Big prizes in Fantasy Fishing

If you haven’t signed up for Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing presented by Toyota, you’re missing out.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — If you haven’t signed up for Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing presented by Toyota, you’re missing out.

Fans can play by choosing a team of five anglers they think will do best in each Bassmaster Elite Series event. The prizes are awesome, and playing is free.

If you pick a better team than any other player, you could win a $2,500 gift card to Bass Pro Shops. Even better: If you win AND you’re a member of B.A.S.S. before the tournament begins, you’ll also win a $500 gift card to Bass Pro Shops to add to it.

At the end of the season, the player with the most accumulated points wins the grand prize, valued at $37,293 — a Triton 189TrX boat with a Yamaha VF150LA motor, a single-axle trailer, MotorGuide trolling motor and Lowrance Mark 5x.

To play, fans simply choose an angler from each of the five “buckets” that they think will outperform all the other anglers who are in the same bucket.

New developments for 2015 include a cleaner interface that is mobile-friendly, a custom newsletter emailed to each player after a tournament showing how his or her team performed and a tiebreaker module in which players guess the overall winning weight of the tournament.

The number of points a Fantasy Fishing player earns is based on a scoring system similar to the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year points, in which an angler is awarded points based on his final standing in each tournament. In addition, points are awarded to the angler who caught the biggest bass and the biggest bag in each event.

B.A.S.S. also provides several articles prior to each tournament offering pundit picks to help guide Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing players on their choices.

To play, go to Bassmaster.com/fantasy, register, and then set your team. You can choose to play in a league or on your own.

Be sure to choose your team before 6 a.m. ET, March 19, the first day of the 2015 Bassmaster Elite at the Sabine River presented by Stark Cultural Venues.

Want to discuss your picks? Join the Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing group on Facebook.