Walmart FLW Tour pro Gary Yamamoto of Palestine, Texas, informed FLW today that he is withdrawing from next week’s Walmart FLW Tour event at Lake Hartwell due to severe neck and back pain caused by a compressed disc in his back. Yamamoto plans to return for the third Tour event of the season next month at Beaver Lake. A tournament field of 169 boats will compete in next week’s event, March 17-20 on Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina.
Yamamoto, a 15-year veteran of the FLW Tour, has fished 128 tournaments in FLW competition logging eight career top-10 finishes and more than $490,000 in career earnings. The legendary founder of Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits was inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame last week, along with Billy Murray and the 41st president of the United States, George H.W. Bush.
In FLW Tour competition, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2016 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing. The 2016 Forrest Wood Cup will be in Huntsville, Alabama, Aug. 4-7 on Wheeler Lake.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2016 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 235 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros.
By: Joe Opager, Director of Public Relations
