Final Eastern Division event features 137 redfish teams
Tune in Sunday to “FLW Outdoors” on FSN for the $200,000 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series event held in Titusville, Fla. The fourth and final Eastern Division event of the $1.9 million FLW Redfish Series season concludes with the winning team claiming a cash prize of $50,000.
The “FLW Outdoors” saltwater series is a reality-format show told from the anglers’ perspective. Each week the top four teams 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.
Teams compete for two days to determine the winner based on accumulated weight.
Tom Fragomeni of Deland, Fla., and Raymond Culver of Naples, Fla., were two anglers that opted to employ a sight-fishing strategy – stalking solitary reds in the shallows – and they lead the event after day one with two redfish weighing 14 pounds, 11 ounces. They caught their fish on Exude RT slugs in a golden bream color rigged Texas-style with a small bullet weight.
Sitting in second place after the first day of competition was Wal-Mart FLW Tour pro David Walker and his father-in-law, Jeff Simms of Punta Gorda, Fla. The two are throwing Berkley Gulp! Shrimp fished weightless on spinning tackle. While Walker, the Sevierville, Tenn., native, is better known for his bass-fishing exploits, his team had no trouble tricking redfish and ended the day with 14 pounds, 9 ounces.
Warren Girle of Longboat Key, Fla., and Billy Harris of Bradenton, Fla., finished second at the Sarasota event earlier this year and once again have located aggressive redfish. On day one, they tied for third with two redfish weighing 14 pounds, 8 ounces. Seeking redemption, watch as these redfish pros cast Mister Twister RT Slugs on day two in search of their first FLW Redfish Series victory.
FSN broadcasts “FLW Outdoors” Sundays from 11 a.m. to noon ET. Check local listings for show times and channels in your area.
FSN reaches more than 78 million homes through its network of 20 regional sports channels. FSN, based in Los Angeles, serves as the cable-TV home to 60 of the 81 MLB, NHL and NBA teams based in the United States and produces over 4,500 live events each year. In addition to home-team games, FSN telecasts a wide variety of national sports events and programming, including the “Best Damn Sports Show Period” and “Beyond the Glory.”
“FLW Outdoors” is also televised on the American Forces Network, which reaches over 800,000 service men and women stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard naval ships.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers 10 national tournament circuits offering more than $35 million in awards through 235 events in 2006. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of America’s largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including 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.
Wal-Mart and more than 40 of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the title sponsor of all FLW Outdoors events.
By: Will Brantley, communications specialist
