LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. (Dec. 29, 2005) - The $6 million Stren Series is headed to Lake Havasu City, Ariz., Feb. 1-4 with a record-setting full field of 200 pros signed up to compete for a share of $262,125 plus a shot at qualifying for the $1 million Stren Series Championship and the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup.
The field is the largest Stren Series Western Division field since the division's introduction in 2003 and the largest ever for a professional bass tournament held in the Western United States. While there is currently a waiting list for pros at the Lake Havasu tournament, there are openings available for co-anglers. Openings also remain for both pros and co-anglers in Stren Series Western Division tournaments scheduled on Clear Lake March 1-4, Lake Shasta March 29-April 1 and the California Delta May 3-6.
Anglers competing in the Pro Division fish for a top award worth as much as $64,500, including a 519VX Ranger powered by an Evinrude or Yamaha outboard and equipped with a Minn Kota trolling motor, Lowrance electronics, and EverStart batteries plus $10,000 cash. Pros have the chance to earn an additional $10,000 bonus from Ranger if contingency guidelines are met. Ranger awards another $3,000 to the winner if he or she is a participant in the Ranger Cup program, or $1,500 to the highest-finishing Ranger Cup participant. Yamaha matches 50 percent of Ranger Cup earnings if the participant meets "Powered by Yamaha" guidelines.
Co-angler competitors cast for a top award worth as much as $35,000, including a 519VX Ranger if contingency guidelines are met.
Competitors also compete for valuable points that could earn them a trip to the $1 million Stren Series Championship in Decatur, Ala., for a shot at $140,000 in the Pro Division and $70,000 in the Co-angler Division. The highest-finishing pro and co-angler from each division at the Stren Series Championship also earn a spot in the new $2 million 2007 Forrest Wood Cup, where top pros from the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League and Ranger owners' tournaments will compete for bass fishing's first $1 million award. Co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000 in the Forrest Wood Cup.
Anglers competing in the Stren Series Western Division opener on Lake Havasu will take off from the Lake Havasu State Park ramp at 7:30 each morning. Daily weigh-ins will also be held at the park, which is located at 699 London Bridge Road in Lake Havasu City, beginning at 3 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Two hundred pros and 200 co-anglers will compete for two days to determine the top 20 pros and top 20 co-anglers who advance to the semifinal round based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared on day three and anglers compete for 10 spots in each division in the final round. Winners on day four are determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
In Stren Series competition, pros supply the boats, fish from the front deck against other pros and control boat movement. Co-anglers fish from the back deck and compete against other co-anglers. Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points that determine angler standings. Two hundred points are awarded to the winner, 199 points for second, 198 points for third, and so on. The top 40 pros and top 40 co-anglers from each of the Stren Series' five divisions - Central, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast and Western - will advance to the $1 million Stren Series Championship on Wheeler Lake Nov. 1-4. The top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers from each division also qualify for the 2007 FLW Series, where they can compete for a share of $6.5 million.
Each Stren Series division features four regular-season tournaments. Entry fees are $750 per tournament for pros and $300 per tournament for co-anglers.
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 and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $36.5 million through 235 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. The Wal-Mart store located at 1795 Kiowa Blvd. in Lake Havasu City is the Lake Havasu tournament's host store.
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