Pirch Cashes in on Brother's Victory to Win FLW Fantasy Fishing

Brother of Walmart FLW Tour pro reels in $15,000 prize

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Apr 20, 2011, 02:12 ET

MINNEAPOLIS, April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Christopher Pirch of Fredericksburg, Va., correctly picked his brother, Walmart FLW Tour pro Clifford Pirch of Payson, Ariz., to win last week's Walmart FLW Tour on Lake Chickamauga presented by National Guard. For his picks, Pirch won $15,000 playing FLW Fantasy Fishing presented by Straight Talk held in conjunction with the Walmart FLW Tour.

Not much of an angler himself, Pirch preferred his sleep over early mornings on the lake with his brother and dad who, according to him, were always on the water. On the occasions that he was enticed to leave the comfort of his bed, Pirch said that when the fish weren't biting he got bored easily and usually had a handheld gaming system with him to keep him entertained, learning at an early age there is more than one way to catch a fish.

"I started playing Fantasy Fishing because of Clifford," said Pirch. "It gives me a way to share in his passion without actually having to be out on a boat. I've followed the sport ever since Cliff started fishing professionally and try to go to as many events that are close to where I live as I can. Last year we were fortunate enough to be able to go watch him at the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Lanier.

"I knew Cliff was capable of winning and was confident he would at some point so it was easy for me to pick him as the winner," Pirch went on to say. "I rely on Player's Advantage to help me with some of my other picks. I follow the FLW Tour pretty closely and pick guys that are on hot streaks. It's hard to go against guys like Chevy pro Bryan Thrift, who is pretty much a staple on my team. I also look at each fishery and see who has done well there in the past."

Clifford won his first Walmart FLW Tour event last week on Lake Chickamauga with a four day total of 20 bass that weighed 77 pounds, 3 ounces. 2011 marks his seventh year on the FLW Tour. He has earned more than $645,000 and has qualified for the Forrest Wood Cup three times.

Pirch's Fantasy Fishing team was led by his brother Clifford, and earned him 2,143 valuable points that will continue to accumulate throughout the season, putting himself in position to contend for the $100,000 grand prize.

Fantasy Fishing is free to play, but fans can gain a valuable edge with Player's Advantage. Player's Advantage is a unique tool that offers additional resources and information, and those with Player's Advantage have won at a rate of four-to-one. An added benefit to purchasing Player's Advantage is receiving access to the FLW Outdoors Magazine e-Edition.

Finishing in second place on the fantasy side for the Lake Chickamauga event was Mike Bird of Tonopah, Nev., who won $5,000, and in third was Herman Adkins of Danville, Va., who won $1,000. Several other winners from California to Delaware to Ontario took home prizes ranging from $500 cash to $10 Walmart gift cards.

The 2011 Fantasy Fishing season consists of 10 tournaments surrounding the Walmart FLW Tour with cumulative and individual tournament prizes. Fans compete for more than $25,000 in cash and prizes from each of the 10 tournaments and a top prize of $15,000. The cumulative grand prize is $100,000 with the overall runner-up winning a Ranger Z-520 boat with a Ranger Trail Trailer, 250 Mercury outboard, Minn Kota Maxxum 80 trolling motor, Lowrance electronics and trolling motor batteries – all valued at $54,000.

The third-place overall winner will win a Chevy 1500 Silverado valued at $38,000, and fourth place will take home a FinCraft 17 Dual Console boat with a 115 Evinrude outboard valued at $27,000. A BRP Can-Am Outlander 400 All-Terrain vehicle, valued at $8,000, will be awarded to the fifth-place finisher; while sixth- through 10th-place finishers will win Walmart gift cards ranging in value from $9,000 to $5,000.

To begin playing, visit FantasyFishing.com and sign up. A team will automatically be selected for you, but you can edit that team and choose the 10 anglers you think will place the highest in the next Tour event. You must then select the angler you think will win the tournament and predict that angler's cumulative winning weight, which will serve as the tiebreaker. Player's modifications to their teams must be finalized by 11:59 p.m. ET the night prior to the tournament.

TracFone Wireless, America's largest "no-contract" cellular service provider is the official and exclusive mobile phone service provider of FLW Outdoors. Supporting a two-member professional fishing team, Team Straight Talk's Scott Canterbury and JT Kenney will compete in internationally televised events on the 2011 Walmart FLW Tour.

For updates, insider tips, tournament news and more, follow FLW Fantasy Fishing on Facebook at Facebook.com/FantasyFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWOutdoors.

ABOUT FLW OUTDOORS

FLW Outdoors is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 191 tournaments in 2011. FLW Outdoors has taken fishing mainstream with the world's richest fantasy sports game, FLW Fantasy Fishing presented by Straight Talk, where competitors can play for free as well as sign up for Player's Advantage to gain an edge. For more information about FLW Outdoors and FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FLWOutdoors.com or FantasyFishing.com.

FLWOutdoors.com

SOURCE FLW Outdoors