The Full Story

FLW Tour Championship: Lake Ouachita, AR

Hot Springs, AR

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

Day 1: Thrift Leads $2 Million Forrest Wood Cup

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HOT SPRINGS – Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C., crossed the stage with a five-bass limit weighing 15 pounds, 7 ounces to lead day one of the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol on Lake Ouachita. Thrift now holds a slim 9-ounce lead in the tournament featuring 81 pros and 81 co-anglers from across the United States and Japan.

“I got some quality bites today,” said Thrift, who was named the Gain Rookie of the Year after the conclusion of the FLW Tour’s Detroit River event. “I hadn’t been doing that in practice. I’d catch maybe 8 to 10 pounds a day.”

Thrift said he fished both shallow and deep patterns, trying to make the shallow bite — which produced bigger fish for him — last as long as it could.

“Today I caught the better fish deep,” Thrift said, although he caught three fish shallow, including two 3-pounders. “I’m running the whole lake. I burnt a tank and a half of gas today because I’m doing a lot of spot fishing. I’ll run somewhere and make three or four casts, and if I don’t get bit, I’m gone.”

Scott Suggs of Bryant, Ark., trails Thrift in the No. 2 spot with five bass weighing 14-14.

“I practiced this week kind of incognito,” said Suggs, who has earned more than $182,000 in FLW Outdoors events, and notched a 1997 BFL victory and a 2003 BFL top-10 finish at Lake Ouachita. “I used a different boat and a different truck and I was just hiding. I had some stuff I really wanted to hit this week — and it’s not being bothered — and I was able to do it, and today it was evident.”

Brent Ehrler of Redlands, Calif., said he was happy with his first day’s showing and was cautiously optimistic about the rest of the tournament.

“I really struggled in practice,” Ehrler said. “I was catching two or three a day. So today, I was going crazy to catch a limit. I honestly don’t know if I can weigh a fish tomorrow.”

Rounding out the top five pros are John Sappington of Willard, Mo. (five bass, 13-13); Rusty Salewske of Alpine, Calif. (five bass, 13-0) and Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla. (five bass, 12-10).

Overall there were 293 bass weighing 572 pounds, 10 ounces caught by 80 pros Thursday. The catch included 34 five-bass limits.

The field of 81 professional anglers consists of qualifiers from the 2007 Wal-Mart FLW Tour, the 2006 FLW Series, the 2007 Wal-Mart BFL All-American, 2007 TBF National Championship and 2006 Stren Series Championship.

Pros in the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup are competing for a historic top cash prize of $1,000,000 — the sport’s biggest award. Ehrler won the 2006 Forrest Wood Cup and took home the top prize of $500,000. This year’s winner will receive $500,000 plus a $500,000 Ranger bonus if contingency guidelines are met.

David Hudson of Jasper, Ala., leads the Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 11-9 followed by Dino Caporuscio of Coto de Caza, Calif., in second place with five bass weighing 9-11.

“I caught fish on four different techniques,” said Hudson, who has 14 career top-10 finishes on the FLW Tour and captured the angler of the year title in 2000. “I caught six keepers and then some more small ones.

“I just want to win this one and get it off of my shoulders,” Hudson said.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Kevin Koone of Greenbrier, Ark. (five bass, 8-9); Jason Hampson of Cartersville, Ga. (five bass, 7-4) and Matt Arey of Shelby, N.C. (five bass, 7-2).

Overall there were 135 bass weighing 233 pounds caught by 64 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included four five-bass limits.

Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $50,000 this week.

The full field competes in the two-day opening round for 10 slots in Saturday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Saturday’s weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.

In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers.

Forrest Wood Cup contenders will launch at 7 each morning from Brady Mountain Resort located at 4120 Brady Mountain Road in Royal, Ark., and daily weigh-ins will be held at Summit Arena located at 134 Convention Blvd. in Hot Springs each afternoon at 5 p.m. The Forrest Wood Cup Family Fun Zone and Outdoor Show – featuring more than 140 exhibits, fishing seminars by Forrest L. Wood and other bass-fishing legends, and free daily giveaways – runs 2 to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Hot Springs Convention Center.

The first 500 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone Friday will receive a free tackle kit. The first 750 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone Saturday will receive free Solar Bat sunglasses. On Sunday, the first 1,500 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone will receive a free rod and reel combo. One lucky person attending the final weigh-in Sunday will even win a $53,000 Ranger Z20 powered by Yamaha. Participants must be present to win.
 

