FSN to cover $500,000 king mackerel tournament
Tune in Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008 to “FLW Outdoors” on FSN for the no-entry-fee $500,000 Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour Championship held in Biloxi, Miss. Only the top 50 teams, based on points accumulated during the four regular-season events, qualified. The final event of the $1.7 million FLW Kingfish Tour season concludes with the winning team claiming a cash prize of up to $150,000.
The “FLW Outdoors” saltwater series is a reality-format show told from the anglers’ perspective. Each week the top-five finalists 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 show until the final weigh-in results are announced.
FLW Kingfish Tour tournaments are three-day events. The entire field competes on day one and day two and the top five teams compete on day three. The winning team is determined based on the heaviest kingfish from day one or day two plus the heaviest kingfish from day three.
Captain Randy Griffin Jr. and Team M&M’s have figured something out about fishing on day one of Kingfish Tour events. They pounded out a big 51-pound, 10-ounce king mackerel on day one of the 2007 Kingfish Tour Championship to lead all competitors heading into the final round. It has been a solid year for Griffin’s crew. They started the season at Sarasota, Fla., with a top-15 finish. Then they won $100,000 at the next event at Fort Pierce, Fla. After that, they led day one at Beaufort, S.C., and ultimately finished fourth. Their day-one fish in Biloxi was the heaviest of the year and ranked 10th on the all-time heaviest list of kings caught in FLW Outdoors competition. Another smoker king in the finals would mean a $150,000-payday for Team M&M’s.
On the strength of their day-one kingfish that weighed 49 pounds, 3 ounces, Team Collins, captained by Johnny Sears of Fuquay Varina, N.C., finished the opening round in second place. Collins took advantage of the calm conditions on day one, catching their fish near an oil rig 20 miles offshore on blue runners and ribbonfish.
In third place is yet another team that is no stranger to Kingfish Tour victories. Team Hooligan, which is captained by Joe Winslow of Sunset Beach, N.C., caught the biggest kingfish on day two at 47 pounds, 15 ounces. Day one was an unmitigated disaster for Hooligan, which won the tour event in Southport, N.C., last year and placed second at Sarasota, Fla. After making what he admitted were some poor choices on fishing locations, Winslow said they struck a 10-by-10-foot submerged piling during a run toward the end of the day. He thought that ended his new boat’s duties at the championship right there, but after pulling it out of the water and checking the damage, it only had a minor nick on one of the motors. Their luck completely changed on day two when they finally caught the 47-pound, 15-ounce king on their downrigger on a big hardtail with about two and a half hours left to fish. A big catch on day three would put Hooligan in the record books as the first team ever to win two FLW Kingfish Tour titles.
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” Sunday mornings. Check local listings for show times and channels in your area.
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.
“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 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 more than $40 million through 230 events in 2008.
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 tournaments, call (270) 252-1000.
By: Dave Washburn, vp comm, FLW Outdoors
