02-28-2008, 08:10 PM
Everyone has heard of fantasy football.
Fantasy baseball is quite the American pastime as well.
But how about Fantasy Fishing?
That's right. Fantasy Fishing presented by FLW Outdoors kicks off its first season today. This latest craze in the world of mainstream angling boasts a $1.7 million payout, the largest of any fantasy sports league.
Anyone can play in this free online competition. All it takes is access to the Internet and a love of fishing.
Professional bass fisherman Luke Clausen is enthusiastic about the concept.
"Now anyone can win a tournament without spending hours on the water," Clausen said. "This will draw a lot of new people into the world of professional fishing."
Here's how it works. It's just like fantasy football, but instead of quarterbacks and defenders there's professional bass fishermen. And they're not trying to catch pigskins, they're after largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass -- the most sought-after game fish in the inland waters of the country.
Before each of the seven FLW tournaments, each participant must pick 10 pro anglers out of 200 whom they believe will finish at the top. The goal is to have the selected anglers finish as high as possible, and points are awarded based on the anglers' ranks in that tournament.
Players should also choose their anglers in the order they expect them to place.
Each tournament takes place over four days. Anglers are ranked by the weight of their stringer of five bass.
Out of 200 anglers, only the top 10 will advance to fish the third and forth days. This is known in the professional circuit as "The Cut," where the men are separated from the boys.
At the end of the tournament, points are calculated based on each of the 10 chosen anglers' rankings.
The Fantasy Fisherman with the most points wins $100,000 for that event. That's as much as the pro's themselves make.
The scoring is simple. For any tournament, the winner gets 200 points, the second-place finisher 199, third 198, and so on all the way to one point for last place. Say one of your picks got second place and one got seventh place -- you would earn 199 points for one and 194 for the other. Add up all the scores from each of your 10 players, and that is your tournament score.
A substantial amount of bonus points are awarded at each tournament. For instance, at this weekend's opening event at Lake Toho, there will be a 500-point bonus for each of your picks that finishes in the top 10. There are also major point amounts awarded for choosing the anglers in the order in which they place.
Dan Welsh of Melbourne Beach, an on-the-ball veteran fantasy football player, thinks the same ideas in his game could apply to this new concept.
"If you use your imagination, it can work," Welsh said. "There's skill involved, and you have to do your research."
As every fisherman knows, knowledge is the key to be successful on the water. The same goes for Fantasy Fishing. For a nominal fee, players can get the inside scoop on the tournament trail with the "Player's Advantage". This provides participants with up-to-date fishing reports, tournament histories, pro specs, and current lake conditions.
Orlando resident and avid fisherman Josh Huff is eager for the tournament trail to begin.
"It's cool that FLW is bringing this to the public," Huff said. I've never heard of anything like this before."
The lake and participating anglers change every tournament, so a new challenge is presented every event, and thousands of dollars are up for grabs.
There's no catch to the free online fantasy league. Fishing fans need only to sign up via www.fantasyfishing.com to be a part of this season's competition. Just like other fantasy sports, fans can start a new FLW league and play for fun with family and friends, or join an existing one and play for money against contestants from around the nation.
Fantasy baseball is quite the American pastime as well.
But how about Fantasy Fishing?
That's right. Fantasy Fishing presented by FLW Outdoors kicks off its first season today. This latest craze in the world of mainstream angling boasts a $1.7 million payout, the largest of any fantasy sports league.
Anyone can play in this free online competition. All it takes is access to the Internet and a love of fishing.
Professional bass fisherman Luke Clausen is enthusiastic about the concept.
"Now anyone can win a tournament without spending hours on the water," Clausen said. "This will draw a lot of new people into the world of professional fishing."
Here's how it works. It's just like fantasy football, but instead of quarterbacks and defenders there's professional bass fishermen. And they're not trying to catch pigskins, they're after largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass -- the most sought-after game fish in the inland waters of the country.
Before each of the seven FLW tournaments, each participant must pick 10 pro anglers out of 200 whom they believe will finish at the top. The goal is to have the selected anglers finish as high as possible, and points are awarded based on the anglers' ranks in that tournament.
Players should also choose their anglers in the order they expect them to place.
Each tournament takes place over four days. Anglers are ranked by the weight of their stringer of five bass.
Out of 200 anglers, only the top 10 will advance to fish the third and forth days. This is known in the professional circuit as "The Cut," where the men are separated from the boys.
At the end of the tournament, points are calculated based on each of the 10 chosen anglers' rankings.
The Fantasy Fisherman with the most points wins $100,000 for that event. That's as much as the pro's themselves make.
The scoring is simple. For any tournament, the winner gets 200 points, the second-place finisher 199, third 198, and so on all the way to one point for last place. Say one of your picks got second place and one got seventh place -- you would earn 199 points for one and 194 for the other. Add up all the scores from each of your 10 players, and that is your tournament score.
A substantial amount of bonus points are awarded at each tournament. For instance, at this weekend's opening event at Lake Toho, there will be a 500-point bonus for each of your picks that finishes in the top 10. There are also major point amounts awarded for choosing the anglers in the order in which they place.
Dan Welsh of Melbourne Beach, an on-the-ball veteran fantasy football player, thinks the same ideas in his game could apply to this new concept.
"If you use your imagination, it can work," Welsh said. "There's skill involved, and you have to do your research."
As every fisherman knows, knowledge is the key to be successful on the water. The same goes for Fantasy Fishing. For a nominal fee, players can get the inside scoop on the tournament trail with the "Player's Advantage". This provides participants with up-to-date fishing reports, tournament histories, pro specs, and current lake conditions.
Orlando resident and avid fisherman Josh Huff is eager for the tournament trail to begin.
"It's cool that FLW is bringing this to the public," Huff said. I've never heard of anything like this before."
The lake and participating anglers change every tournament, so a new challenge is presented every event, and thousands of dollars are up for grabs.
There's no catch to the free online fantasy league. Fishing fans need only to sign up via www.fantasyfishing.com to be a part of this season's competition. Just like other fantasy sports, fans can start a new FLW league and play for fun with family and friends, or join an existing one and play for money against contestants from around the nation.