Tune in Sunday, Feb. 26, to “FLW Outdoors” on FSN for the conclusion of the season-opening Wal-Mart FLW Tour event from Lake Okeechobee. Watch as co-hosts Charlie Evans and Keith Lebowitz take viewers through the final weigh-in and award the winning pro angler $100,000. The one-hour show is the second of a two-part series covering the first event of the $7.6 million FLW Tour season.
The Feb. 26 show presents several mini-features with the 10 pros that made the cutoff after two days of competition. The features include pros Keith Pace of Monticello, Ark., Kelly Jordan of Mineola, Texas, Shinichi Fukae a native of Japan now living in Mineola, Texas, and Chip Harrison of Bremen, Ind.
Pace is a rising young pro on the FLW Tour. After taking his lumps as a rookie last season, Pace is determined to put his experience to work in 2006. After a difficult day one on the Big O, Pace landed a five-bass limit on day two that weighed 15 pounds, 14 ounces, narrowly qualifying him for the final round in the 10th position.
In 2005, Jordan entered the final day of the FLW Tour event on Lake Okeechobee in sixth place, nearly 10 pounds behind the leader. Jordan then produced an astonishing 30 minutes of fishing where he skyrocketed to the top of the leaderboard with a stunning catch of 23 pounds. Flipping a craw tube in Moonshine Bay, Jordan has returned to Lake Okeechobee, putting the bass fishing world on notice.
With no prior fishing experience in the U.S., Fukae won the 2004 Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year award by qualifying for the top 10 three times. Disappointed with his 2005 season, Fukae rededicated himself by practicing on the Big O for 18 days and is back with a vengeance.
FSN also speaks with Harrison, who advanced to the final round in the fifth spot. Harrison, who has fished the FLW Tour since 1996, has an excellent track record on Lake Okeechobee flipping into thick vegetation.
In addition, pro Mike Hawkes of Sabinal, Texas, participates in this edition of Fishing 101. Hawkes, who currently sits in third place in the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year race, demonstrates how to rig and throw a soft-plastic buzzbait, an excellent springtime bait.
FSN is the industry leader in providing the most up-to-date technology in TV production. FSN puts viewers in the boats with the pros, shadowing them from sunrise until the final weigh-in using innovative camera work that gives fishing fans the most intimate viewing experience available.
FSN broadcasts “FLW Outdoors” Sundays from 11 a.m. to noon ET. Check local listings for show times and channels in your area. FLWOutdoors also provides an online show guide listing what events are coming up on “FLW Outdoors.”
During each tournament show, “FLW Outdoors” hosts Charlie Evans and Keith Lebowitz go on location to provide on-the-water coverage. “FLW Outdoors” is tape-delayed to bring audiences nationwide the best tournament footage possible throughout the season.
FSN reaches 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 over 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. For the latest up-to-the-minute sports news and opinions.
“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 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 Bass Fishing League, as well as the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Stratos Owners’ 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 $36.9 million through 241 events in 2006.
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
