TOY Prize announcement

[Cory Banford]

Thanks to our good friends at Limitfish Media, FLW Canada is Proud to announce yet another major prize.

With a value of over $5000 the Limitfish Media Team of the year champions will gain free entry into the FLW Canada 2017 seasons. If that was not enough, Limitfish Media has added a sponsorship media package for you to use to gain new sponsors or just to share with friends and family.

Check in to flwcanada fb or limitfishmedia fb to hear all the details

Stay tuned! FLW Canada is not done yet with our 2016 annoucements

[tylerzimmer]

Are you telling me that there is a team of the year prize and it doesn't come from the anglers entry fee. They said it could never be done and for years took money out of the prize pool for that day. You guys are truly the only series that listens to its anglers and we can't wait to watch this grow FLW Canada! With all the prizes your give out this season you guys must be close to 200-300% payback.....big change from the 60-70% were used to!

[derricktompkins]

200-300% pay back is pretty sick if that is accurate! Too bad that all goes to the top 10. Gotta get those payouts deeper. Its not cheap to do the series and after working the spring fishing and boat show and the Sportsman show I talked to ALOT of anglers who aren't fishing this series for this exact reason.

All that being said I am stoked that this is happening but until the payouts make sense im out.

[Cory Banford]

Hi Derrick! Great post.

Just to explain the paybacks, we felt FLW Canada needs to be a professional series in Canada. Yes, it's not cheap, but when you do the math it's the cheapest series around.

We wanted to offer something that people can actually earn something in return and the only way to do that was to reward higher finishers with more. With most other series, by the time you pay for fee's, fuel, food, lodging, and then split the winnings with your partner, even if you win, you lose! Not with FLW Canada, most people we have talk to and the ones that have signed up are extra excited on the thought of finally taking home a huge cheque after costs and actually making a earning.

Until major sponsors step up, the paybacks will be as they are. What's exciting though is FLW Canada is doing all this without those major sponsors!

[Sean Palmer]

"Reward higher finishers with more" - agreed!

[Gerard_Cocks]

"Reward higher finishers with more" - agreed!

Indeed, I'm sure you will see by the numbers this is the format serious tournament fishermen are looking for.
Based on all the guys I've talked too...everyone is fishing this.

[CHRIS VANDERMEER]

I think the payouts are great and also think that this series is going to draw teams from all regions. I really like the no entryfee 25k cash first prize championship plus entry into the Costa series championship! Sounding like a good formula to me.

[tylerzimmer]

A $300 cheuqe for 20th place still wont cover your weekend. Id rather have it if i came 10th i still walk away happy. Ive got a 6th on 120 boats and got $500 and 20th got $250. Would of been nice to have my day paid for rather then see the money go all the way down

[Oliver Grigull]

Wow so is the payback really 200-300 percent. Can u please confirm cause the sounds too good to be true. Very impressive if it is true and a real accomplishment for Cory....

[derricktompkins]

Cory,

Thanks for the info and all does make sense for the stage this series is currently at.

keep up your hard work! As I mentioned before I am stoked that this is happening and hope to be fishing this series in the near future!!

[Cory Banford]

Cory,

Thanks for the info and all does make sense for the stage this series is currently at.

keep up your hard work! As I mentioned before I am stoked that this is happening and hope to be fishing this series in the near future!!

No Problem Derrick, your point was 100% valid and hopefully soon we can payback much deeper than we currently do

[ryanacrowley]

I've had a few talks with vandermeer under random trees about just that. You gotta pay the top. AND transparency goes a long way. Keep up the good work.

[Cory Banford]

Thanks Ryan, Speaking of transparency! I do need to kill a rumor that NOBODY within FLW Canada started.

I'm not sure who told who, or started the thought that, or did the wrong math on 200 or 300% paybacks? But I wish that was true!!! I would quit running this series and fish myself on those numbers.

So before that rumor goes any further. The regular season paybacks are in the 70% range. The extra 30% is what pays for the NO ENTRY FEE FLW Canadian Championships paybacks and cost to FLW for the 4 spots into the FLW SERIES CHAMPIONSHIPS and possibly FORREST WOOD CUP.

This is all set for UP to 100 boat fields! If those numbers go above 100 boats, the regular season and championship payback pot just continues to grow and pay deeper. If the numbers stay under 100 boats the numbers stay as 70%/30%

100% cost to run FLW Canada events comes from my own pocket, and any potential sponsorship funding I can get help with! So if anybody knows of a sponsor wanting to see FLW Canada grow, I would love the help! It would be great to see a series in Canada offer a true OVER 100% payback

The plan is to pay back every penny, and work my ass off finding sponsors and funding to pay the costs to run first! And if I'm lucky maybe enough left over for a cold beer at the end of the day.

I have a full time job at Smartbaits fishing lures, I don't need to take from the anglers. Would I like to work full time for the anglers at FLW Canada to make it better? hell ya, but we aren't there yet!

If anybody has doubts, I don't blame you! I would too if you don't know me.

For those who don't know me, who is Cory Banford???

I will turn 40 on a day this year working a flw canada tournament
I am a father of 3 kids 3 and under
Married almost 10 years to FLW Canada's hardest volunteer
I work for a pretty cool tackle company called Smartbaits
I was a Tournament angler from age 16 to 37 that fished everything from FLW'S(Costa level) and B.A.S.S. opens in the states, GM Pro Bass, CMBT, Renegade, Pro Bass Quebec, and uncountable smaller series and events.

The thanks and support from sooooo many people about bringing FLW to Canada has been overwhelming, and thank you! It means alot and keeps us going on the harder days! I don't want thanks, I want a series we ALL can be part of and proud of.

[Peter Bartonek]

Thanks for Clarifying Cory!! You beat me to the post button. lol
Hopefully i can make my schedule work in 2017. Sure gonna miss fishing Rideau for the championship this year and trying to dethrone Fern.
Pete

[Peter Bartonek]

WOW!! 200 to 300 percent payback sounds pretty amazing!!!!
And up to now only Renegade is offering that!!
And yes transparency does go a long way. Most of us are tired of the smoke and mirrors act!
Unfortunately, I won't be able to fish the FLW Canada series this year..
So the payback percentage stated here and not discounted or confirmed by FLW Canada made me think I may need to rethink my 2016 schedule and try to make this fit. But to be sure I went on the site to try and find some answers...surly if paying back 200 to 200 percent this would be boldly advertised!!
I Couldn't find anything on the site re payouts..maybe I'm looking in the wrong places. But I did find something interesting....If i pay a little extra for my membership I can not have to fish any events and still have a shot at making the championship!!..interesting to say the least...
So further research on the net found some payback figures...
BASED ON A FULL FIELD....payouts are as follows $700 entry fee times 300 entries based on the 3 events for a total of $210000 brought in by FLW Canada not including membership fees and fees paid to FLW Canada by the other series out there that can send teams to the championship without having to qualify through the 3 FLW events.
Payouts per event are $46000 based on FULL FIELDS. x 3 events plus an additional $53000 payed out at championship IF full fields were reached.
So potentially a total of $191000 being payed and $210000 being taken in. Oh..then there is the advertised TOY prize of free entries valued at $5000...3 events x $700 equals $2100...not $5000 unless event numbers and or entry fees are going up next year.
SO...by my math and advertised numbers the payback while good at about 92%(actually less then that when you factor in membership fees and fees paid by other organizations to send anglers to championship etc,) if full fields are reached, actually better then most events out there. But a far cry from 200 to 300 percent...
And no where could I find how the payback percentages would work/be structured if there wasn't a full field(s)...