Arkansas Sportsman

Forrest Wood Cup lands Moore

A big show scheduled Aug. 20-23 in Hot Springs will be a little bigger when Justin Moore performs a free concert at the Forrest Wood Cup.

Moore, a Poyen native, has released three country music albums and and has charted three No. 1 country hits. He was named the Academy of Country Music's 2014 new artist of the year. He will perform a 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 23, before the final weigh-in of the Forrest Wood Cup, the championship event for the FLW Tour.

Steve Arrison, executive director for the Hot Springs Convention and Visitor's Bureau, said adding Moore to the bill will ensure that the Forrest Wood Cup will be one of the top events in the state this summer.

"What a great addition to a great event," Arrison said. "We couldn't ask for a better entertainer. You've got all the incredible fishing and everything else that surrounds the Cup, and then you add Justin Moore.

"It's like an early Christmas present for Hot Springs."

FLW has a history of booking top country acts for the Forrest Wood Cup. Tracy Byrd performed at the 2007 Cup in Hot Springs, and Rodney Atkins headlined at the 2014 Cup in Columbia, S.C. Arrison said Byrd and Moore are authentic outdoorsmen who have a lot of credibility in venues like the Forrest Wood Cup.

"Justin's always posting photos [on social media] of himself fishing at Lake Catherine and Hamilton," Arrison said. "So he's a fisherman, and that makes it extra special."

MONEY FISH

The fourth annual $86,000 Hot Springs Fishing Challenge began May 1, and an angler has already cashed in by catching a tagged bluegill worth $5,000.

Nitaya Johnson of Hot Springs caught the bluegill at 1:30 p.m. Monday on Lake Hamilton at the Andrew Hulsey Fish Hatchery. The 8-ounce bluegill was 8.2 inches long.

Johnson caught the fish with a cricket and bobber. She had been fishing since 9:30 a.m. She is vision impaired, so she holds her line to detect bites.

The Hot Springs Convention and Visitor's Bureau conducts The Hot Springs Fishing Challenge in partnership with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission from May 1 through July 31 to promote fishing at lakes Hamilton and Catherine.

Arrison said 60 white bass, largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie, catfish and walleye have been released.

"We've released everything but trout," he said.

As always, Hot Springs released one tagged fish worth $10,000. They call the fish "Big Al," but nobody has ever caught it. There are also four fish released that are worth $5,000, 20 fish worth $500 and 46 fish worth $1,000.

We're just trying get people to fish our local lakes," Arrison said. "There's great fishing at Lake Ouachita, but we have great fishing at Hamilton and Catherine, too. The lady that caught the bluegill caught it from a dock, so you don't need an expensive boat, and there's always a chance to catch a $5,000 or $10,000 fish."

Every Tuesday, starting May 12, a bonus $1,000 fish will be released. The Hot Springs CVB will announce through Facebook and Twitter the species of fish and the GPS coordinates of its release location. The information also will be broadcast on Tom Duke's 12:20 p.m., fishing report on KQUS-FM, 97.

"We'll tell you exactly where we dropped it," Arrison said. "Now, whether that fish is going to stay there is anybody's guess."

Last year Chuck Emrick of Hot Springs caught two tagged fish at Lake Catherine that were worth $1,500 total. One was a bluegill with a $1,000 tag, and the other was a crappie with a $500 tag.

Participants must have a valid Arkansas fishing license to redeem a tagged fish. All state fishing regulations will apply.

HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPS

C.J. Brustrom and William Carpenter of Cedar Ridge High School won the FLW Student Angler Federation Arkansas State High School Fishing Championship on Sunday at Lake Dardanelle by catching five bass that weighed 16 pounds, 12 ounces.

The two will compete in the High School Fishing Southern Conference Championship on the Arkansas River in October.

Another Cedar Ridge High team composed of Layton Lovell and Jordan Bumpous finished fourth in the event with five bass that weighed 13-15

The Arkansas State High School Fishing Championship is a two-person team event for students in grades 7-12. The top 10 percent from each state championship field will advance to a High School Fishing conference championship.

The top 10 percent of each conference championship field will advance to the High School Fishing National Championship in 2016. The High School Fishing national champions will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship to the school of their choice.

Sports on 05/07/2015

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