MILFORD, Del. – FLW Outdoors announced Thursday that the Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series tournament slated for Saturday at Cedar Creek Marina in Milford has been canceled due to National Weather Service forecasts calling for 11-foot seas and wind gusts in excess of 40 mph. With the event’s cancellation, there is just one tournament remaining in the FLW Striper Series’ inaugural season. That final qualifier will be held at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay in Cambridge, Md., Nov. 4.
It’s not too late to get in on the action, either. Openings are still available in the tournament, which has an early entry fee of $450 per team and an on-site entry fee of $500 per team. Teams ranging in size from two to four anglers may register online at FLWOutdoors.com or by calling 270-252-1000. Entries will also be accepted during on-site registration from 3 to 6 p.m. at Gootee’s Marine located at 1439 Hooper’s Island Road in Church Creek, Md.
Teams fishing the Nov. 4 tournament in Cambridge will take off from the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay at 6:30 a.m. The scales will open at the Hyatt that afternoon at 2:30. The morning start and weigh-in are free and open to the public.
The $125,000 catch-and-release tournament presented by the National Guard will award the winning team $20,000 cash, guaranteed, and as much as $50,000 cash based on boat and engine bonuses from Hydra-Sports, Seaswirl, Wellcraft, Evinrude and Yamaha. The top 25 teams in Cambridge will also advance to a three-day, no-entry-fee championship in Virginia Beach, Va., Dec. 7-9, where they will compete for a share of $150,000, including a top award of $50,000, on FSN (Fox Sports Net).
In FLW Striper Series competition, each team may weigh in two striped bass ranging in size from 28 to 34 inches (unless local regulations dictate otherwise). The fish must be kept alive in new keep-alive boxes developed by FLW Outdoors and KeepAlive Systems that will be available for purchase or rent during registration. The innovative boxes, based on proven live-release techniques, allow all FLW Outdoors striper tournaments to be catch-and-release events – thus helping to protect the nation’s striped bass population and ensure a vibrant fishery for generations to come. Teams are charged a 2-pound penalty for any fish that is not weighed in alive.
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.