With collegiate football in the books until next fall and the NFL season wrapping up, fantasy players eager to whet their appetite can look to the water – literally. In approximately one month, the second season of FLW Fantasy Fishing will commence on Lake Guntersville in northern Alabama.
Last year FLW Fantasy Fishing raised the bar in the fantasy sports world, offering the richest payout in fantasy sports history. The overall winner took home $1 million, and the winners of each FLW Tour event and the Forrest Wood Cup took home $100,000 apiece. But that wasn’t all. In addition to the grand prizes, thousands of other prizes – including boats, trucks and ATVs – were awarded as well as gift cards, gas cards and savings bonds.
Free to play, PA price reduced
Unlike fantasy football, FLW Fantasy Fishing is absolutely free to play. That’s right: FLW Fantasy Fishing offers a guaranteed $1 million grand prize and is free to play with no strings attached. Thousands of players invested nothing last year and walked away with amazing prizes. But there is another group of players who take the game to a different level. These players opt for the expert analysis of Player’s Advantage. Player’s Advantage, or PA for short, is a set of tools that helps a player make the best picks possible. In other words, it is the quickest and easiest way to gain an edge on the competition. PA members won prizes during the 2008 season at four times the rate of non-PA members.
Last year, PA was offered for $40. For Michael Thompson, those $40 proved to be the best investment of his life. Thompson, a St. Michael, Minn., resident, won the $1 million grand prize as a faithful devotee of PA.
“I figured when it comes to winning something, I’ll take every advantage I can get,” he said. “There are a lot of pros out there, and the prizes being offered were amazing. I figured if I won one prize, it would pay for itself and of course it did. I definitely think it helped.”
This year, PA is being offered at the discounted price of $10. In addition, there is one new PA tool for 2009 – Post-Practice Rankings. Based on the Lake/Angler Matchup data FantasyFishing.com receives 
from angler surveys, we create Power Rankings. But after seeing the current conditions firsthand, we will update these rankings and develop Post-Practice Rankings that are available the Tuesday before each tournament.
For example, the water level at Beaver Lake was unusually high last season. After a few days of practice, it became evident that the flippers and power-fishermen would do well as flooded bushes provided new cover. That type of information wasn’t included in the Power Rankings last year, but will be reflected in this season’s Post-Practice Rankings.
More ways to win
Outside of PA, there are other significant changes to the 2009 game. Last year, the Forrest Wood Cup was treated as one of seven FLW Tour events. This year, the Forrest Wood Cup is its own stand-alone game, hence the designation Forrest Wood Cup Powerhook. Instead of picking 10 anglers, only a roster of five is needed for Powerhook. In order to win, those anglers need to finish in the exact order in which they were placed on the roster. Because the game is more difficult, the reward is $3 million.
Thirty-five anglers have already qualified for the Forrest Wood Cup through the Stren Series and FLW Series, and another 40 will qualify through the 2009 FLW Tour. Those who want to play it safe in the Powerhook game may choose among the 35 prequalified anglers in order to avoid picking someone that does not make the Forrest Wood Cup. The deadline for submitting a Powerhook roster is midnight 11:59 p.m. EST on Feb. 11, the same deadline as the Lake Guntersville rosters. Because the Forrest Wood Cup is now a stand-alone event, the $1 million fantasy winner will be announced in Pittsburgh alongside the $1 million pro winner.
The $1 million fantasy winner will be determined based on accumulated points from the six qualifiers, three of which are Opens. The Opens offer a greater purse to the pros, so it only makes sense that they mean more to fantasy players as well. For the Opens, which include Lake Guntersville, Lake Norman and Beaver Lake, the exacta points are doubled.
In order to encourage participation, FLW Outdoors has initiated a number of promotional games related to FLW Fantasy Fishing. The most prominent is a referral game called PA Bucks. Any registered player can get cash back when they refer family and friends to FLW Fantasy Fishing. For each individual that joins PA, that referring player receives $2 cash. If a certain player can refer five people to PA, his or her PA membership would essentially be free. Referrals can be entered any time between now and the registration deadline for the Forrest Wood Cup, and the PA Bucks will be sent in the form of a check at the end of the season.
The other game involves a scratch-and-win card. At various boat shows, dealerships and promotional events throughout the country, scratch-and-win cards will be available to the public for free. To play, simply scratch off the concentrated strip in the middle of the card to reveal the prize, which can range from a free PA membership to FLW Outdoors merchandise to $1,000 cash. To redeem the prize, visit the FLW Outdoors membership booth at any FLW Tour event or log on to FantasyFishing.com/winner.
Catch the action
The first official day of practice for Lake Guntersville is Saturday, Feb. 7. Once practice begins, FantasyFishing.com will be on the scene with pretournament video and news that will give players a better understanding of how the lake is fishing and what anglers stand to benefit from the current conditions. The first edition of Post-Practice Rankings will be available the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 10.
Don’t delay; get involved with the richest fantasy sport today.