Hot Springs and Lake Ouachita will host 100 of the best anglers on the FLW Tour today through Sunday at the Forrest Wood Cup.
Named for Forrest L. Wood of Flippin, founder of Ranger Boats, the tournament is the championship event of Fishing League Worldwide [FLW]. The field will feature the top 35 anglers and co-anglers from the FLW Tour, the top 10 anglers and co-anglers from the Rayovac FLW Series, the angler and co-angler champions of the BFL All-American, the TBF national champion angler and co-angler, the college national champion angler and co-angler, the 2014 angler and co-angler of the year and the defending angler and co-angler champions from the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup.
Forrest Wood Cup
WHERE Lake Ouachita
WHO 35 top anglers and co-anglers from the FLW Tour, top 10 anglers and co-anglers from the Rayovac FLW Series, BFL All-American angler and co-angler champions, TBF angler and co-angler national champions, FLW college angler and co-angler national champions, the 2014 angler and co-angler of the year and the defending angler and co-angler champions from the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup.
PRIZES $500,000 for the champion angler and $50,000 for the co-angler champion.
TAKEOFFS 7 a.m. daily at Brady Mountain Resort and Marina near Royal
WEIGH-INS 5 p.m. daily at Bank of the Ozarks Arena in Hot Springs
OTHER ATTRACTIONS Country singer Justin Moore will perform a free concert at 4 p.m. Sunday at Bank of the Ozarks Arena in Hot Springs. There also will be a free outdoor expo daily at Bank of the Ozarks Arena where vendors will sell tackle, boating gear, electronics and other gear.
The pro champion will win $500,000, and the co-angler champion will win $50,000.
Arkansans in the pro division are Larry Nixon of Bee Branch, Stetson Blaylock of Benton and Shawn Gordon of Russellville. Nixon is ranked No. 10 on the FLW Tour, while Blaylock is ranked No. 15. Gordon is the TBF national champion.
Joey Cifuentes of Clinton and Paul LaFleur of Benton will represent Arkansas in the co-angler division.
Also in the field will be Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., the 2015 Angler of the Year. Martin won the Forrest Wood Cup the last time it was held on Lake Ouachita in 2011. He said that no matter how many victories an angler amasses, winning the Forrest Wood Cup defines a career.
"The Forrest Wood Cup is the fishing tournament that nobody forgets," Martin said. "I've had five other major victories in my career, and some people may remember them, but no one forgets the Forrest Wood Cup."
In recent years, anglers have had a distinct advantage on waters inside their home states. South Carolina's Anthony Gagliardi won the tournament on his home water of Lake Murray in 2014, and Scott Suggs of Bryant won it on Lake Ouachita in 2007. Also, Casey Ashley and Boyd Duckett won the Bassmaster Classic on their respective home waters in 2015 and 2007, respectively.
Blaylock, the 2008 FLW Co-Angler of the Year, joined the pro division in 2009. He downplayed the possibility of a home-lake advantage, but he didn't dismiss it.
"I don't know where or how to win it yet, but I know this lake as good as anyone," Blaylock said. "I might not be due, but nobody wants to win this as bad as I do."
Nixon, considered one of the greatest anglers of all time, said Tuesday that a tough practice period has tempered his expectations.
"I've caught six fish in three days," Nixon said. "I've practiced the best way I know how. I've tried to eliminate a few things and tried to learn a few things, and I haven't learned a whole heck of a lot."
Takeoffs are at 7 a.m. today through Sunday at Brady Mountain Resort and Marina near Royal, west of Hot Springs. Weigh-ins will be at 5 p.m. daily at the Bank of the Ozarks Arena, formerly Summit Arena, in Hot Springs.
Sports on 08/20/2015