HOT SPRINGS - The 2005 FLW Tour Championship, which will award the largest monetary prize in professional bass fishing to one of 48 competitors, will be contested on Lake Hamilton at Hot Springs on Wednesday through Saturday, July 13-16.

The tournament will be accompanied by a free outdoor show with 140 exhibitors and special show pricing on items ranging from bass boats to artificial baits, a prize drawing for a $47,500 Ranger fishing boat, a country music concert and the distribution of free fishing items for children 12 and under.

“The Forrest L. Wood Championship and Outdoor Show has something for everyone, from the die-hard fishing fanatic to the casual angler who wets a line once or twice a year,” said Dave Washburn, communications director for FLW Outdoors, which stages the FLW tour and championship. “It’s an experience people cherish for many years to come,” Washburn added, “and it’s a great place for children to meet some tremendous role models.”

Competing for the first-place prize of $500,000 in the $1.5-million bass tournament will be the top 48 professional fishermen who have competed in this year’s FLW tournaments. On the first two days of the championship they will compete head-to-head in a seeded-bracket format to narrow the field to 24. The anglers will be seeded based on their final ranking in the FLW Angler of the Year standings. The total weight of fish caught over both days will determine which angler in each pairing advances to the semifinal round on the third day. The tournament’s fish limit for each day is five bass.

In the semifinal round, the 24 remaining anglers will again compete head-to-head based on the bracket, and the 12 advancing from their pairings to the final day of competition will be determined by the highest total weight of fish caught on the third day. The champion will be determined on the final day with the dozen remaining anglers trying to land the highest total weight for that day.

The fishermen will launch each day at 7 a.m. at the boat ramp at the Andrew Hulsey Fish Hatchery at 350 Fish Hatchery Road. Weigh-ins will be held at 5 p.m. daily in the Summit Arena at the Hot Springs Convention Center at 134 Convention Boulevard in downtown Hot Springs. The convention center will also be the site of the outdoor show.

Show hours will be 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on July 13 and 14, noon to 9 p.m. on July 15 and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on July 16. All events are free and open to the public.

The Ranger Z-20 Comanche bass boat will be awarded during the final weigh-in on July 16 to one of 12 persons who have qualified in previous drawings. People registered for the boat must be present to qualify and to win. Four of the qualifiers will be drawn from entries submitted at the Allen Tillery Chevrolet dealership at 4573 Central Ave. in Hot Springs by July 12. During each of the four daily weigh-ins, there will be drawings to select two qualifiers.

Items to be distributed free on a first-come basis to children 12 and under accompanied by an adult will include 500 FLW hats and T-shirts on July 13, 500 tackle kits on July 14, 500 free tackle boxes on July 15 and 1,500 rods and reels on July 16. At 6 p.m. on July 15, a free country music concert will follow the weigh-in.

The show will include free seminars at 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. daily by such bass fishing legends as Forrest L. Wood (for whom the FLW tour is named), Hank Parker and Guido Hibdon.