Tune in Sunday, July 22, to “FLW Outdoors” on FSN (Fox Sports Net) for the $200,000 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series event presented by Evinrude in Port Aransas, Texas. The second Western Division event of the $1.9 million season will highlight the best redfish anglers in the world as they compete for a top prize of $50,000.
The “FLW Outdoors” saltwater series is a reality-format show told from the anglers’ perspective. Each week the top five teams surviving the opening-round cut are followed from takeoff to weigh-in, allowing the audience to feel the anglers’ nerves, listen to their strategies 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.
Day one of the three-day tournament tested the mettle of the field, serving up higher-than-normal tides and stiff westerly winds. The second day of the opening round provided a stark contrast, with redfish teams fishing lower waters in calmer conditions. Whether sight-fishing or blind-casting to their quarry, a common thread tied together the top five teams to qualify for the finals: The big reds were taken from shallow water.
FSN follows Kevin Shaw of Corpus Christi, Texas, and Tadd VanDemark of Key Largo, Fla., as they happen upon two schools of quality redfish to finish out the opening round. Though the teammates hadn’t intended on sight-casting at Port Aransas before the tournament, they quickly changed their game plan after finding fish in clear, shallow water. Weighing heavily on the minds of the 2006 Wal-Mart Redfish Series Championship winners, however, is whether their schools will be as productive on the final day.
But Shaw and VanDemark are not alone in the hunt for the trophy. Team Castrol, comprising Chief Tauzin and Clark Jordan of Pearland, Texas, has been steadily climbing the leaderboard since day one, leapfrogging from 11th to fourth place to make the finals and making a hard push for the win. Also within striking distance of the winner’s check are the team of Travis Holeman and Peter Young, both of Luling, La., who trailed the leaders by only 9 ounces heading into the final day of competition.
FSN broadcasts “FLW Outdoors” Sundays from 11 a.m. to noon Eastern time. Check local listings for show times and channels in your area. FLW Outdoors also provides an online guide listing upcoming episodes of “FLW Outdoors.”
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. For the latest up-to-the-minute sports news and opinions, visit the FOX Sports/FSN Web site.
“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
