FLW Walleye Leagues

[Stickleback]

Just wondering what everyone thinks about fishing the FLW Walleye League. I was looking at the brochure and they have a great schedule in all the divisions. For the entry fee you can't beat the payback and the no entry fee League finals has a $142,000 purse. I saw on another post that they are ran just like the Walleye Tour just on a smaller scale. I'm thinking about jumping in a couple of them this year and giving them a try.

Stickle

[ebijack]

i've fished some of the MI leagues since they started... great curcuit..well run, great folks, good time...

[Juls_OH]

WAL-MART FLW WALLEYE TOUR FILLS FIELDS

$2.69 million purse, international television exposure lure record number of anglers

BENTON, Ky. (Feb. 23, 2006) - The $2.69 million Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour will kick off its 2006 season with a full field of 150 pros and 150 co-anglers competing on the Detroit River April 5-8 for a share of $503,300 cash while Lindner Media cameras capture all the action for broadcast to 380 million households in the United States and abroad.

With more than a month remaining before the start of the FLW Walleye Tour season, all four qualifying tournaments have filled to capacity. Part of the appeal for the nation's top walleye anglers is the fact that each of these tournaments and the $675,000 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship will be featured in one-hour episodes of "FLW Outdoors," which airs every Sunday at 11 a.m. Eastern time on FSN (Fox Sports Net). Each broadcast goes out to 80 million households in the United States plus 300 million households in Europe, Asia and Africa thanks to a distribution agreement with Matchroom Sport.

"The media resources dedicated to FLW Walleye Tour anglers this season are unprecedented," said Mark Dorn, director of Walleye Operations for FLW Outdoors. "Not only will FLW Walleye Tour anglers be featured in international television coverage, they will also be included on our industry-leading Web site and in the pages of FLW Outdoors Magazine, which will soon be launching a new walleye edition."

FLW Outdoors added several new sponsors this year, including the National Guard, G3 Boats and Polar Kraft, allowing the organization to offer the sport's largest cash paybacks. Pros will be fishing for top awards of $60,000 cash in every qualifier plus cash bonuses totaling $40,000 from G3, Polar Kraft, Ranger, Evinrude and Yamaha. Pros who advance to the no-entry-fee championship will fish for a top award of $100,000 plus $50,000 in bonuses. Co-angler competitors will cast for a top award of $18,000 in every qualifier and $22,000 in the championship.

While there is currently a waiting list building for pros and co-anglers at every tour stop, there are openings available in the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, which serves as a weekend qualifying circuit for the lucrative FLW Walleye Tour.

Every year the top 10 boaters and co-anglers from each of the FLW Walleye League's three divisions receive priority entry into the FLW Walleye Tour for the following season. Regular qualifier entry fees are $150 per tournament for boaters and $75 per tournament for co-anglers.

In regular-season FLW Walleye Tour events, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired and fish for a combined boat weight. The field is cut from 150 boats to 10 boats after three days of competition. The top 10 pros and co-angler continue competition on day four, and the winners are determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from all four days. One hundred and fifty points are awarded to the winner, 149 points for second, 148 points for third, and so on. The top 50 pros and top 50 co-anglers at the end of the season advance to the FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Oahe in Pierre, S.D., Oct. 4-7.

FLW Walleye Tour entry fees are $1,360 per tournament for pros and $360 per tournament for co-anglers.

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, Stratos Owners' Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $36.9 million through 241 events in 2006.

To enter an FLW Walleye Tour or FLW Walleye League tournament, 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.

$2.69 Million Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour

April 5-8 Detroit River, Trenton, Mich.

May 3-6 Mississippi River, Red Wing, Minn. - Presented by Yamaha

June 7-10 Devils Lake, Devils Lake, N.D.

July 12-15 Green Bay, Green Bay, Wis. - Presented by Evinrude

Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship

October 4-7 Lake Oahe, Pierre, S.D.


$480,380 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League

Michigan Division

April 1 Detroit River/Elizabeth Park Marina - Presented by Yamaha

May 13 Saginaw River/Independence Park

June 17 Lake Erie/Bolles Harbor

August 12-13 Saginaw Bay/Hoyles Marina - Presented by Evinrude

Minnesota Division

April 29 Mississippi River/Bay City Park

May 20 Lake Mille Lacs/Myr Mar Marina - Presented by Yamaha

June 24 Cass Lake/Break On The Lake Resort

July 22-23 Mississippi River/Covill Park - Presented by Evinrude

Wisconsin Division

April 22 Petenwell Lake/Petenwell Park - Presented by Evinrude

June 3 Wolf River Chain of Lakes/Winneconne Waterfront Park - Presented by Yamaha

July 8 Lake Winnebago/Millers Bay Menominee Park - Presented by Yamaha

July 29-30 Green Bay/Great Lakes Marina Park - Presented by Evinrude

Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Finals

September 7-9 Lake Michigan/Escanaba Harbor

[KTurner unlgd]

2 years ago I fished all 4 of MN League as a co and the final in Okoboji. Last year I fished all 4 of the MN League as a boater and the final in Winona. Both summers were great experiences and have been instrumental in helping me decide where my talent lies and what my future might hold....... Give it a try, focus on having fun realizing your on the learning curve, you can hardly go wrong..... If you have questions Sonny is great about responding and giving complete feedback. Kurt

[KTurner unlgd]

2 years ago I fished all 4 of MN League as a co and the final in Okoboji. Last year I fished all 4 of the MN League as a boater and the final in Winona. Both summers were great experiences and have been instrumental in helping me decide where my talent lies and what my future might hold....... Give it a try, focus on having fun realizing your on the learning curve, you can hardly go wrong..... If you have questions Sonny is great about responding and giving complete feedback. Kurt

[Dan(MI)]

I have no beefs with the league. They have treated us well. Give it a try.

