The Real Deal about the FLW(by Dustin King)

FLW and Its' Benefit's

Introduction

Everyday thousands of tournament anglers back their boats down a boat ramp and load up their equipment to head out in

search of Largemouth Bass and other species of fish. These people are able to enjoy fishing due to certain programs such as FLW

also know as Forrest L. Wood. FLW is a bass fishing organization designed for people that compete in tournaments. FLW also

helps in many other ways such as restoring waterways, helping fight water pollution, and promoting wildlife fishery restoration.

FLW volunteers, and tournament fishermen give us all a chance to enjoy the water from fishing and hunting to just getting out and

having fun on a recreational boat ride.

The History of FLW and Forrest L. Wood

Forrest L. Wood was born in 1932 and raised in Flippin, Arkansas. As he grew up he loved the outdoors because his

father served as a full time game warden and he learned a lot from him. One of his first jobs was helping build Bull Shoals Dam with

his father.

On April 21, 1951 Woods married Nina Kirkland and they had four daughters. Forrest began selling cattle early in their

marriage but soon had to stop due to the drop in cattle prices and had to get a new job. Due to hard economic times Forrest had

to move to Missouri but eventually had the opportunity to move back to Arkansas to start fishing guide service on Bull Shoals

Lake, the White River, Buffalo River, and Crooked Creek. He became well known throughout the region as a top fishing guide.

Soon he began building boats known as Ranger boats named after the Army and Texas Rangers. His boats began to gain lots

of attention and by 1971 he had sold well over 1200. In 1971 Ranger boat factory had a massive fire destroying all the boats but

60 which Forrest salvaged off a deck in the burnt building. Shockingly, Ranger boats was back in operation in just 40 days! That

year Forrest L. Wood qualified for the biggest bass tournament of that time the "Bassmasters Classic". Next year the Ranger boat

was announced as " The Official Bassmaster Classic Boat" this lasted until 2000.

Even after selling Ranger boats in 1987 Forrest L. Wood was still an idol in the fishing industry and known as the "Father

of the Modern Bass Boat". Operation Bass a small unknown tournament fishing organization was purchased by Irwin L. Jacobs on

July 24,1996 and he renamed it "FLW" after the now famous ex owner of Ranger Boats. This was the beginning steps to change

competitive fishing forever. Jacobs wanted his organization to be a complete tournament trail to promote fishing for all levels. He

wanted to give the normal weekend anglers the opportunity to move up through the ranks in his tournament trails and have the

opportunity to fish at the pro level so many have dreamed about. FLW celebrated its' 10th anniversary in 2005 by increasing

payouts in tournaments to unheard of levels in competitive bass fishing.In 2007 Scott Suggs from Bryant,Arkansas won the Forrest

L. Wood Cup which was worth total prize money of $1million dollars making this the largest payout ever in bass fishing

tournament history.

Present Day FLW

FLW is the largest tournament fishing organization now hosting over 230 fishing tournaments in one year with total payouts

well over $33 million dollars throughout the year. These tournaments include the first saltwater sport fishing tournament trails

known as the "Kingfish Tour" and the "Redfish Tour". This organization also is the new leader in fantasy sports know as "FLW

Fantasy Fishing" where fans of FLW fishing series get to pick anglers to be on their fantasy team. The winner of these fantasy

tournaments will win checks $100,000, $200,000, and $500,000, depending on which event they win! These payouts are the

highest in any fantasy sports league.At the end of the FLW bass fishing season top anglers get to compete in the biggest bass

tournament in the fishing industry know as the "Forrest L. Wood Cup" the winner of the event will win a 1st place prize of $1

million dollars and become known throughout the fishing industry. A win in this tournament can take a once unknown "rookie"

angler and instantly turn them into a fishing star making him or her and instant millionaire. In 2007, the Forrest L. Wood Cup was

broadcast into more than 509million homes making it one of the most watched sporting events ever.

