GOODWIN LEADS WAL-MART FLW SERIES EVENT ON LAKE HAVASU

LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. (Feb. 1, 2007) – Pro Mike Goodwin of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., caught a five-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 1 ounce Thursday to retain his lead in the $1 million Wal-Mart FLW Series National Guard Western Division tournament on Lake Havasu with a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 24-14.

“This is looking pretty good,” said Goodwin, who has amassed over $20,000 with FLW Outdoors. “I’m tuned in; I just have to get the bites. I have a lot of confidence in the area I am fishing. I keep getting a clutch bite late in the day that really helps me out. I hope I can do this again tomorrow.

“I didn’t change the way I was fishing at all. I fished the same baits and the same water. It seems to be working well. I just have to fish hard.”

Goodwin now holds a 3-pound, 13-ounce lead over second place pro Phil Strader of Glide, Ore., who managed to haul in a total of 10 bass weighing 21-1 during the first two days of competition.

Rounding out the top five pros are Eric McFarland of Meridian, Idaho (nine bass, 20-4); Mike Phua of Chino, Calif. (10 bass, 19-15) and Jay Yelas of Tyler, Texas (nine bass, 19-6).

“Havasu fishes really small with such a large field,” said Yelas. “I knew that I would have to find some edge on the field. I’m targeting backwater areas fishing out of a small aluminum G3 boat. I can get way back in there where the fish haven’t been pressured. As long as the water stays up, I am right where I want to be,” he said.

Dustin Baker of Lakeside, Calif., earned the day’s $488 Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 4-pound, 12-ounce bass.

Overall there were 264 bass weighing 528 pounds caught by 195 pros Thursday. The catch included 11 five-bass limits. Pros are competing this week for a top award of $125,000 plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the BP East-National Guard West Fishoff and a shot at advancing to the $2 million, 2008 Forrest Wood Cup, where the winning pro will earn as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award. The top 30 pros from both FLW Series divisions after four qualifying events are complete will advance to the East-West Fishoff, which will be held Jan. 17-19, 2008. The location for the fishoff has not yet been announced. Thirty winners from the fishoff will advance to the 2008 Forrest Wood Cup.

Larry Weaver of Long Beach, Calif., leads the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of six bass weighing 12-8 followed by Scott Jensen of New Plymouth, Idaho, in second place with five bass weighing 10-6.

“It was incredible out there today,” said Weaver, who is the only co-angler to way in a five-bass limit in this event thus far. “Fishing behind Andre Moore was quite an experience. I am very excited about tomorrow and I hope I can catch them again.”

Weaver caught one bass weighing 2 pounds while fishing with pro Danny Locatis of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., Wednesday and five bass weighing 10-8 while fishing with pro Andre Moore of Alabaster, Ala., Thursday.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Robert O’Donnell of Payson, Ariz. (two bass, 9-12); Jacques Fleischmann of Valencia, Calif. (three bass, 8-2) and Russ Snyders of San Mateo, Calif. (five bass, 7-8).

Sam Hong Moua earned $295 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 4-pound, 8-ounce bass he caught while fishing with National Guard Team Pro Clifford Pirch of Payson, Ariz.

Overall there were 103 bass weighing 214 pounds, 12 ounces caught by 195 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included one five-bass limits.

Co-anglers are competing this week for a top award of $25,000. Like the pros, the top 30 co-anglers from both FLW Series divisions after four qualifying events are complete will advance to the East-West Fishoff for a shot at the $2 million, 2008 Forrest Wood Cup.

Anglers will take off at 7:30 each morning from Lake Havasu State Park/Windsor Park located at 699 London Bridge Road in Lake Havasu City, Ariz. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 1795 Kiowa Boulevard in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., beginning at 4 p.m. Children will also be treated to a Family Fun Zone prior to Saturday’s weigh-in from noon to 4 p.m. at Wal-Mart.

Activities in the Family Fun Zone include the Fujifilm trout pond, a Ranger boat simulator and assorted fishing-themed games. All activities are free and open to the public.

In FLW Series competition, the entire field competes for the first three days, and co-angler competition concludes on day three with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated three-day weight. The top 10 professionals continue competition on day four, and the winner is determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from all four days.

FLW Outdoors historically maintains a 98 percent live release rate in all of its bass tournaments.

Coverage of the Lake Havasu FLW Series tournament will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program airing March 11. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast internationally to approximately 350 million households in Europe, Africa and Asia, making it the most widely distributed weekly 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.

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 238 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 Wal-Mart.com.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.