Day 2: Wade Leads $2 Million Forrest Wood Cup

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HOT SPRINGS – Jack Wade of Knoxville, Tenn., crossed the stage with a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 14 ounces to capture the lead on day two of the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol on Lake Ouachita. With a total opening-round catch of 10 bass weighing 28 pounds, 1 ounce, Wade now holds a 1-pound, 9-ounce lead in the tournament featuring 81 pros and 81 co-anglers from across the United States and Japan.

“It’s exciting,” said Wade, who has notched three top-10 finishes in five seasons on the FLW Tour. “I’m fishing slow and thorough. I lost a 2-pounder, and then I caught a 5-pounder 20 feet from where I caught an 18-pound striper yesterday.”

Wade remained tight-lipped about the techniques he used to catch his fish, and for good reason. Making the top-10 cut earned him the right to battle for a $1 million first-place cash prize. This winning check will be the largest in the history of professional bass fishing and will make one of the final 10 pros in the Forrest Wood Cup an instant millionaire.

“The way I’m fishing, I could catch nothing, or I could catch 20 pounds,” Wade said. “That’s all I’ll say. I’m fishing a big fish pattern.”

Wade said he’s targeting nine or 10 different spots that share similar characteristics.

“Tomorrow I’m going out and going to catch all I can,” Wade said.

Folgers pro Scott Suggs of Bryant, Ark., trails Wade in the No. 2 spot with 10 bass weighing 26-8.

“I started out strong,” said Suggs, who has earned more than $182,000 in FLW Outdoors events and has the hometown Hot Springs crowd behind him. “The second cast I made I caught a really good fish. Then I thought it started going downhill because the next cast I broke one off. You can’t do that on these fish I’m fishing for. It’s bad enough I pull them all to the boat and it screws the hole up. And then to break one off — you can’t do that.”

Suggs said he is targeting fish suspended in deep trees, but the fish kept moving from tree to tree, and he had to move around to stay on fish.

“It was 8:30 this morning and I had enough to make the cut,” Suggs said. “I backed off for a while but then got nervous later in the day.

“I feel pretty good about it right now, but tomorrow is a whole new ball game,” Suggs added. “This lake has humbled me many times.”

Rounding out the top 10 pros are Gain Rookie of the Year Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C. (eight bass, 25-12); Castrol pro Mike Surman of Boca Raton, Fla. (10 bass, 24-5); Kellogg’s pro Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas (10 bass, 24-4); Folgers pro Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, S.C. (10 bass, 24-4); Castrol pro Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla. (nine bass, 22-10); Greg Pugh of Cullman, Ala. (10 bass, 21-14); Castrol pro David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va. (10 bass, 21-5) and John Devere of Berea, Ky. (10 bass, 21-3).

Overall there were 227 bass weighing 453 pounds, 7 ounces caught by 72 pros Thursday. The catch included 18 five-bass limits.

The field of 81 professional anglers consists of qualifiers from the 2007 Wal-Mart FLW Tour, the 2006 FLW Series, the 2007 Wal-Mart BFL All-American, 2007 TBF National Championship, 2007 Ranger Owners Championship Series and 2006 Stren Series Championship. Six of the final top 10 anglers qualified through the 2006 FLW Series and four qualified through the 2007 Wal-Mart FLW Tour.

David Hudson of Jasper, Ala., leads the Co-angler Division with nine bass weighing 18-7 followed by Kevin Koone of Greenbrier, Ark., in second place with eight bass weighing 14-13.

“I just wanted to catch a couple of fish,” said Hudson, who has recorded a record 14 FLW Tour top-10 finishes without a win. “I felt my best chance to catch a couple of keepers was on the drop shot.”

Hudson caught two fish Thursday on the drop-shot rig and then switched to a big worm to try to boat a large fish. The worm produced his other two keepers. Hudson said he caught a total of seven fish throughout the course of the day.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Kevin Koone of Greenbrier, Ark. (six bass, 14-13); Bret Bell of O’Fallon, Mo. (seven bass, 13-6); Karyn Sanchez of Midlothian, Texas (six bass, 12-10); Doug Caldwell of Kane, Pa. (six bass, 12-2); Matt Arey of Shelby, N.C. (seven bass, 12-1); Jason Hampson of Cartersville, Ga. (five bass, 11-9); Dino Caporuscio of Coto De Caza, Calif. (six bass, 11-7); Pete Bridges of Tallapoosa, Ga. (six bass, 10-4) and Ken Murphy from Meridian, Miss. (seven bass, 9-14).

Sanchez is the first woman in FLW Tour history to advance to the top 10 in the Forrest Wood Cup.