Why I Care About FLW

When I was 12 years old I fished my very first bass tournament. This was something that I will never forget and it instilled

in me a love for competitive fishing that has turned me into the person I am today. At the end of my first tournament I won $750

and realized that I could do what I love, which was fish, and earn money doing so. This was just a local tournament but I knew that

eventually I would fish in bigger tournaments such as FLW and B.A.S.S trails. Now that I am 20, I currently fish for a living and

thanks to FLW I have the opportunity to do what I love and get paid for it. FLW has turned what was once just a "weekend

getaway" into something guy's and girl's can earn money doing and give us all a chance to chase our dreams. Thanks to FLW we

now have tournaments aired on TV's and computers all across the country can watch our weigh-in live, this gives us a stage to

promote ourselves as well as companies that sponsor us. I currently have several sponsors such as Go2Bait Company, and Secret

Weapon Lures, thanks to FLW, I can now get their products on a national level. FLW also started the first collegiate fishing trial. I

am currently a member of Jacksonville State Universities fishing team and have the opportunity to travel all across the south

representing our school on a national level. I just recently returned from fishing Lake Okeechobee in south Florida where we

finished 23rd and beat colleges such as University of Tennessee, South Carolina, and University of North Alabama and will be

traveling to south Georgia in May to fish Lake Seminole and represent our college there as well. I personally believe this is a great

way to promote our school and recruit new students!

How FLW Help's You and Why You Should Care

Have you ever went to the river or lake on a hot summer day and decided to take a swim or go on a boat ride? If so you

have more than likely benefited from FLW and the money it raises from tournament anglers like myself. Every year FLW donates

money to help promote waterways and preserve aquatic wildlife through groups such as Fish America Foundation. Without funds

from organizations such as FLW our waters could become so polluted that I may no longer be able to fish and other people like

yourself and your family may not be able to get out and enjoy a nice relaxing swim or boat ride. FLW also mandates a "catch and

release" program for every tournament and has an impressive 98% of fish caught in tournaments released back into the water

unharmed. FLW stands firmly next to its' organizational motto which is "Leaving communities in better shape than we found it".

FLW staff and volunteers like myself often attend functions at schools and in communities to donate our time and efforts to

educate the younger generation of people on the importance of keeping our waters clean so that everyone can enjoy them for

many years to come. FLW staff also make regular trips to hospitals such as Children's Hospital in order to boost the moral of sick

and handicap children in the communities. FLW is fully devoted on helping the community and providing opportunity to

disadvantaged and handicap children in the inner-city in order to instill in them a love for the outdoors and keep them from making

choices that could harm their life in the future. FLW staff and volunteers want to make sure every child leaves with the same love

for the outdoors that we have.

How To Support FLW

There are many ways a person can support FLW. Doing things such as paying yearly membership fees to join FLW gives

the organization the funds it needs to help promote and fund all the programs it takes part in. Also, once you join you can become

a volunteer to go out into your local community to educate the population on the organization and teach everyone how to keep our

waterways poluation free,where we all can enjoy the benefits of our natural habitat. Even if you are not a tournament fisherman or

fisherwoman I would greatly recommend you taking part in all FLW has to offer if you enjoy any type of outside activity that

involves the use of our waterways. People like yourself helping with funds makes sure that us and our future are able to enjoy

everything mother nature has to offer for many years to come. Also, the benefits of knowing you are helping with a great cause and

teaching less fortunate kids about nature and helping them focus their energy on things that will help them and not harm them in the

future is more rewarding than I can even begin to explain.

Summary

FLW is a top notch organization in which everyone that loves the great outdoors can benefit from. Everyone from the

person taking their children out tubing on a hot summer day ,to the professional angler traveling thousands of miles a year to fish

bass tournaments will benefit from the work FLW and its' partner programs do. If you spend any time at all on the water I would

greatly recommend that you join FLW and help out in keeping our waterways pollution free and our aquatic habitat healthy and

unharmed. FLW will do all they can to make sure we have tournaments to fish as anglers and anyone else has clean water they can

enjoy during the hot summer days, but they can only do this by using money from our FLW memberships to provide financial

support for the corporation and all of the programs it supports such as the Fish America Foundation.