MINNEAPOLIS (Oct. 27, 2009) – FLW Outdoors, the world’s leading tournament fishing organization, announced its 2010 schedules and tournament details; many of which have been modified to address the challenges many anglers are facing at all levels of the sport.

"Many of our anglers have been directly affected by the current economic downturn," said Charlie Evans, President and CEO of FLW Outdoors. "We thoroughly studied every aspect of our tournaments and carefully developed our 2010 programs to minimize the time and expense required to compete while at the same time visiting quality fisheries that will provide exciting events that anglers and fans alike will enjoy. We are confident that the adjustments we made will serve our anglers well and position the sport for continued prosperity."

The FLW Tour, whose schedule was released earlier this year and is listed below, culminates with the Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing, in Atlanta.

Feb. 10-13 Red River Shreveport, La.

March 3-6 Table Rock Lake Branson, Mo.

March 24-27 Lake Norman Charlotte, N.C.

April 21-24 Ft. Loudoun/Tellico lakes Knoxville, Tenn.

May 26-29 Lake Ouachita Hot Springs, Ark.

June 23-26 Lake Guntersville Huntsville, Ala.

Aug. 5-8 Lake Lanier Atlanta, Ga.

The FLW Tour will feature a cumulative weight format in 2010. The field of 150 pros and 150 co-anglers will compete Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with the top five pros advancing to Saturday. The total weight from the first three days will determine the winning co-angler Friday, and the total weight from all four days will determine the winning pro on Saturday. Weigh-ins will be held lakeside the first three days, moving to an arena in conjunction with the Tour’s popular Family Fun Zone and Outdoor Show on day four. Practice for each event has been condensed from four to three days – Saturday, Sunday and Monday – and tournament waters will go off-limits 13 days prior to practice, with registration on Tuesday.

The top 30 pros and co-anglers from the 2010 season will qualify for the Forrest Wood Cup. The 2010 Forrest Wood Cup champion will earn $500,000 in the pro division and $50,000 in the co-angler division, unchanged from last year. Every pro that qualifies and fishes will earn a minimum of $7,000 while every co-angler earns a minimum of $1,500.

Sponsor contingency awards are being developed with our partners and will be announced for all circuits in the near future.

The FLW Series will be adjusted with the Eastern Division being discontinued. The 2010 National Guard FLW Series will serve anglers in the Western United States and its schedule is below.

Jan. 13-16 Lake Shasta Shasta Lake, Calif.

May 5-8 Lake Roosevelt Payson, Ariz.

June 9-12 California Delta Stockton, Calif.

Sept 22-25 Lake Mead Las Vegas, Nev.

The FLW Series field of 150 pros and 150 co-anglers will compete Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with the top five pros advancing to Saturday. The total weight from the first three days will determine the winning co-angler Friday, and the total weight from all four days will determine the winning pro Saturday. Practice for each event has been condensed from four to three days – Sunday, Monday and Tuesday – and tournament waters will go off-limits six days prior to practice.

The current Stren Series will consist of four divisions in 2010 – Central, Northern, Southeast and Texas – with the Western division being discontinued. Each division will consist of three tournaments and the full schedule is below.

March 18-20 Lake of the Ozarks Osage Beach, Mo.                                           June 3-5 Potomac River Marbury, Md.

April 15-17 Lake Ouachita Mount Ida, Ark.                                                         July 15-17 Lake Champlain Plattsburgh, N.Y.

May 13-15 Kentucky Lake Gilbertsville, Ky.                                                       Sept. 9-11 Lake Erie Erie, Pa.

Feb. 25-27 Lake Okeechobee Clewiston, Fla.                                                    Jan. 7-9 Lake Falcon Zapata, Texas

April 29-May 1 Lake Eufaula Eufaula, Ala.                                                         Feb. 4-6 Sam Rayburn Jasper, Texas

Sept. 30-Oct. 2 Pickwick Lake Florence, Ala.                                                    June 17-19 Toledo Bend Manning, LA

Nov. 4-6 Wheeler Lake Decatur, Ala.