Overall there were 143 bass weighing 243 pounds, 10 ounces caught by 65 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included three five-bass limits.

Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $50,000 this week.

The full field competes in the two-day opening round for 10 slots in Saturday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Saturday’s weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.

In Forrest Wood Cup competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers.

Forrest Wood Cup contenders will launch at 7 each morning from Brady Mountain Resort located at 4120 Brady Mountain Road in Royal, Ark., and daily weigh-ins will be held at Summit Arena located at 134 Convention Blvd. in Hot Springs each afternoon at 5. The Forrest Wood Cup Family Fun Zone and Outdoor Show – featuring more than 140 exhibits, fishing seminars by Forrest L. Wood and other bass-fishing legends, and free daily giveaways – will be open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Hot Springs Convention Center.

The first 750 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone Saturday will receive free Solar Bat sunglasses. On Sunday, the first 1,500 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone will receive a free rod and reel combo. One lucky person attending the final weigh-in Sunday will even win a $53,000 Ranger Z20 powered by Yamaha. Participants must be present to win.

John Salley, Charissa Thompson and Rob Dibble will join the world’s top professional bass anglers to tape FSN’s hit “Best Damn Sports Show Period” Saturday at 1 p.m. on the Chevy stage at the Hot Springs Convention Center.

Taping for the nationwide cable show, which airs weeknights at 10:30 p.m., will precede the tournament’s day-three weigh-in and crowning of the co-angler champion. Spectators could possibly make an appearance on the show as well, so you won’t want to miss this opportunity. Admission to the Forrest Wood Cup and “Best Damn Sports Show Period” taping is free.

Also, multi-platinum recording artist Tracy Byrd will perform a free concert, presented by US 97-FM, on the main stage at Summit Arena on Sunday at 4 p.m., just before the start of the final weigh-in.


 

Day 3: Suggs Leads Heading Into Final Day

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HOT SPRINGS – Scott Suggs of Bryant, Ark., caught a five-bass limit weighing 11 pounds even Saturday to capture the lead in the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol on Lake Ouachita. Suggs, who fishes for Team Folgers, now holds an impressive 4-pound, 1-ounce edge over his closest competitor, Greg Pugh of Cullman, Ala., heading into the final day of competition. If he holds on for the win, Suggs will pocket $1 million – the largest award in the history of professional bass fishing.

“I’m going to stay with my game plan,” said Suggs, who has earned more than $182,000 in FLW Outdoors events and has the hometown Hot Springs crowd behind him. A group of about 40 spectator boats followed Suggs during competition Saturday. “The strongest parts of my days have come in the first five or six stops.”

Suggs said he caught fish Saturday the same way he caught them the first two days of competition – targeting suspending fish near trees in water 40 to 60 feet deep early and then fishing structure with a spinnerbait and big worm.

“I’m going to add a bait to my arsenal tomorrow,” Suggs said. “I’m going to mix up my spots a little bit, too. But I’m sticking to my basic game plan. Why change it? It has gotten me here, and it has gotten me three limits of fish.

“It would mean more than the world to me to win the Forrest Wood Cup for these people,” Suggs said of the hometown crowd in Summit Arena. “They have followed me through the ups and the downs, so it would be a reward for all of us.”

Pugh, who fishes for Team Pedigree, echoed most of the top-10 anglers by admitting that tough conditions had him stumped for the most part on day three of the lucrative tournament.

“It was a tough day,” said Pugh, who has amassed more than $350,000 in career winnings with FLW Outdoors. “I started out throwing topwater baits this morning, and we had 2- and 3-pounders rolling all over the place. It didn’t matter what we threw in there, they wouldn’t eat it. It was just really frustrating. After that I went to a few of my backup spots and pulled a few nice fish.

“I think I know where I am going to start tomorrow,” Pugh added. “I’m probably going to back a few things up and try something different. I’ve caught a few stringers over 20 pounds during practice, and I’m excited to see how this plays out. I really didn’t think it would turn out like this. I was expecting to be down by 8 pounds or more. All I can say is that I’m excited. What else can you say? It’s going to be a million dollars, and I’m as cool and settled as I can be.”

Up until Saturday, Pugh had been fishing deep with crankbaits, but he said he doesn’t think that the technique will pay off on the final day of competition.

“I’ve been relying all week long on that bite, and I threw it out today and went after them with a worm,” Pugh said.

The switch paid off with two bass weighing 6 pounds, 15 ounces.

