Former Co-angler Wins Fantasy Fishing at Pickwick
MINNEAPOLIS – Chip Brooks of Bradenton, Fla., is now $5,000 richer thanks to FLW Fantasy Fishing. The former FLW co-angler picked a 10-angler team for the Walmart FLW Tour event at Pickwick Lake presented by Straight Talk Wireless, and five of his chosen anglers made the top 10. Each top-10 pro earned Brooks an additional 100 points, boosting his total to 2,228 points, which was good enough for first place.
His team included the following pros (an asterisk indicates a top-10 finish):
Casey Ashley*
Ramie Colson Jr.
Clent Davis
Robbie Dodson*
Charlie Evans
Troy Hollowell
Jason Lambert*
Shawn Murphy
Michael Neal*
Michael Wooley*
It’s funny,” said Brooks, a longtime Fantasy Fishing player. “I left for a trip on Saturday and told my wife, `I think I’m going to win this week,” and she told me I was nuts.”
Brooks said that his knowledge of the competing anglers was key to building his winning roster.
“I thought Clent Davis and Charlie Evans were good values,” said Brooks. “I didn’t pick Randy Haynes because his salary was just too high. I thought some of the other deep-water guys that other people didn’t know about were the best values.
“I’ve already set my roster for Kentucky Lake,” finished Brooks. “It helps me to use the anglers’ bios and see if they have done well on similar lakes. If they have experience on other lakes that are similar, they are probably good value picks.”
Finishing in second place on the fantasy side for the Pickwick Lake event was Robert Schager of Madison, Ala., who won $1,000, and in third was Dan Mohn of Lansing, Iowa, who won $500. Several other winners from California to Vermont to Ontario took home prizes, including cash, ShopFLW gift cards, hats and tackle.
Season standings
Thanks to his win, Brooks is now in eighth place in the season-long Fantasy Fishing standings, with 8,048 points. Chris Helsel of Cedar Springs, Mich., leads the race with 8,361 points. the year-end champ after six regular-season events and the Forrest Wood Cup earns the grand prize of $10,000.
Free to play
FLW Fantasy Fishing is free to play, but fans can gain a valuable edge with Member’s Advantage. Member’s Advantage is a unique tool that offers additional resources and information, including lake reports, local finder and pundit picks. An added benefit to purchasing Member’s Advantage is a subscription to “FLW Bass Fishing” magazine, and the perks of becoming an FLW member, including an FLW hat and Strike King crankbait, members-only tackle giveaways, and VIP access at all FLW Tour events.
Game details
The 2014 Fantasy Fishing season consists of seven tournaments surrounding the Walmart FLW Tour regular season as well as the season-ending Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing. Fans compete for more than $7,000 in cash and prizes from each of the six tournaments and a top prize of $5,000. The cumulative grand prize for the highest ranked player at the end of the season is $10,000.
To begin playing, visit FantasyFishing.com and sign up. Select a team of 10 anglers against an allocated $200 salary cap and select your guess for the tournament winning weight as a tiebreaker. Create a league to play against your friends and compete for bragging rights. Player’s modifications to their teams must be finalized by 11:59 p.m. ET the night prior to the tournament.