March 18 show to highlight season-opening FLW Tour event on Lake Travis
Tune in Sunday, March 18, to “FLW Outdoors” on FSN as Charlie Evans and Keith Lebowitz host the season-opening Wal-Mart FLW Tour event from Lake Travis in Austin, Texas. The $1 million tournament, which was presented by Kellogg’s, awarded the winning bass pro a cash prize of $125,000.
The one-hour show is the first of a two-part series covering the first event of the $9.5 million FLW Tour season. The tournament featured 400 top bass anglers from 37 states, Australia, Japan, Spain and Italy.
The first tournament of the 2007 season happens to be held in the backyard of legendary angler Clark Wendlandt. With an astonishing 24 tour-level top-10 finishes, Wendlandt is clearly among the sport’s elite. On day one, the Leander, Texas, pro crushed the competition with a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 3 ounces. Wendlandt caught those fish with two key baits: a Wiggle Wart crankbait and a homemade 9/16-ounce jig. Tune in to see what the two-time Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year has in store for the remainder of the tournament.
Wendlandt isn’t the only angler catching sizeable fish on Lake Travis. Young gun Aaron Hastings of Middletown, Md., has also located a good pod of bass. After two days of competition, Hastings has caught 10 bass that weighed 21 pounds, 1 ounce. The FSN crew follows Hastings from weigh-in on day two all the way to takeoff on day three – giving fishing fans a behind-the-scenes look at how this pro prepares himself for the final round.
FSN also flashes back to 2006, a season in which Folgers pro Anthony Gagliardi came into his own, winning the FLW Tour event on Lake Murray and the prestigious Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year award. In this feature, Gagliardi rehashes his memorable year and states his goals for the 2007 season.
In addition, BP pro J.T. Kenney of Daytona Beach, Fla., participates in this edition of Fishing 101. Kenney, who has won over $420,000 in his FLW Outdoors career, demonstrates how to slowly fish a jig in deep water, a technique that many successful anglers used in the deep, central Texas impoundment.
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. FLW Outdoors also provides an online guide listing upcoming episodes on “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 website.
“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
