MINNEAPOLIS (June 16, 2016) – Matt Bates of Pineville, Louisiana, correctly picked four of the top 10 finishers at last week’s Walmart Fishing League Worldwide (FLW) Tour event on Kentucky Lake presented by Mercury Marine. For his picks, Bates won $5,000 by playing FLW Fantasy Fishing, held in conjunction with the FLW Tour fishing tournament.
“When I got the call from FLW’s customer service saying that I won I didn’t really believe it,” said Bates. “I checked my team and that’s when I knew it was true. I was really surprised. It was a great way to start the week.”
Bates said he relied on FLW’s Fantasy Fishing tools to pick his winning team.
“This is the first year I’ve played FLW Fantasy Fishing,” said Bates. “If it wasn’t for the tools, it would be almost impossible to win. I didn’t really know a lot about the younger anglers, so I needed that information. I used the local finder to see who lives closest to Kentucky Lake, and reviewed stats to see who has fished it the most and where they placed in those events.
“It’s tough with the salary cap because you can only pick a few top-tier anglers,” Bates continued. “The key is to choose competitors who have been priced low and who have a lot of upside to them. Luckily, my three upside picks did really well. They were priced at about $12 each and carried me to the top.”
Finishing in second place was David Larsen of Albertville, Minnesota, who won $1,000, and in third place was Charles Alexander of Okeechobee, Florida, who won $500.
Several other winners from across the globe took home prizes including cash, ShopFLW gift cards, hats and baits.
The 2016 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. EST the night prior to the tournament.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2016 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 235 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros.
By: Brian Johnson, FLW
