$9.5 Million Wal-Mart FLW Tour to Visit Lewis Smith Lake

JASPER, Ala., March 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The $9.5 million Wal-Mart(TM) FLW Tour(R) will stop in Jasper, Ala., April 3-6 for its second regular-season tournament, a $1 million event hosted by the Walker County Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The tournament will feature 400 anglers from 37 states, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Australia and Japan fishing Lewis Smith Lake for top awards of $125,000 cash in the Pro Division and $25,000 cash in the Co-angler Division. It is also the second stop of the year for the most lucrative fantasy sports league in history, FLW Fantasy Fishing(TM), which offers total awards of $7.3 million, including $100,000 cash guaranteed to the top Fantasy Fishing player following every FLW Tour stop and the Forrest Wood Cup. Fans can even become a virtual pro by signing up for Player's Advantage, which grants access to exclusive insider information that could help them earn a record $1 million as the FLW Fantasy Fishing cumulative points winner. Those who visit FantasyFishing.com, sign up for Player's Advantage and register a team of FLW Tour anglers for Lewis Smith Lake by April 2 will receive a complimentary $15 Wal-Mart gift card.

One angler likely to be on many FLW Fantasy Fishing teams for Lewis Smith Lake is Chevy pro David Fritts of Lexington, N.C. Fritts has won four FLW Tour events since 1997, including a record three wins in a single season, and finished fourth the last time FLW Outdoors visited Lewis Smith Lake (in 2006) for an FLW Series tournament. With $817,391 in career FLW Outdoors winnings, Fritts ranks 12th in the all-time leading money winner category.

"I have done really well on Lewis Smith Lake many times, but most tournaments have been in cold water conditions," Fritts said. "I have a lot of confidence going into this tournament, but it all depends on the stage the fish are in, if the fish are up on the beds, then I am going to have a tough time. If they aren't, then I will be able to catch some.

"This time of year we are getting close to the spawn. The spotted bass are going to spawn a little bit earlier than the largemouth, which may still be in pre-spawn," Fritts added. "It will be a lot different than the last time we were there in the fall with the weather being a big factor. The spotted bass are dominant in Lewis Smith, and they usually spawn in 60-degree water temperature."

Fritts said the lake should produce some good stringers and that it could take 25 to 28 pounds a day to make the cut.

"I think tubes and plastics will be the main baits," he said. "That could change, come tournament time, if we get a big rain that creates run-off. Then anglers would have to change with the conditions, using a spinnerbait or a shallow-running crankbait. Personally, my baits of choice for Lewis Smith Lake this time of year include a jerkbait and more than likely a finesse worm."

Anglers will take off at 7 each morning from Lewis Smith Dam located at 640 Powerhouse Rd. in Jasper. Thursday and Friday's weigh-ins will also be held at Lewis Smith Dam beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday's weigh-ins will be held at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, located at 2100 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. N. in Birmingham, beginning at 4 p.m.

Prior to the weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday, FLW Outdoors(R) will host a free Family Fun Zone and outdoor show at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex from noon to 6 p.m. each day. The Family Fun Zone offers fans a chance to meet their Fantasy Fishing team anglers face-to-face and review the latest products from Berkley, Lowrance, Ranger, Evinrude, Yamaha and other sponsors while children are treated to giveaways, fishing themed games and rides like the Ranger Boat simulator. Children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone Sunday will also receive a free rod and reel combo while supplies last, and one lucky member of the audience will win a new Ranger boat during the final 4 p.m. weigh-in on Sunday, April 6. Admission is free and you must be present to win.

In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The full field of 400 anglers competes in the two-day opening round for one of 10 slots in Saturday's competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Saturday's weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.

The total purse for the Lewis Smith Lake event is $1 million, including $10,000 through 50th place in the Pro Division.

Coverage of the tournament will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States as part of the "FLW Outdoors" television programs airing May 11 and May 18. "FLW Outdoors" is also broadcast in Canada on WFN (World Fishing Network) and to more than 429 million households in the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East through a distribution agreement with Matchroom Sport, making it the most widely distributed fishing program in the world. The program airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time in most markets. Check local listings for times in your area.

The FLW Tour will award $9.5 million cash to the world's top bass anglers in 2008. Regular-season competition includes three $1 million qualifiers and three $1.5 million opens. Each event takes anglers a step closer to the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol, which will be held Aug. 14-17 on Lake Murray in Columbia, S.C. The prestigious championship and outdoor show hosted by the Capital City Lake Murray County Regional Tourism Board will feature 77 pros, 77 co-anglers and bass fishing's largest cash award - a potential $1 million first-place prize for the winning pro.

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. In 2008 alone the organization is offering more than 90,000 anglers the chance to win over $40 million through 230 tournaments in 10 circuits targeting bass, walleye, redfish, kingfish and striped bass. FLW Outdoors is also taking fishing mainstream with the largest cash awards in the history of fantasy sports, $7.3 million.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player's Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.