Hot on the heels of the BFL schedule, FLW Outdoors just released its 2008 FLW Series schedule. Again the Series will be comprised of two divisions – Eastern and Western – with four events each and an East/West fish-off to determine the 30 qualifiers for, in this case, the 2009 Forrest Wood Cup.
Entry fees remain unchanged – $3,500 for pros and $700 for co-anglers – and payout mirrors this year: $100,000 plus a potential $25,000 Ranger bonus for the winning pro, $10,000 paid down to 50th place, and $2,000 paid down to 75th.
As well, the Top 100 pros and co-anglers from each division will receive priority entry into the 2009 FLW Series, and the Top 30 pros co-anglers from each division will receive priority entry into the 2009 FLW Tour.
Here's a look at the schedule:
Eastern Division
> Jan. 23-26 -- Lake Okeechobee -- Clewiston, Fla.
> March 26-29 -- Wheeler Lake -- Decatur, Ala.
> Sept. 10-13 -- Lake Champlain -- Plattsburgh, N.Y.
> Oct. 22-25 -- Clarks Hill Lake -- Appling, Ga.
Western Division
> March 12-15 -- California Delta -- Oakley, Calif.
> May 7-10 -- Lake Mead -- Henderson, Nev.
> Sept. 17-20 -- Columbia River -- Tri-Cities, Wash.
> Oct. 8-11 -- Lake Shasta -- Redding, Calif.
Predictably, no dates conflict directly with FLW Tour dates. However, the Western Delta event is right on top of the Kissimmee Chain Bassmaster Elite Series. So a full Western Division season is out for West Coast Elite Series pros. Plus, the Mead event is sandwiched directly between the Clarks Hill and Murray Elite Series tournaments, so West Coast pros would face a plane ride and potentially limited practices – a gamble they might not want to take. That said, there are no conflicts with the Eastern division, so Elite Series pros could fish a full plate there.
