MINNEAPOLIS (Sept. 1, 2015) – Tom Barry of Oak Forest, Illinois, correctly picked eight of the top 10 anglers in professional bass fishing’s world championship – the Forrest Wood Cup at Lake Ouachita. For his picks, Barry won $5,000 by playing FLW Fantasy Fishing, beating out thousands of players from around the world to win the top prize.
“Honestly, when I signed up I never really expected to win,” said Barry. “A couple of years ago I took advantage of the opportunity to play through my FLW membership. It helped me keep tabs on the sport and how the FLW Tour professional anglers were doing.
“Most of the research I did was through FLW Bass Fishing Magazine,” continued Barry. “Between the magazine and the FLW website, there are many great resources for not only Fantasy Fishing, but for my own research as an angler.
“I started by following certain professionals,” said Barry. “I analyzed where they were from, as well as their strengths and specialties. From there I pieced together my top picks. I also have a handful of anglers that I follow on a regular basis, like 2015 Angler of the Year Scott Martin, so I could make educated guesses on where they’d end up finishing. I also chose competitors from the region who were familiar with the area.”
Barry said he plans to use the prize money to pay off some bills and purchase a new anchor for his boat.
“I imagine there will be a few more fishing rods coming my way too,” said Barry.
Finishing in second place on the fantasy side for the Forrest Wood Cup event was John Battani of Sterling Heights, Michigan, who won $1,000, and in third place was David Rowe of Pittsford, New York, who won $500. Several other winners from across the globe took home prizes including cash, ShopFLW gift cards, hats and baits.
The 2015 Fantasy Fishing season consisted of seven tournaments surrounding the Walmart FLW Tour regular season as well as the season-ending Forrest Wood Cup. 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.