A lot of bait has moved into the Fernandina Beach area within the last month, according the Guthrie. He believes it will take 24 pounds to make the cut in fifth place.
Anglers will take off at 6:30 a.m. each day from Fernandina Harbor Marina. Weigh-ins on day one and day two will be held at the marina beginning at 2:30 p.m. Day three’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 1757 S. 14th St. in Fernandina Beach starting at 4 p.m.
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 Wal-Mart 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 by going to FLWOutdoors.com or by calling (270) 252-1000. Entries will also be accepted on site at tournament registration, which will be held July 12 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Fernandina Beach Woman’s Club located at 201 Jean Lafitte Blvd., in Fernandina Beach.
The Amelia Island – Fernandina Beach – Yulee Chamber of Commerce is hosting the event. For more information, visit ameliaisland.org.
Coverage of the FLW Redfish Series Fernandina Beach event will be broadcast Sept. 17 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 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.
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.