1 hour ago, imagine29028 said:

Following up on this....don't you need to qualify from the Costa Series into the FLW?

 

 

Also one thing I've always wondered...once you make the elites can you drop off, by not earning enough points? What are the specific cutoffs for this? Is it just points, or just over a time period?  Is this also why a lot of the Elite guys still fish the Opens?

 

 

I don't know the exact number but it's around the bottom 5-10 get bumped out. If I remember correctly Chas Pipkins was one who was bumped out because of points, but requalified in the opens. Then there's guys like Nate Wellman who drop out for personal reasons and others for financial reasons (it's extremely expensive). So there's a steady flow of guys coming in and going out.

3 hours ago, imagine29028 said:

Is this also why a lot of the Elite guys still fish the Opens?

 

A few reasons why some of the pro's fish the opens.

 

1. Cheap(er) entry fee

2. Chance to win some decent money

3. Good practice because most of the open events are held on lakes that host Elite events

4. They're regional, and some pro's who live local to certain lakes may feel that they have a home water advantage

5. If they win, they qualify for the Classic