Fishing League Worldwide (FLW), the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, announced Monday its rules and entry dates for the 2018 FLW Tour. The season will consist of a 160-boat field competing in seven-regular season events and culminating with the 2018 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing, to be held on Lake Ouachita in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

“We couldn’t be more excited to get the 2018 FLW Tour season under way,” said Bill Taylor, FLW Senior Director of Tournament Operations. “We’ve put together a great seven-event regular season schedule that is a nice mix of familiar and new fisheries. The FLW Tour pros are the best anglers in the world, and we look forward to another fantastic season showcasing the finest lakes in the United States.”

Among the changes for 2018, the FLW Tour will now feature a cut to the top 30 pros – not 20 – on Day 3 of all regular-season qualifier tournaments. Pro anglers will still compete for up to $125,000 and co-anglers will be vying for up to $25,000 in each tournament including Ranger Cup contingency bonuses. Paybacks include $10,000 through 50th place on the pro side and $1,000 on the co-angler side. Entry fees are unchanged from 2017 at $31,500 for pros, who must fish all seven qualifiers, and $800 per tournament for co-anglers.

The top 40 pros from the 2018 FLW Tour will qualify for the 2018 Forrest Wood Cup, which will consist of 56 professional anglers. In addition to the top 40 pros from the Tour, qualifiers will also include the highest finishing pro from each of five U.S. divisions and the International division at the 2017 Costa FLW Series Championship, plus the top five pros not already selected as the highest finisher in a division at the 2017 FLW Series Championship, the 2018 BFL All-American boater champion, the 2018 TBF boater champion, the 2018 FLW College Fishing champion, the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup champion and the 2017 FLW Tour Angler of the Year.

Registration is now open for the top 100 pros and co-anglers from the 2017 FLW Tour, the top 10 pros and co-anglers from each division of the 2017 FLW Series, the 2017 TBF National Champion from the boater and co-angler division and the boater and co-angler champion from the 2017 BFL All-American. These anglers have until Dec. 4, 2017, to secure their priority entry. Entries from Ranger boat owners and FLW Tour sponsors will be accepted beginning Dec. 5, 2017. Pros and co-anglers who fished the full 2017 FLW Tour or a full division of the 2017 FLW Series will be accepted beginning Dec. 6, 2017, followed by TBF members beginning Dec. 7, 2017. All other entries will be accepted beginning Dec. 8, 2017. Qualified anglers can register by calling 270.252.1000 or online at FLWFishing.com.

Complete rules for the 2018 FLW Tour can be found at FLWFishing.com.

2018 Payouts:

FLW Tour Qualifiers:

Place                                   Pro            Ranger Cup                Co-angler      Ranger Cup

1                                 $100,000                   $25,000                   $20,000               $5,000

2                                     30,000                                                        7,500                         

3                                     25,000                                                        5,000                         

4                                     20,000                                                        4,000                         

5                                     19,000                                                        3,000                         

6                                     18,000                                                        2,500                         

7                                     17,000                                                        2,000                         

8                                     16,000                                                        1,800                         

9                                     15,000                                                        1,700                         

10                                   14,000                                                        1,600                         

11-20                              12,000                                                        1,500                         

21-50                              10,000                                                        1,000                         

Big Bass – Day 1               500                                                           250                         

Big Bass – Day 2               500                                                           250                         

 

Angler of the Year:          

$100,000 + 2019 Forrest Wood Cup entry

 

Co-angler of the Year:

Place                                                                        

1                                Ranger Z518C with 200 HP outboard

2                                   $10,000                               

3                                      9,000                               

4                                      8,000                               

5                                      7,000                               

6                                      6,000                               

7                                      5,500                               

8                                       5,000                               

9                                       4,500                               

10                                     4,000                               

 

Forrest Wood Cup:

Place                                   Pro                               

1                                $300,000 + 2019 Forrest Wood Cup entry

2                                    60,000                               

3                                    50,000                               

4                                    37,500                               

5                                    30,000                               

6                                    24,000                               

7                                    23,000                               

8                                     22,000                               

9                                    21,000                               

10                                  20,000                               

11-20                             15,000                               

21-56                             10,000

                                                 

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com.