HENDERSON, N.C. – Ranger Boats will host its first Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series event on Kerr Lake April 14, giving hundreds of weekend anglers an unprecedented opportunity to qualify for the 2007 Forrest Wood Cup in Hot Springs, Ark., Aug. 2-5 for a shot at winning the biggest prize in bass fishing – $1 million.
The team-format event, which offers payback through 100th place, allows Ranger boat owners to fish with friends and family members who are not Ranger owners. The top prize for the tournament is a $10,000 Ranger purchase certificate plus a berth into the Forrest Wood Cup. Second place is a $7,500 purchase certificate plus a berth into the Forrest Wood Cup. In both cases, the team boater will advance to the Forrest Wood Cup as a pro and will fish for a top award of $1 million. The boater’s partner will advance as a co-angler and will fish for a top award of $50,000. Ranger will cover travel expenses for both qualifiers and will supply them with apparel. There will also be a random drawing among the Kerr Lake competitors for a fully rigged Ranger Z20 Comanche.
“We’re extremely excited to host this pair of special events that will bring together so many Ranger owners and friends as well as newcomers who have been anxious to find out what being a member of the Ranger Family is all about,” said Keith Daffron, Ranger Boats vice president of sales.
Registration for the Kerr Lake tournament will take place from noon to 5 p.m. April 13 at Satterwhite Point State Park located at 6470 Satterwhite Road in Henderson, N.C., followed by a pretournament meeting at 6 p.m.
Anglers will launch from Satterwhite Point Marina at 7 a.m. April 14 and weigh-in at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. The tournament is hosted locally by the Vance County Tourism Department.
Entry fees are $200 per team, and entries may be made by calling FLW Outdoors at (270) 252-1000. Anglers who have fished the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series or Bassmaster Elite Series or Bassmaster Classic as a pro in 2006 or 2007 are not eligible to participate.
Table Rock Lake in Kimberling City, Mo., will host the second Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series event May 12. Both the Kerr Lake and Table Rock Lake events will be televised on FSN (Fox Sports Net), Americana Outdoors and Versus.
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, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, 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 of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.
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.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.