COLUMBIA, S.C. (Jan. 25, 2006) - The $7.6 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour will stop in Columbia, S.C., Feb. 8-11 for the $1.25 million Chevy Open, the tour's second regular-season event. Hosted by Capital City/Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism Board, the tournament features 400 anglers from 37 states, Japan and Canada, with 200 of the world's best bass pros fishing for a top award of $200,000 cash. Two hundred co-anglers will compete for a top award of $40,000 cash.
Though a February date for any tournament north of Florida often means sluggish bass and cold-water fishing patterns, the relatively mild winter up to this point has kept the waters of Lake Murray unseasonably warm. "The report lately is that the fish are biting really well," said pro Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, S.C. "Fishing is better now than I would have anticipated because of all the warm weather we've had."
Gagliardi predicted good fishing and the need for heavy limits if a pro is to be competitive at the Chevy Open. "The water is warm and the fish are up on the banks. Provided we don't get any really cold weather between now and then, the guy who wins it will probably catch over 20 pounds on the last two days."
The water level is low at this point in Lake Murray, and Gagliardi said many areas of the lake are stained. "You can catch them on whatever you want to throw. Spinnerbaits and shallow-running crankbaits should be good, and flipping will work if you can find some cover."
Anglers will take off at 7 each morning from Jake's Landing. Wednesday and Thursday's weigh-ins will also be held at Jake's Landing beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday's weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 2401 Augusta Road in Columbia beginning at 4 p.m.
The community is invited to attend the free Family Fun Zone Friday and Saturday outside the weigh-in tent in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The Family Fun Zone, which opens at 2 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday, features interactive displays, product samples and games for the entire family to enjoy.
The full field competes in the two-day opening round for one of 10 slots in Friday's competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Friday's weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Saturday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers.
This is the most lucrative FLW Tour season to date with a $7.6 million purse, including four $900,000 events and two $1.25 million open events during the regular season. Each event leads up to the $1.5 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship and Outdoor Show presented by Castrol, which will be held Aug. 2-5 on Logan Martin Lake in Birmingham, Ala. The prestigious championship hosted by Birmingham, Pell City and St. Clair County features 48 pros, 48 co-anglers and bass fishing's largest guaranteed cash award - a $500,000 first-place prize for the winning pro. Held in conjunction with the tournament is a world-class outdoor show featuring more than 140 exhibits.
Coverage of the Chevy Open tournament will be broadcast to 78 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on March 12 and March 19 as part of the "FLW Outdoors" television program. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. Eastern time. "FLW Outdoors" is also broadcast internationally to more than 300 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. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard naval ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.
The third regular-season tour event will be a stop presented by A&W Root Beer March 1-4 on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala., followed by the Wal-Mart Open powered by Tyson on Beaver Lake in Rogers, Ark., April 5-8. Kentucky Lake in Benton, Ky., will host the fifth tour stop, presented by Pedigree, May 10-13 followed by a stop presented by Kellogg's on Lake Champlain in Plattsburgh, N.Y., June 21-24.
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, 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 Stratos Owners' Tournament Trail. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $36.7 million through 241 events in 2006.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
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.
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