Team Alternative earns Striper Series win

Teams qualify for no-entry-fee $150,000 championship during Quincy, Mass., event

QUINCY, Mass. – Team Alternative, captained by Julianne Silvis of Brockton, Mass., caught two striped bass weighing 28 pounds, 12 ounces Saturday to win $20,000 plus a $15,000 Yamaha bonus at the third stop of the Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series, a tournament presented by Kellogg’s, in Quincy, Mass.

“It was a pretty awesome feeling,” said Silvis, who runs a fishing guide service full-time. “We have never won a tournament like this before.”

The team, which consists of Silvis, William Bryant of Brockton and Gregory Johnston and Chris Lincoln, both of Weymouth, Mass., trolled parachute jigs on wire to catch the tournament-winning fish in 20 to 25 feet of water. Silvis said the key was to pump the jig.

“Parachute jigs have a skirt that faces forward and to the rear,” she said. “When you pull it forward and then let it go back, it looks like a squid. It’s a lot of hard work, but the reward is worth it.”

Rounding out the top five finishers were Team For-Net captained by Michael Monteforte of Charlestown, R.I. (two fish, 26 pounds, 7 ounces $1,750); Team Riptide captained by Terry Nugent of Bourne, Mass. (two fish, 25 pounds, 3 ounces, $875 plus $195 Hydra-Sports and $195 Evinrude bonuses); Team Keephers captained by Matthew Fleisher of Niantic, Conn. (two fish, 23 pounds, 11 ounces, $700 plus $146 Hydra-Sports and $146 Evinrude bonuses); and team The Liam Matthew captained by Benjamin Jesse of Plymouth, Mass. (two fish, 15 pounds, 5 ounces, $613).

The new $1 million FLW Striper Series features seven qualifying tournaments held on Saturdays plus a no-entry-fee $150,000 championship. Teams, ranging in size from two to four anglers each, compete for a guaranteed top award of $20,000 cash in each qualifier and as much as $50,000 cash based on boat and engine bonuses from Hydra-Sports, Seaswirl, Wellcraft, Evinrude and Yamaha. The winning team is determined by the heaviest accumulated weight of two striped bass falling within a 28- to 34-inch slot limit. The top 25 teams from each qualifier also advance to a three-day, no-entry-fee championship in Virginia Beach, Va., Dec. 7-9 for a shot at a top award of $50,000 cash on FSN (Fox Sports Net).

The next FLW Striper Series tournament will be held at Bass River Marina in West Dennis, Mass., Sept. 16, followed by tournaments at Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City, N.J., Sept. 30; Cedar Creek Marina in Slaughter Beach, Del., Oct. 28; and Gootee’s Marine in Cambridge, Md., Nov. 4.

Entry fees are $450 per team for all entries received prior to the day of registration for each tournament. The entry fee for entries received on registration day for a tournament or on-site during tournament registration is $500 per team. Teams may register online at FLWOutdoors.com or by calling (270) 252-1000.

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.