BENTON, Ky. (Sept. 22, 2005) - FLW Outdoors, the world's premier fishing-tournament organization, announced Thursday the schedule for its 2006 Stren Series (formerly known as the EverStart Series), which ranks as one of the most popular tournament trails in the nation. The circuit's five divisions, each with four qualifying events, will visit some of the best bass fisheries in the country, including several new lakes.
With purses totaling $6.24 million, the top 40 anglers in each division advancing to one of the sport's most lucrative championships - the no-entry-fee $1 million Stren Series Championship, which is surpassed only by the $1.5 million Forrest L. Wood Championship - and event entry fees remaining unchanged at $750 for pros and $300 for co-anglers, the 2006 Stren Series promises to be more popular than ever.
The Stren Series season starts Jan. 4-7 with a Southeast Division event on Lake Okeechobee - the traditional venue for the season's first event. The most significant changes in scheduling exist in the Central Division, which begins the season on Lake Amistad Feb. 22-25, followed by events on Toledo Bend Reservoir, Lake Texoma and Sam Rayburn Reservoir. Northern Division anglers will kick off the season on Kentucky Lake June 7-10 - the farthest south the division has ever fished - before moving on to events on the Mississippi River and Detroit River. In the Western Division, anglers will enjoy the spectacular scenery of Lake Shasta March 29-April 1 - a fishery the circuit has never visited. Other top-notch fisheries on the schedule are the California Delta, Clear Lake, Lake Champlain, Lake Erie, Lake Eufaula, the Potomac River and Santee Cooper.
First place pros in every qualifying event will earn a $40,000 Ranger 519VX powered by an Evinrude or Yamaha outboard plus $10,000 cash, based on a full field of 200 boats. If the winning pro is a qualified Ranger owner, he will also earn a $10,000 bonus. Ranger Boats will award an additional $3,000 if the winning pro is a Ranger Cup participant or $1,500 to the highest-finishing Ranger Cup participant at each qualifying event in 2006. If Powered by Yamaha guidelines are met, Yamaha will award an additional 50 percent of Ranger Cup winnings. If all contingency guidelines are met, Pro Division winners could take home $64,500 in cash and merchandise. Payouts in the Pro Division extend down to 60th place, which pays $750.
Winning co-anglers earn $5,000, based on a full field, plus a $30,000 Ranger 519VX if they are qualified Ranger owners. Payouts in the Co-angler Division extend down to 60th place, which pays $300.
At the end of the regular season, the top 40 pros and top 40 co-anglers in the points standings in each division will advance to the $1 million Stren Series Championship on Wheeler Lake Nov. 1-4, where the winning pro can earn as much as $140,000 and the winning co-angler can earn as much as $70,000. The championship pays 50 places, and the 50th-place pro earns as much as $6,000.
The top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers in each division will also receive priority entry into the 2007 Wal-Mart FLW Tour.
Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points, with 200 points going to the winner, 199 for second, 198 for third, and so on. These points determine angler standings.
The format for qualifying events is slightly different in 2006 as compared to 2005. Each qualifying event is still four days in length, but after the full field competes on the first days, the top 20 pros and top 20 co-anglers start from zero and advance to the one-day semifinal round. Following the semifinal round, the top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers advance to the final day, and the two-day cumulative weight determines the winners.
Complete tournament details for the 2006 season are available online at FLWOutdoors.com, and entry dates will be announced soon.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Stren Series and eight other national tournament circuits offering a total purse in excess of $32 million through 230 events in 2006. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of America's largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series.
Wal-Mart and many of America's largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the title sponsor of all FLW Outdoors events. For more information on Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.
2006 Stren Series Schedule
Central Division
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Lake Amistad, Del Rio, Texas Feb. 22-25
Toledo Bend Reservoir, Many, La. March 22-25
Lake Texoma, Denison, Texas April 26-29
Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Jasper, Texas May 17-20
Northeast Division
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Kerr Lake, Henderson, N.C. June 14-17
Lake Erie, Cleveland, Ohio July 19-22
Potomac River, LaPlata, Md. Aug. 16-19
Lake Champlain, Plattsburgh, N.Y. Sept. 27-30
Northern Division
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Kentucky Lake, Benton, Ky. June 7-10
Mississippi River, Onalaska, Wis. July 12-15
Mississippi River, Fort Madison, Iowa Aug. 9-12
Detroit River, Trenton, Mich. Sept. 6-9
Southeast Division
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Lake Okeechobee, Okeechobee, Fla. Jan. 4-7
West Point Lake, LaGrange, Ga. Feb. 15-18
Lake Eufaula, Eufaula, Ala. March 15-18
Santee Cooper, Manning, S.C. April 19-22
Western Division
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Lake Havasu, Lake Havasu City, Ariz. Feb. 1-4
Clear Lake, Lakeport, Calif. March 1-4
Lake Shasta, Shasta Lake, Calif. March 29-April 1
California Delta, Bethel Island, Calif. May 3-6
$1 Million Stren Series Championship
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Wheeler Lake, Decatur, Ala. Nov. 1-4
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