This week 26 FLW Tour rookies debut in the BassFan.com Rookie of the Year race, though they remain relatively low in the standings as the BASSMASTER Tour rookies have already fished two tournaments.

A few more 2-tour rookies have now come to light. They include Georgia's Jody Cordell (the best 2-tour rookie thus far), California's Charlie Weyer, Oklahoma's Tim Carroll and Japan's Morizo Shimizu. Dave Lefebre also is fishing both tours, but Jason Quinn is not. Whether two-tour pros will have any advantage remains to be seen.

The following anglers who could be considered FLW Tour rookies aren't eligible for the BassFan Rookie of the Year race because:
> Billy Bowen Jr. -- Ocala, FL -- fished one FLW Tour event in 1996
> Rick Couch -- Ocala, FL -- fished 3 FLW events in 1998
> Chris Elliott -- Gloucester, NC -- fished the BASS Tour
> Mike Leblanc -- Colchester, VT -- fished one FLW event in 2002
> Tom Monsoor -- La Crosse, WI -- fished two FLW Tour events in 2002
> Toshinari Namiki -- Mineola, TX -- fished the BASS Tour

So the best an FLW rookie did at last week's Okeechobee FLW was Alabama's Todd Ary, who finished 26th.

Notable: 2002 BFL All American winner Eddie Waits III is fishing the FLW Tour this year and is an eligible rookie.

(If BassFans feel that any of the anglers below aren't true rookies -- that is, that they fished on the pro side of either tour in the past -- please let us know.)