Water Cooler

Fishing Fans Hope To Hook $1.7M 'Fantasy' Prize

VALLEJO (CBS 5) ― The following is a fish story. A fantasy fish story.

Do you know about fantasy sports? Fans pick players, bet on how they do, watch statistics.

The richest fantasy sports payoff in the history of fantasy sports payoffs started Wednesday, $1.7 million. So what's the catch?

The sport is fishing. Bass fishing.

Professional bass fishing.

Cast off any doubts about the popularity of bass fishing. It's said to be a $4.5 billion industry. And makes reel popular television. Maybe the only thing more sedate than fishing is watching people fish.

Not so says Wayne Hodge of Vallejo.

"It's awesome. The whole house shuts down, OK. We're gonna watch cause Dad is watching," said Hodge.

He's a pro himself, though he doesn't reel in the money the big guys make on the FWL Fishing tour. They can haul in $600,000 in endorsements alone.

So with the lure of $1.7 million, I'm hooked.

Ready to cast my own bass fishing dream team.

"You got your Skeet Reece's, you got your Greg Hackney's, these guys are sticks," said Wayne.

Sticks, I ask him. What are sticks?

"A stick is an excellent fisherman," Hodge said.

Other "sticks" include, apparently, Kevin Van Dam, Jason Quinn, Ishman Rowe, and Tim Horton.

It's all based on 7 FWL Bass fishing tournaments starting February 28th.

You can win $100,000 if your picks finish higher than other fans this season, based on weight of the fish they catch. Then there's a million dollar prize at the end of the season.

At fantasyfishing.com, I sign up my team, and with Wayne's help, I'm feeling pretty darn good about my picks.

And if I do win the $1.7 million, you might not see me much any more. I'll be gone...fishing.

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