Rounding out the top 10 pros are pro Team Castrol’s David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va. (four bass, 6-7); Team Castrol’s Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla. (three bass, 5-14); Team Castrol’s Mike Surman of Boca Raton, Fla. (two bass, 4-14); John Devere of Berea, Ky. (three bass, 3-14); Kellogg’s pro Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas (one bass, 3-4); Gain Rookie of the Year Bryan Thift of Shelby, N.C. (two bass, 2-12); Team Folgers pro Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, S.C. (one bass, 1-4) and Jack Wade of Knoxville, Tenn. (zero bass, 0-0).

Overall there were 23 bass weighing 46 pounds, 4 ounces caught in the Pro Division Saturday. The catch included one five-bass limit.

The field of 81 professional anglers consists of qualifiers from the 2007 Wal-Mart FLW Tour, the 2006 FLW Series, the 2007 Wal-Mart BFL All-American, 2007 TBF National Championship, 2007 Ranger Owners Championship Series and 2006 Stren Series Championship. Six of the final top 10 anglers qualified through the 2006 FLW Series and four qualified through the 2007 Wal-Mart FLW Tour.

Pete Bridges of Tallapoosa, Ga., won the Co-angler Division and $25,000 Saturday with four bass weighing 6 pounds, 13 ounces followed by Dino Caporuscio of Coto de Caza, Calif., in second place with three bass weighing 5-14 worth $10,000.

“It’s just awesome,” said Bridges, who celebrated his 66th birthday Saturday. “I’m just so thrilled about it. I doubt very seriously at my age that I will be able to accomplish it again, but it’s in the history books now that I won the 2007 Forrest Wood Cup.

“Bragging rights are more important than the money,” Bridges added. “I just want to take the check home to my wife.”

Bridges said he started out the week throwing a swimming Senko in shallow water around grass. Today, Dudley, his pro partner, was fishing a deep crankbait, and Bridges had to adapt by throwing a Texas-rigged worm around deeper, off-shore structure.

Bridges opened the tournament in 44th place Thursday with two bass weighing 2-9 while fishing with pro Rob Kilby of Hot Springs, Ark. On Friday he jumped into ninth place on the strength of a four-bass catch weighing 7-11 while fishing with Woo Daves of Spring Grove, Va.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were Ken Murphy of Meridian, Miss. (three bass, 5-7, $9,000); Doug Caldwell of Kane, Penn. (three bass, 5-1, $8,000); David Hudson of Jasper, Ala. (three bass, 4-10, $7,000); Jason Hampson of Cartersville, Ga. (two bass, 3-13, $6,000); Kevin Koone of Greenbrier, Ark. (two bass, 3-11, $5,000); Matt Arey of Shelby, N.C. (one bass, 1-9, $4,000); Karyn Sanchez of Midlothian, Texas (one bass, 1-8, $3,500) and Bret Bell of O’Fallon, Mo. (zero bass, 0-0, $3,000).

Sanchez was the first female angler in the sports history to advance to the final round of the Forrest Wood Cup.

Overall there were 22 bass weighing 38 pounds, 6 ounces caught in the Co-angler Division Saturday. The catch included no five-bass limits.

The full field competed in the opening round for 10 slots in Saturday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights were cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concluded following Saturday’s weigh-in. The top 10 pros will continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.

In Forrest Wood Cup competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers.

Forrest Wood Cup contenders will launch at 7 a.m. Sunday from Brady Mountain Resort located at 4120 Brady Mountain Road in Royal, Ark., and the weigh-in will be held at Summit Arena located at 134 Convention Blvd. in Hot Springs at 5 p.m. The Forrest Wood Cup Family Fun Zone and Outdoor Show – featuring more than 140 exhibits, fishing seminars by Forrest L. Wood and other bass-fishing legends, and free daily giveaways – will be open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday at the Hot Springs Convention Center.

On Sunday, the first 1,500 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone will receive a free rod and reel combo. One lucky person attending the final weigh-in Sunday will even win a $53,000 Ranger Z20 powered by Yamaha. Participants must be present to win.

Multi-platinum recording artist Tracy Byrd will perform a free concert, presented by US 97-FM, on the main stage at Summit Arena on Sunday at 4 p.m., just before the start of the final weigh-in.
 

Day 4: Scott Suggs Wins Forrest Wood Cup

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HOT SPRINGS – Folgers pro Scott Suggs of Bryant, Ark., caught a two-day total of seven bass weighing 17 pounds, 1 ounce to win $1 million in the Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol on Lake Ouachita Sunday. Suggs topped his closest rival, Castrol pro Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla., by more than 4 pounds to become the first bass angler in history to pocket $1 million in a single tournament.

