FSN to air season-opening Kingfish Tour event

Sarasota, Fla., hosts $300,000 king mackerel tournament

MINNEAPOLIS – Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour actions returns to FSN Sunday, July 27 at 11 a.m. Eastern time. The show will cover the season-opening king mackerel tournament held in Sarasota, Fla. The first event of the $1.7 million season concludes with the winning team claiming a cash prize of $45,000.

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.

FLW Kingfish Tour qualifying tournaments are three-day events. The entire field competes on day one and day two and the top five teams compete on day three. The winning team is determined based on the heaviest kingfish from day one or day two plus the heaviest kingfish from day three.

After the second day of competition, Team Hard Way, captained by Todd Korker of Jupiter, Fla., emerged as the leaders – using a catch of 40 pounds, 15 ounces to grab the top qualifying spot heading into the finals. Just as their team name would insinuate, Hard Way is traveling 3 1/2 hours to the south, which equals approximately 120 miles. As soon as they reached their primary area on day two, they had three fish on the lines. The first-place fish came in 60 feet of water on a blue runner. If the veteran team can duplicate their success on day three, they will add a second Kingfish Tour title to their already impressive resume.



Bolstered by a strong catch of 40 pounds, 14 ounces, Logan’s Run managed to stay right on the heels of Team Hard Way – finishing the opening round only one ounce behind the leaders. Capt. David Logan of Belville, N.C., said the team caught several fish after making a 100-mile one-way run to the south. Logan’s Run, who finished eighth last year in Sarasota, is catching their kings in 70 feet of water on a goggle-eye rig.

In third place is My Three Sons – the team that captured the Kingfish Tour tournament title in Sarasota in 2006. After not catching a single mackerel on day one, My Three Sons caught a 39-pound, 9-ounce fish early in the morning on day two. The fish, which was caught on a goggle-eye rig, was pulled from 55 feet of water. Like many of the leaders, the team, captained by Terry Grantham, is making a 130-mile one-way trip to the south.

FSN also follows Team Fish Fever 2/Strike Zone, who landed the tourney’s fourth-best catch at 38 pounds, 7 ounces. The team boated the king at approximately 10 a.m. on day two after making a 175-mile run towards Key West. The fishing was so good that Fish Fever 2/Strike Zone couldn’t keep their lines in the water and actually ran out of bait. Tune in Sunday to see if their area harbors one more immense mackerel.

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 website 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.