Dan

[Dan(MI)]

I have no beefs with the league. They have treated us well. Give it a try.

Dan

[CASEY G1]

The Leagues is a great time, I highly recomend them. I got home last night and I had 8 letters in the mailbox from the FLW. 4 confirmation letters for my wife and 4 for me, yaaa hooo, let the games begin! lol

p.s. thanks again Juls

[CASEY G1]

The Leagues is a great time, I highly recomend them. I got home last night and I had 8 letters in the mailbox from the FLW. 4 confirmation letters for my wife and 4 for me, yaaa hooo, let the games begin! lol

p.s. thanks again Juls

[BobB(MI) unlogged]

Have to certainly agree with ebijack and Dan.

I can only speak for the Michigan division, but I really enjoyed fishing them the past 2 years. Cost is great with a good payout - met a ton of good folks, too.

I thought they were well run and enjoyed the circuit. Many of us joked that we almost wish we didn't have a boat as for $75, that may be the best bargain out there from the co-angler perspective.

My only wish is that the 1 day events would've been on Sunday so you could get a day of pre-fishing in without using vacation. Oh well, it was a small issue for some fun on a smaller, laid back level.

If you like the the places they are fishing, I'd eagerly encourage you to jump on in. Best of luck to you.

Bob

[BobB(MI) unlogged]

Have to certainly agree with ebijack and Dan.

I can only speak for the Michigan division, but I really enjoyed fishing them the past 2 years. Cost is great with a good payout - met a ton of good folks, too.

I thought they were well run and enjoyed the circuit. Many of us joked that we almost wish we didn't have a boat as for $75, that may be the best bargain out there from the co-angler perspective.

My only wish is that the 1 day events would've been on Sunday so you could get a day of pre-fishing in without using vacation. Oh well, it was a small issue for some fun on a smaller, laid back level.

If you like the the places they are fishing, I'd eagerly encourage you to jump on in. Best of luck to you.

Bob

[Dan Palmer]

The FLW League runs a great Tournament. My Father and I both fished them and had a great time. We even drew each other as partners once last year. Great frienships accomplished in all facets of the Trail. Go for it, Dan Palmer NPAA#345

[BAMBAM]

I was actually talked into fishing the League last year by Bob (MI) above. I fished as a Co-Angler in the Michigan League and had a great time. Bob and others really made a newcomer like me feel like I fit in with the crowd. I learned a bunch and would recommend it to anybody.

[Gilly]

Is a co-angler expected to tip the pro he or she fished with for the day? If so how much is typical? If so does this help to cover their expenses or is it more so for knowledge gained from the pro?

thanks potential newbie........

[KTurner unlgd]

Gilly - thw "tipping" issue has been beat to death over the winter so do a search and you might find some of the polar oppostie opinions that exist.

Nearly ALL of my co's last year gave me a 20 dollar bill at the end of the day. Call it a tip, a show of gratitude, bait help, whatever you want, all I can say is that it was certainly appreciated. The T-bone steak I enjoyed on them sure tasted sweet. Thanks to all my co's because I sure got lucky and had some of the best........ Kurt

[hgmeyer_unlogged]

As far as sharing expenses (the "tip" thingy) in League events... Well consider that the boater is usually a "working stiff" just like you... I always have given my boaters $20-30-40 depending on what I perceived were the costs... gas and bait.

[disdp1]

>Just wondering what everyone thinks about fishing the FLW
>Walleye League. I was looking at the brochure and they have a
>great schedule in all the divisions. For the entry fee you
>can't beat the payback and the no entry fee League finals has
>a $142,000 purse. I saw on another post that they are ran just
>like the Walleye Tour just on a smaller scale. I'm thinking
>about jumping in a couple of them this year and giving them a
>try.
>
>Stickle

Stickle,

As the reigning Co-Angler Champion, I can only tell you that I had
a blast in 05! Even thou I'm an accomplished walleye fisherman, I learned alot from those individuals I fished w/ through the year. The experience you can glean from being in the boat of a boater/pro is priceless. The entry fee is at a level where you can have a excellant time and not break the bank. Granted, some experiences are not on the par I had in 05, the biggest thing is learning from those experiences.
I fished one event in 05 where we did not catch a single walleye. I have reflected on the event numerous times. I wouldn't trade that experience for nothing. I've talked w/ the boater who I fished that event, and we've discussed many times what we'd have done differently.

I've made many a friends in 05 and had a year of memories.

I love fishing! If you decide to fish this tournament series or another, remember to have FUN! Money at this level should not be the goal. Even though placing in the money is nice, learning from experience is what your goal should be.

If you do decide to fish the league, remember to have fun first.

Dave Palecek
NPAA #102