August 12 program to highlight final Eastern Division qualifier
Tune in Sunday, August 12 to “FLW Outdoors” on FSN for the $200,000 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series event in Fernandina Beach, Fla. The fourth and final Eastern Division event of the $1.9 million season will highlight the best redfish anglers in the world as they compete for a cash prize of up to $50,000.
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.
Daniel Benson of Brandon, Fla., and Steven Howie of Saint Cloud, Fla., lead the event with a two-day total of four redfish weighing 25 pounds, 5 ounces. Benson and Howie won the Redfish Series Eastern Division Team of the Year honors in 2006 without ever cracking the top five in a tournament. Now that they’ve reached the finals in Fernandina Beach, they’re looking to add another major accomplishment to their Redfish Series résumés. To catch their fish, Benson and Howie are throwing white Berkley Gulp jerkshads to visible sand trenches along the Intracoastal Waterway. In order to claim their first win, the team will also have to contend with Tropical Storm Barry, which is forecasted to cross the state of Florida during the final day of competition.
FSN also follows the team of Al Keller and Bill Faulkner of Naples, Fla., who weighed in the biggest two-fish limit of the tournament on day two. Those fish weighed a combined 14 pounds, 2 ounces and put Keller and Faulkner in second place with a two-day total of 24 pounds, 5 ounces. The two are running to St. Augustine to fish one large area. That area contains grass islands, oyster bars and finger mullet, which is currently the key baitfish because there are no shrimp in the system.
Well known BP bass pro David Walker of Sevierville, Tenn., and his father-in-law, Jeff Simms of Punta Gorda, Fla., currently sit in the third-place position with a two-day total of 24 pounds, 1 ounce. Walker and Simms are fishing topwaters and spinnerbaits over oyster bars and points. With their experience, the two are well within striking distance of the $50,000 winner’s check.
FSN broadcasts “FLW Outdoors” Sundays from 11 a.m. to noon ET. Check local listings for show times and channels in your area.
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.
“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. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 service men and women 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 241 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 FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, call (270) 252-1000.
By: Dave Washburn, vp comm, FLW Outdoors
