Port Lavaca Redfish Series event to air May 25

FSN to televise season-opening Western Division tournament

Recie Tisdale (left) of Dickenson, Texas, and Judd Johnson of Houston, Texas, head into the finals of the Redfish Series Port Lavaca event in first place. Photo by Gary Mortenson.

May 19, 2008 • MLF • Archives

MINNEAPOLIS – Tune in Sunday, May 25, to “FLW Outdoors” on FSN for the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series event from Port Lavaca, Texas. The first of four Western Division tournaments will highlight the best redfish anglers in the world as they compete for a top prize of $50,000 cash.

The “FLW Outdoors” saltwater series is a reality-format show told from the anglers’ perspective. Each week the top-five finalists are followed from takeoff to weigh-in, allowing the audience to feel the anglers’ nerves, listen to their strategy and learn from their mistakes. The stories evolve and the suspense grows throughout the one-hour show until the final weigh-in results are announced.

Coming into the Port Lavaca event, the team of Recie Tisdale of Dickenson, Texas, and Judd Johnson of Houston had never finished higher than 10th place in any FLW Redfish Series tournament. Bolstered by a whopping 16-pound, 11-ounce day-two catch, the duo leapfrogged from a sixth-place tie to first place overall heading into the finals. Although it sounds crazy, Tisdale and Johnson are making a 200-mile roundtrip run to Corpus Christi. The team is targeting redfish in 2 feet of water, blind-casting and drift fishing with gold spoons. After two days of competition, the result is a total of four redfish weighing 31 pounds, 4 ounces.

In second place is the powerhouse redfish team of Blair Wiggins of Cocoa, Fla., and Travis Tanner of Titusville, Fla. Wiggins and Tanner have accumulated an opening-round weight of 30 pounds, 8 ounces. They’re traveling 80 miles to the south to find tournament-winning redfish. Once they reach their primary area, the two throw a combination of baits including gold spoons and shrimp-imitation plastics. Wiggins and Tanner have already made the top-five cutoff this season on the Redfish Series Eastern Division. With momentum on their side, the Florida duo is looking to steal a victory out west.

FSN also follows the redfish team of Scott Ritter of Dauphin Island, Ala., and Chad Billiot of Raceland, La. After finishing in 20th place after the first day of competition, the team qualified for the finals in dramatic fashion on day two – snagging the final top-five qualifying spot by a grand total of 1 ounce. With a two-day total weight of 28 pounds, 5 ounces Ritter and Billiot have nearly a 3-pound deficit to make up on day three. Tune in to see if the team has any magic left.

FSN broadcasts “FLW Outdoors” Sunday mornings. Check local listings for show times and channels in your area. FLWOutdoors.com also provides an online guide listing upcoming episodes on “FLW Outdoors.”

FSN is broadcast to more than 81 million homes through its network of 20 regional sports channels. Established in 1996, FSN is the only cable network that supplies national, regional and local sports programming. FSN serves as the cable TV home to 62 of the 82 MLB, NHL and NBA teams based in the United States, and produces more than 4,500 live events each year. FSN has an extensive catalog of original national programs, including “Best Damn Sports Show Period” and “Beyond the Glory” documentary series, along with national packages of collegiate sports. Based in Los Angeles, FSN is part of the vast FOX Sports television family. For the latest up-to-the-minute sports news and opinions, visit the FOX Sports/FSN Web site at www.FoxSports.com.

“FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast internationally to more than 429 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.

Tournament anglers aren’t the only ones winning big this season. With the introduction of FLW Fantasy Fishing, FLW Outdoors offers anyone the opportunity to enter for their chance to land the catch of a lifetime with the opportunity to win $7.3 million in cash and prizes. Players can become a virtual pro angler by signing up for Player’s Advantage, providing them with exclusive insider information that could guide them to a $100,000 victory at every Wal-Mart FLW Tour stop and the Forrest Wood Cup. Player’s Advantage will give them an edge over the competition and increase their shot for a $1 million cash grand prize that will be awarded to the FLW Fantasy Fishing cumulative points winner. Those who visit FantasyFishing.com today can sign up for Player’s Advantage and FLW Outdoors will include a $15 Wal-Mart gift card.

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. In 2008 alone the organization is offering more than 90,000 anglers the chance to win over $40 million through 230 tournaments in 10 circuits targeting bass, walleye, redfish, kingfish and striped bass. FLW Outdoors is also taking fishing mainstream with the largest cash awards in the history of fantasy sports, $7.3 million.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.