TEAM TARA ANNE NETS $50,000 WITH WAL-MART FLW STRIPER SERIES VICTORY IN CONNECTICUT
6/24/06
WESTBROOK, Conn. — Team Tara Anne captained by Ryan Mappa of Wallingford, Conn., caught two striped bass weighing 33 pounds, 6 ounces Saturday to win $50,000 at the second stop of the Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series, a tournament presented by Pepcid Complete in Westbrook, Conn.
“We are ecstatic to win this one,” said team member Mike Deskin. “We made one critical move today. After we put a 34-incher in the box, we moved to a new area with less pressure and caught two better fish.”
The team, which consists of Mappa, Deskin and Paul Santabarbara, fished with chartreuse and white parachute jigs tipped with 10-inch pork trailers. The jigs were trolled on 400 feet of wire line and fished in 40 to 45 feet of water. The team started out fishing an area called Six Mile Reef then ran three miles to an area called The Triangle west of the Long Sand Shoal Buoy and Northwest of East Rip.
In accordance with tournament regulations, both fish fell within a 28- to 34-inch slot limit and were successfully weighed in alive and subsequently released to fight again.
“We were impressed with the FLW Outdoors KeepAlive box,” Deskin said. “It worked very well. When we opened it up the fish jumped right out. They were in real good shape.”
To date, only one fish has expired during an FLW Striper Series Tournament, thanks to the innovative live release systems developed by FLW Outdoors and KeepAlive Systems.
With $20,000 cash for first place, a $15,000 Hyda-Sports bonus and a $15,000 Evinrude bonus, Team Tara Anne currently leads the $1 million series in earnings after two events. Team Catch and Release is currently second after bringing home $35,000 during the inaugural Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series tournament held in Oceanside, N.Y., June 3.
Rounding out the top five finishers were team Keephers captained by Matthew Fleisher of Nianic, Conn. (two fish, 32 pounds, $2,250, $1,226 Hydra-Sports and Evinrude bonuses); team Atlantic Outboard captained by Dan Wood of Waterford, Conn. (two fish, 31 pounds, $1,125, $490 Hydra-Sports and Evinrude bonuses); team Reel Nice captained by Steve Nigro of Clinton, Conn. (two fish, 30 pounds, 15 ounces, $900); and The A Team captained by Eric Evanier of Weston, Conn. (two fish, 29 pounds, 4 ounces, $788)
The new $1 million FLW Striper Series features seven qualifying tournaments held on Saturdays plus a no-entry-fee $150,000 championship. Teams, ranging in size from two to four anglers each, compete for a guaranteed top award of $20,000 cash in each qualifier and as much as $50,000 cash based on boat and engine bonuses from Hydra-Sports, Seaswirl, Wellcraft, Evinrude and Yamaha. The winning team is determined by the heaviest accumulated weight of two striped bass falling within a 28- to 34-inch slot limit. The top 25 teams from each qualifier also advance to a three-day, no-entry-fee championship in Virginia Beach, Va., Dec. 7-9 for a shot at a top award of $50,000 cash on FSN (Fox Sports Net).
The next FLW Striper Series tournament will be held at Marina Bay on Boston Harbor in Quincy, Mass., Aug. 19 followed by tournaments at Bass River Marina in West Dennis, Mass., Sept. 16; Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City, N.J., Sept. 30; Cedar Creek Marina in Slaughter Beach, Del., Oct. 28; and Gootee’s Marine in Cambridge, Md., Nov. 4.
Entry fees are $450 per team for all entries received prior to the day of registration for each tournament. The entry fee for entries received on registration day for a tournament or on-site during tournament registration is $500 per team. Teams may register online at FLWOutdoors.com or by calling (270) 252-1000.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.
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