FLW Outdoors announced the 2011 FLW American Fishing Series schedule along with the paybacks and entry fees. Pros will be competing for $35,000 and co-anglers will be vying for a new Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower outboard. If the angler is Ranger Cup qualified, the pro will also win a new Ranger 198VX with a 200-horsepower outboard and the co-angler will win an additional $5,000.
The 2011 American Fishing Series will expand to five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western – with the new Western Division replacing the FLW Series Western Division. Each division will consist of four qualifying tournaments with the season culminating with a no-entry-fee championship.
“The American Fishing Series is an extremely popular circuit, and we think the changes we’ve made will make it even more popular going forward,” said Kathy Fennel, President of FLW Outdoors Operations Division. “The American Fishing Series offers anglers the opportunity to test their skills on a variety of fisheries and provides a stepping stone to the Walmart FLW Tour.”
The 2011 season for FLW American Fishing Series is listed below.
| Central | Northern | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Fishery | Location | Date | Fishery | Location |
| March 10-12 | Lake of the Ozarks | Osage Beach, Mo. | June 23-25 | Lake Champlain | Plattsburgh, N.Y. |
| March 31 – April 2 | Kentucky Lake | Gilbertsville, Ky. | July 28-30 | 1000 Islands | Clayton, N.Y. |
| July 14-16 | Detroit River | Trenton, Mich. | Aug. 18-20 | Lake Erie | Buffalo, N.Y. |
| Oct. 6-8 | Table Rock Lake | Kimberling City, Mo. | Sept. 29 – Oct. 1 | Potomac River | Marbury, Md. |
| Southeast | Texas | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Fishery | Location | Date | Fishery | Location |
| Jan. 6-8 | Lake Okeechobee | Okeechobee, Fla. | Jan. 20-22 | Choke Canyon | Calliham, Texas |
| Feb. 24-26 | Lake Guntersville | Guntersville, Ala. | Feb. 10-12 | Sam Rayburn Reservoir | Jasper, Texas |
| April 28-30 | Lake Eufaula | Eufaula, Ala. | March 17-19 | Toledo Bend | Hemphill, Texas |
| June 9-11 | Pickwick Lake | Florence, Ala. | May 12-14 | Lake Texoma | Pottsboro, Texas |
| Western | Championship | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Fishery | Location | Date | Fishery | Location |
| Jan. 13-15 | Lake Shasta | Redding, Calif. | Oct. 27-30 | Kentucky Lake | Buchanan, Tenn. |
| Feb. 17-19 | Lake Roosevelt | Payson, Ariz. | |||
| May 5-7 | California Delta | Stockton, Calif. | |||
| Sept. 22-24 | Clear Lake | Clearlake, Calif. | |||
Anglers will compete for top awards of up to $35,000 and a Ranger boat in the pro division and a Ranger Boat plus $5,000 in the co-angler division, with awards of $1,100 and $450 extending through 50th place, respectively. Pro entry fees will be $1,000 per tournament and co-angler entry fees will be $400 per tournament. Anglers can begin registering for the circuit on Tuesday, Oct. 26.
The fields in the qualifying events will consist of 150 boats fishing Thursday and Friday and the top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers advancing to Saturday. Winners will be determined by total weight from all three days.
The no-entry-fee nationally televised championship will consist of 200 boats, the top 40 pros and co-anglers in points from each respective division, fishing the first two days of competition. The top 20 pros and co-anglers based on total weight from the first two days will advance to Saturday, with the co-angler being crowned based on total weight from the first three days. The top 10 pros will advance to Sunday, and the winner will be determined by total weight from all four days. The winning pro, who could earn $50,000 and a new Ranger boat, and co-angler, who could take home a new Ranger boat plus $5,000, will qualify to compete in the 2012 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing.
For additional details regarding paybacks, visit the FLWOutdoors website.
ABOUT FLW OUTDOORS
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000.By: Jeff McCoy, PR dir / FLW Outdoors
