GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. — Big money and new venues highlight the 2001 Wal-Mart FLW Tour bass fishing series. This year's anglers will compete in seven high profile events for more than $4.4 million in cash.

Two new lakes — Alabama's Lake Martin (Alexander City, March 21-24) and Lake Champlain in Plattsburg, New York (Sept. 12-15)  have been added to the tour rotation. Other stops include:


  • Lake Okeechobee in Clewiston, Fla. (Jan. 24-27)

  • Pascagoula River in D'Iberville, Miss., (Feb. 14-17)

  • Beaver Lake in Rogers, Ark. (April 25-28)

  • Red River in Shreveport, La. (May 16-19)

  • Lake St. Clair in Detroit, Mich. (June 20-23)


Four of the tournaments feature $500,000 purses, while two tournaments — the Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake and the Forrest Wood Open on Lake St. Clair — boast $1 million each in cash awards. The season-ending championship on Lake Champlain will feature a $450,000 purse, including a $250,000 first place award, the largest of any bass fishing series.

The Wal-Mart Open and the Forrest Wood Open each award $200,000 for first place, and the remaining tournaments have $100,000 first place awards.

FLW Tour fields are limited to 175 pros and 175 co-anglers at each event. Anglers in both divisions compete for two days to catch the heaviest total of bass and earn a berth in the 10-angler semi-final round.

The 10 pro and co-anglers who survive the opening round cut start over in the semi-final round where they will fish for the heaviest one day total of bass. Co-angler competition concludes at the end of the semi-final round, but the top five pros again start from zero and will fish one more day in the final round to determine the winner.

In a departure from last year's points-and-pounds ranking system, which awarded points after the opening round, 200 points will be awarded to the winner of each regular season event in 2001. Second place will receive 199 points, and third place will collect 198 points. Points will be awarded in a similar fashion to each angler who weighs a fish.

The pro angler amassing the most points over the course of the season will be named the Land O'Lakes Angler of the Year and receive $25,000 plus an Evinrude-powered Ranger bass boat. The winning pro and co-angler from each tournament plus the top 44 anglers based on points in each division will qualify for the Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship.

Fishing enthusiasts nationwide can take part in the action by visiting www.flwtour.com and entering the Visa $2 Million Challenge for a chance to win $1 million if an FLW Tour competitor catches a state record largemouth, smallmouth or spotted bass during competition. The angler who catches a state record bass also will receive $1 million.

Camera crews will tape the final round of each stop for the FLW Tour television series that airs on ESPN and ESPN 2. Additionally, the final day's weigh-in at each stop will be broadcast live to more than 2,400 Wal-Mart stores nationwide.