Schario Wins FLW Fantasy Fishing for Kentucky Lake Event

Extreme sports fanatic reels in $15,000 prize from fishing tournament

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Jun 23, 2011, 01:13 ET

MINNEAPOLIS, June 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Ryan Schario of North Canton, Ohio, correctly picked Goodwill pro Chad Grigsby of Maple Grove, Minn., to win last week's Walmart FLW Tour on Kentucky Lake presented by Kellogg's. For his picks, Schario won $15,000 playing FLW Fantasy Fishing presented by Straight Talk held in conjunction with the FLW Tour fishing tournament.

"Are you serious?" asked Schario. "I can't believe it. This is my first year playing Fantasy Fishing. I started playing after watching "FLW Outdoors." I have been fishing since I was a baby and love to watch the tournaments on TV. From the years of watching I have grown to know the anglers and try to match their strengths with the lake. Plus I have my favorites."

Schario is a 20-year-old self-employed Motocross mechanic who specializes in suspension repair. His competitive spirit, which he said comes from Motocross racing, and love for the outdoors is what attracted him to Fantasy Fishing.

Grigsby won his first Walmart FLW Tour event last week on Kentucky Lake with a four-day total of 20 bass that weighed 73 pounds, 3 ounces.

Schario's Fantasy Fishing team, led by Grigsby, earned him 2,310 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 Kentucky Lake event was Gerald Philpott of Owensboro, Ky., who won $5,000, and in third was Chris Schinker of Mendon, Mich., who won $1,000. Several other winners from Arizona to New York 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-pound thrust 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-horsepower 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 best in fishing, on and off the water. Anglers worldwide can 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