After a season’s worth of great punditry from FLW Outdoors Fantasy Fishing Challenge players, the time had arrived for the Ranger boat giveaway. A random drawing conducted by FLW Outdoors at the Wal-Mart FLW Tour’s Forrest L. Wood Championship in mid-July yielded the name of 41-year-old prognosticator Aaron Corlew of Lake Luzerne, N.Y.
Just for playing the FLW Outdoors Fantasy Fishing Challenge, Corlew is the lucky winner of a 2005 Ranger Z20 Comanche bass boat, engine and trailer with an approximate retail value of $40,000. His name was drawn during the championship festivities and announced live over the Internet at FLWOutdoors.com through its unique FLW Live viewing apparatus.
“I think that was the most incredible thing that’s ever happened in my life,” Corlew said of watching the drawing via the Web. “It was better than being there. I sat right here and watched it live.”
FLW Live afforded FLWOutdoors.com visitors not able to attend the championship in person the opportunity to watch the tournament weigh-ins, as well as the announcement of the boat winner, live over the Internet.
Though Corlew said he will not keep the new Ranger boat due to financial considerations associated with being disabled, he is no less excited about being the lucky winner. He said he intends to sell the boat package and use part of the money to outfit his own boat.
“I’m going to get a new motor out of the whole deal, that’s for sure,” Corlew said.
Corlew said he got into the Fishing Challenge through a friend who is also a bass-fishing enthusiast and tournament angler. With a little help from his friend in picking fantasy pro teams, Corlew said he registered for four of the six fantasy events in 2005, meaning his name had automatically been registered for the boat giveaway four times.
Nearly 10,000 people participated in the FLW Outdoors Fantasy Fishing Challenge in 2005, and many earned thousands of dollars’ worth of cash and prizes along the way. All players automatically had their names entered into the drawing each time they registered for any of the six events throughout the season.
In addition to the Ranger boat package, which was given away through a random drawing, other Fishing Challenge participants earned great prizes for each of the six events – from a $5,000 check awarded to the first-place player in each event to FLW Outdoors merchandise and fishing gear. Nobody earned the $1 million grand prize this year, which would have been awarded to anyone correctly guessing the top five pros, in exact sequential order, as they finished in an FLW Tour event.
But there’s always next year, and you can bet Corlew will again be playing the FLW Outdoors Fantasy Fishing Challenge.
Allen Tillery Chevrolet also held a separate drawing to award a bass boat to one lucky fan in attendance at the Forrest L. Wood Championship. Army National Guard Sgt. Daniel Geremy Newman, 28, of Hot Springs, Ark., won the new Ranger Z-20 Comanche worth $47,500. The boat is powered by Yamaha, EverStart Batteries, Garmin electronics and a Minn Kota trolling motor.