FLW Outdoors revealed its 2008 FLW Tour schedule today, and also announced off-limits and no-info rules will be implemented next year. It also tabbed South Carolina's Lake Murray as the site of the '08 Forrest Wood Cup.
Here's a look at next year's schedule:
> Feb. 28-March 2 – Lake Toho in Kissimmee, Fla.
> April 3-6 – Lewis Smith Lake in Jasper, Ala.
> April 24-27 – Lake Norman in Charlotte, N.C. (National Guard Open)
> May 15-18 – Beaver Lake in Rogers, Ark. (Wal-Mart Open)
> June 19-22 – Fort Loudoun-Tellico Lakes in Knoxville, Tenn.
> July 10-13 – Detroit River in Detroit, Mich. (Chevy Open)
> Aug. 14-17 – Lake Murray in Columbia, S.C. (Forrest Wood Cup)
The FLW Outdoors press release stated that the new 12-day off-limits period was adopted at the request of Tour anglers. It will precede an official practice period that starts the Saturday prior to each tournament and extends through Tuesday of the tournament week.
Registration for each event will be held on a Wednesday and no competitors will be allowed on tournament waters that day. Competition will run Thursday through Sunday, with the Tour’s traditional Top-10 cut taking place following Friday’s weigh-in.
In addition, Tour anglers may not solicit or receive fishing information from anyone except confirmed tournament anglers in 2008. Anglers who make the Top-10 cut may not solicit or receive fishing information from anyone except other Top-10 anglers. During practice, pro anglers may fish only with other confirmed tournament anglers, immediate family members, approved sponsor representatives or approved media representatives.
Also new for 2008 is an adjustment to the payouts in the $1.5 million Wal-Mart, Chevy and National Guard opens that will see a greater percentage of the field receiving at least $10,000. Payouts in that amount will now extend through 75th place in the pro division.
Cash awards of $5,000 will extend through 100th place in each of the opens. Payouts in each of the Tour’s three $1 million qualifiers remain unchanged, with $10,000 cash awards extending through 50th place and $2,000 cash through 75th place. Pros finishing 76th through 100th will receive a $100 gas card from BP at each qualifier.
“All of our program enhancements for 2008 were adopted to continue to grow the sport,” said FLW Outdoors president and CEO Charlie Evans. “Our mission is to provide the absolute best tournaments possible for our anglers, our sponsors and our fans. We are having a terrific 2007 season, and 2008 promises to be even better.”
Entry fees for 2008 are unchanged at $3,500 per qualifier and $4,000 per open for pros and $700 per qualifier and $800 per open for co-anglers. The top 100 anglers from the 2007 FLW Tour and the top 30 anglers from the 2007 Wal-Mart FLW Series will have priority entry into the 2008 FLW Tour. Entry dates will be released soon.
