Staff Report
BRADENTON – Chip Brooks of Bradenton won $5,000 by playing FLW Fantasy Fishing, held in conjunction with the FLW Tour fishing tournament. Brooks correctly picked 5 of the top 10 anglers in last week’s Walmart FLW Tour on Pickwick Lake presented by Straight Talk Wireless.
![https://www.thebradentontimes.com/clientuploads/fishing/Hackney.jpg](clientuploads/fishing/Hackney.jpg) |
Tournament winner Greg Hackney |
"It’s funny,” said Brooks, a longtime Fantasy Fishing player and FLW co-angler. “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.”
FLW Fantasy Fishing is free to play. Fans can also seek an edge by purchasing 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 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.
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.