BRUNSWICK, Ga. – The $1.78 million Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series will make its first South Carolina-Georgia Division stop July 14 in Brunswick, Ga., followed by a second tournament at the same location July 15. The second event will serve as a makeup tournament for the East Florida Division stop in Fernandina Beach, Fla., that had to be canceled June 2 due to bad weather.
Teams in both events will be competing for guaranteed top awards of $30,000 cash and a shot at qualifying for the $275,000 Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series Championship.
With money like that on the line, the FLW Kingfish Series stops in Brunswick are two of the richest regional kingfish tournaments in the state. The top award includes $12,000 plus Hydra-Sports, Scarab, Seaswirl, Wellcraft, Yamaha and Evinrude contingency bonuses totaling $18,000 for a total of $30,000 regardless of field size. The highest finishing team running a Hydra-Sports, Scarab, Seaswirl or Wellcraft boat 25 feet or shorter with Evinrude or Yamaha engines will also receive a $2,000 bonus as part of the series’ new “25 and Under” contingency program. Individual trophies will also be awarded to the highest finishing competitor under 16 years old and to the highest finishing woman.
It’s not too late to get in on the action. Openings are still available in both tournaments, which have a $500 entry fee per team. Teams may register online at FLWOutdoors.com or by calling (270) 252-1000. Entries for both events will be accepted during on-site registration from 4 to 6 p.m. July 13 at the Wal-Mart located at 150 Altama Connector in Brunswick. Entries will also be accepted for the July 15 tournament at 6 p.m. July 14 at Brunswick Landing Marina located at 2429 Newcastle St. in Brunswick.
The top three teams from each tournament will advance to the three-day, $275,000 no-entry-fee Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series Championship in Orange Beach, Ala., Oct. 4-6, along with the top 16 teams (who are not already qualified) from each division’s points race. These teams will compete against qualifiers from the North Carolina, Gulf and Upper Gulf divisions for a top award of $70,000. The points champion from each division will also advance directly to the $500,000 no-entry-fee Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour Championship in Biloxi, Miss., Nov. 2-4, where they will compete against FLW Kingfish Tour teams for a top award of $150,000.
Both championships will be featured in one-hour episodes of “FLW Outdoors” broadcast to 80 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) households in the United States and more than 429 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom. This reach makes “FLW Outdoors” the most widely distributed fishing program 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.
Teams will take off from Brunswick Landing Marina at 6:30 a.m. July 14 and July 15. The scales open at 4 p.m. each day, and all teams must check in by 5 p.m.
Brunswick & The Golden Isles of Georgia Convention & Visitors Bureau is hosting the events. For more information, visit www.bgivb.com.
The next South Carolina-Georgia Division tournament will be held Aug. 4 in Beaufort, S.C., followed by the final regular-season tournament in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Sept. 8. The next East Florida Division tournament will be held June 23 in Fort Pierce, Fla. Every qualifying event features a $100,000 purse based on a full field of 100 boats.
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 Walmart.com.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.