MINNEAPOLIS — Among the 170 professional anglers competing on the 2019 FLW Tour this season will be Witter Springs’ Jimmy Reese.
Fishing League Worldwide (FLW), the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, announced the roster for its 24th season earlier this week. Reese is embarking on his fifth season on the FLW Tour. His career earnings stand at just under $500,000, including four top-10 finishes
The 2019 FLW season kicks off Jan. 10-13 at Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Brookeland, Texas, and finishes with the world championship of bass fishing — the FLW Cup on Aug. 9-11 at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
There was enormous demand to compete on the 2019 FLW Tour, with 210 anglers registering for a slot on the prestigious tournament circuit in its final year of priority registration before switching to a strict qualifying process and a 150-pro field in 2020.
The top award at each Tour event is $125,000, with $300,000 going to the winner of the FLW Cup. Since the final field exceeds the published payout basis of 150 pros, FLW will survey all 170 participating pros to finalize the 2019 payout structure.
“With the demand we saw this year to join the FLW Tour, we couldn’t be more eager to kick off another season at Sam Rayburn Reservoir in January,” said Bill Taylor, FLW’s Senior Director of Tournament Operations. “FLW has long been the home to some of the most decorated bass anglers in the sport, and with the expanded live coverage at all of our Tour events this year, we are more than ready to show off their skills at some of the best fisheries in the world.”
The 2019 FLW Tour roster is headlined by a stout contingent of bass-fishing heavyweights, including three-time Angler of the Year (AOY) and 2003 FLW Cup champion David Dudley of Lynchburg, Virginia, 2015 AOY and 2011 FLW Cup champion Scott Martin of Clewiston, Florida, and two-time Angler of the Year Bryan Thrift of Shelby, North Carolina. They’ll be joined by bass-fishing legends Jimmy Houston of Cookson, Oklahoma, and Larry Nixon of Quitman, Arkansas, as well as three former FLW Cup champions – John Cox (2016), Brad Knight (2015) and Darrel Robertson (2002). The 2019 Tour will also feature 34 rookies from around the country.
