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New FLW Walleye League Heartland Division Kicks Off on IL River

Category: Tournament

 Mar 27th, 2008 by OutdoorsFIRST 

Modified Mar 27th, 2008 at 12:00 AM

SPRING VALLEY, Ill. (March 26, 2008) – The Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Heartland Division will stage its first tournament of the season April 5 on the Illinois River in Spring Valley, Ill. The tournament is expected to draw as many as 200 weekend walleye anglers to the area, with Boater Division competitors casting for a top award of as much as $7,500 and co-anglers in the hunt for a top award of as much as $3,750.Anglers will take off from Spring Valley Boat Club located at 13862 IL Highway 89 in Spring Valley at 7 a.m., and the weigh-in will be held there beginning at 3 p.m. The community is invited to attend both the takeoff and weigh-in, which are free and open to the public. The winning boater will earn as much as $7,000 cash for the win, and if the winner is the registered owner of a qualifying Ranger or G3 boat used during the event, the winner receives a $500 boat bonus for a top award of $7,500 cash. The winning co-angler will earn as much as $3,500, and if the winner is the registered owner of a qualifying Ranger or G3 boat, the winner will receive a $250 bonus for a top award of $3,750.Boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired for the event and fish for a combined boat weight. Boaters compete against other boaters, and co-anglers compete against other co-anglers. Cash payouts extend through 20th place based on a full field of 100 boats. Four FLW Walleye League divisions – Michigan, Minnesota, Heartland and Wisconsin – each feature three one-day events. Every angler who receives weight credit earns points, with 100 points awarded to the winner, 99 for second, 98 for third, and so on. These points determine angler standings.The top 30 boaters and top 30 co-anglers from each FLW Walleye League division at the end of the season advance to the $133,400 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Finals set for Sept. 11-13 on the Mississippi River in Winona, Minn. The boater and co-angler point’s champions from each division also advance to the $650,000 no-entry-fee Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship in Bismarck, N.D., Sept. 24-27 for a chance to compete for as much as $150,000 in the Pro Division and $20,000 in the Co-angler Division. Anglers finishing the season in the top 10 in each division also receive priority entry into the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour for 2009.Heartland Division anglers will visit Lake Rathbun in Centerville, Iowa, May 31 for their second regular-season event. The third and final stop will be held on the Mississippi River in Moline, Ill., July 12.To enter the April 5 tournament on the Illinois River call 270.25.1000 or visit FLWOutdoors.com. If the tournament is not yet full, entries will also be accepted during registration, which will be held April 4 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Hall High School located at 800 W. Erie St. in Spring Valley. Entry fees are $300 for boaters and $150 for co-anglers. Tournament anglers aren’t the only ones winning big this season. With the introduction of FLW Fantasy Fishing™, FLW Outdoors® offers anyone the opportunity to enter for their chance to land the catch of a lifetime with the opportunity to win $7.3 million in cash and prizes. Players can become a virtual pro angler by signing up for Player’s Advantage, providing them with exclusive insider information that could guide them to a $100,000 victory at every Wal-Mart FLW Tour® stop and the Forrest Wood Cup. Player’s Advantage will give them an edge over the competition and increase their shot for a $1 million cash grand prize that will be awarded to the FLW Fantasy Fishing cumulative points winner. Those who visit FantasyFishing.com today can sign up for Player’s Advantage and FLW Outdoors will include a $15 Wal-Mart gift card. 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.All awards are based on 100-boat fields in qualifying events.

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