Entries for the 2010 season will be accepted by division on the following dates: Dec. 7 – Hoosier, Michigan, Music City, and Volunteer; Dec. 8 – Bulldog, Cowboy, Great Lakes, Illini and Mississippi; Dec. 9 – Bama, Buckeye, Choo Choo, Gator and Mountain; Dec. 10 – Arkie, LBL, North Carolina, Northeast and Okie; and Dec. 11 – Ozark, Piedmont, Savannah River, South Carolina and Shenandoah. Entries are accepted online at FLWOutdoors.com or by calling (270) 252-1000. Phones are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time. For additional information, visit FLWOutdoors.com.

FLW Outdoors launched National Guard FLW College Fishing in 2009 and the success has been unparalleled. The national championship for the first season will take place at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., on Fort Loudoun/Tellico lakes, April 10-12, 2010.

The 2010 schedule will consist of four qualifying events and one regional tournament in each division – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western – and is below.

March 20 Lake of the Ozarks Osage Beach, Mo.                                         March 27 Mt. Island Lake Mount Holly, N.C.

April 17 Lake Ouachita Mount Ida, Ark.                                                       June 5 Potomac River Marbury, Md.

May 15 Kentucky Lake Gilbertsville, Ky.                                                      July 17 Lake Champlain Plattsburgh, N.Y.

July 24 Mississippi River La Crosse, Wis.                                                    Sept. 11 Lake Erie Erie, Pa.

Oct. 30-Nov. 1 Lake Monroe Bloomington, Ind.                                              Nov. 6-8 Lake Jordan Raleigh, N.C.

Feb. 27 Lake Okeechobee Clewiston, Fla.                                                    Jan. 9 Lake Falcon Zapata, Texas

March 13 Old Hickory Lake Gallatin, Tenn.                                                    Feb. 6 Sam Rayburn Jasper, Texas

May 1 Lake Eufaula Eufaula, Ala.                                                                 March 6 Red River Natchitoches, La.

Oct. 2 Pickwick Lake Florence, Ala.                                                             June 19 Toledo Bend Manning, LA

Nov. 13-15 Lake Murray Columbia, S.C.                                                         Oct. 23-25 Lake Austin Austin, Texas

Jan. 16 Lake Shasta Shasta Lake, Calif.

May 8 Lake Roosevelt Payson, Ariz.

June 12 California Delta Stockton, Calif.

Sept. 25 Lake Mead Las Vegas, Nev.

Oct. 16-18 Folsom Lake Sacramento, Calif.

Full-time students at four-year institutions with a bass fishing club are eligible to compete. There is no entry fee, boats are provided and each team receives a travel allowance. Each qualifying event will accept up to 40 teams with the top five teams from each division advancing to their respective regional championship. The top five teams from each regional championship advance to the national championship. The team that takes home the national championship title qualifies for the Forrest Wood Cup.

Each team consists of two students competing for awards that are split between their bass fishing club and their respective school. Entries will be accepted online at CollegeFishing.com beginning Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 8 a.m. Central time. For additional information, please visit CollegeFishing.com.

The FLW Walleye Tour will consist of two divisions; East and West. Each division will host three tournaments with a field of 150 boats and these tournaments will culminate with the FLW Walleye Tour Championship. The schedule is listed below.

April 8-10 Detroit River Trenton, Mich.                                                                  May 20-22 Mississippi River Red Wing, Minn.

April 29-May 1 Illinois River Spring Valley, Ill.                                                        June 24-26 Lake Oahe Pierre, S.D.

July 15-17 Lake Winnebago Oshkosh, Wis.                                                          July 29-31 Devils Lake Devils Lake, N.D.

Sept. 23-25 Leech Lake Walker, Minn.

For additional information, visit www.FLWOutdoors.com.