MENOMINEE. (July 24, 2006) - The Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Wisconsin Division will stage its final regular-season event July 29-30 in Menominee, Mich. The tournament, presented by Evinrude, is expected to draw as many as 200 weekend walleye anglers to the area, with Boater Division competitors casting for a top award of as much as $5,250 and co-anglers in the hunt for a top award of as much as $2,625.
Anglers will take off at 7 each morning from Great Lakes Marina Park located at 1000 First Street in Menominee, Mich. Saturday's weigh-in will be held at Great Lakes Marina Park beginning at 3 p.m. On Sunday, the top-15 pro and co-anglers from Saturday will weigh-in at the Wal-Mart store located at 2700 Roosevelt Road in Marinette, Wis. The community is invited to attend both the takeoff and weigh-ins, which are free and open to the public.
Boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired for the event and fish for a combined boat weight. Cash payouts are based on a full field of 100 boaters and 100 co-anglers. Boaters compete against other boaters, and co-anglers compete against other co-anglers.
The winning boater will earn as much as $4,500 cash for the win, and if the winner is a registered owner of a Ranger, G3 or Polar Kraft boat used during the event, the winner receives a $750 boat bonus. The winning co-angler will earn as much as $2,250 and if the winner is a registered Ranger, G3 or Polar Kraft owner, the winner will receive a $375 bonus.
Three FLW Walleye League divisions - Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin - each feature three one-day events and one two-day Super Tournament during the regular season. Every angler who receives weight credit earns points, with 100 points awarded to the winner, 99 for second, 98 for third, and so on, except for Super Tournaments, which award 150 points to the winner, 149 for second, 148 for third, and so on. These points determine angler standings.
The top 35 boaters and 35 co-anglers from each FLW Walleye League division advance to the $141,950 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Finals, set for Sept. 7-9 on Lake Michigan in Escanaba, Mich. Anglers finishing in the top 10 in each division also receive priority entry into the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour for 2007.
If the July 29 tournament on the Mississippi River is not yet full, entries will be accepted at tournament registration, which will be held July 28 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Best Western Riverfront Inn located at 1821 Riverside Avenue in Marinette, Wis. Entry fees are $200 for boaters and $100 for co-anglers.
The Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League was created to provide the grassroots walleye angler a chance to compete in professionally administered, close-to-home tournaments with lucrative cash awards.
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, Stratos Owners' Tournament Trail, 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 exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
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 Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com