“I’ve been so close so many times, but I’ve never been able to close it,” said Suggs, who was trailed by a flotilla of more than 50 boats at the morning takeoff and cheered by an overflow crowd of more than 24,000 well-wishers Sunday afternoon at Summit Arena and the Hot Springs Convention Center. “It’s been a long road since the last time I won, but it’s great to do it here on my home water. Winning a million dollars hasn’t quite sunk in yet. The more I think about it, the better it gets. It’s just great to have my name up there with the champions like Darrel Robertson, Rick Clunn and the whole other list of them. It’s just great that my name will be up there as the first million dollar winner. It’s just unbelievable, that’s all I can say.”

Suggs targeted big fish Sunday using a 10-inch Berkley PowerWorm and a spinnerbait. His efforts yielded just two bass weighing 6 pounds, 1 ounce. When added to his catch of five bass weighing 11 pounds from Saturday, however, the fish proved to be enough to fend off his rivals and claim the world’s most lucrative prize in a bass-fishing tournament.

“I focused on suspending fish around submerged trees in 30 to 40 feet of water with the fish sitting in 20 to 25 feet near main-lake breaks,” Suggs said. “I was fishing an absolutely perfect tournament with five fish per day until the final day, but thankfully I held on.

“We recently built a new house and my kids wanted a swimming pool, but we didn’t get one. Now, I’m getting my little girls a swimming pool,” Sugg’s added.

Robertson caught a two-day total of six bass weighing 12-8 to claim second place and $100,000.

“I would have liked to have had first place by far, but for anyone to constantly catch fish this week, the good lord is looking out for them,” Robertson said. “I fished as hard as I could and worked my fish methodically. My key to success this week was that I never blew up. I kept my cool. I set my sights on at least three fish a day, and I did that.”

Rounding out the top 10 pros were Kellogg’s pro Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas, (four bass, 10-1, $75,000): Castrol pro Mike Surman of Boca Raton, Fla. (five bass, 9-14, $60,000); Gain Rookie of the Year Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C. (four bass, 9-12, $50,000); Pedigree pro Greg Pugh of Cullman, Ala. (four bass, 9-8, $45,000); John Devere of Berea, Ky. (six bass, 9-2, $40,000); Castrol pro David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va. (six bass, 8-14, $35,000); Folgers pro Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, S.C. (five bass, 8-11, $30,00) and Jack Wade of Knoxville, Tenn. (four bass, 7-9, $25,000).

Aside from being part of history Sunday, fishing fans were treated to news from FLW Outdoors chairman Irwin Jacobs that, like the pros, they will have a chance to win $1 million beginning next year – without ever picking up a rod and reel. Details on the opportunity will be announced in late October or early November.

“I stared fishing in 1989, and in three years I’ll be 60. I never dreamed I would see this,” Robertson said. “It would be great to win another one, but I think what’s going to help this sport more than the million dollar prize to the anglers is giving fans a chance to win the same amount. It is going to be great.”

The field of 81 professional anglers consisted of qualifiers from the 2007 Wal-Mart FLW Tour, the 2006 FLW Series, the 2007 Wal-Mart BFL All-American, 2007 TBF National Championship, 2007 Ranger Owners Championship Series and 2006 Stren Series Championship. Six of the final top 10 anglers qualified through the 2006 FLW Series and four qualified through the 2007 Wal-Mart FLW Tour.

Pete Bridges of Tallapoosa, Ga., won the Co-angler Division and $25,000 Saturday with four bass weighing 6 pounds, 13 ounces followed by Dino Caporuscio of Coto de Caza, Calif., in second place with three bass weighing 5-14 worth $10,000.

“It’s just awesome,” said Bridges, who celebrated his 66th birthday Saturday. “I’m just so thrilled about it. I doubt very seriously at my age that I will be able to accomplish it again, but it’s in the history books now that I won the 2007 Forrest Wood Cup.”

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were Ken Murphy of Meridian, Miss. (three bass, 5-7, $9,000); Doug Caldwell of Kane, Penn. (three bass, 5-1, $8,000); David Hudson of Jasper, Ala. (three bass, 4-10, $7,000); Jason Hampson of Cartersville, Ga. (two bass, 3-13, $6,000); Kevin Koone of Greenbrier, Ark. (two bass, 3-11, $5,000); Matt Arey of Shelby, N.C. (one bass, 1-9, $4,000); Karyn Sanchez of Midlothian, Texas (one bass, 1-8, $3,500) and Bret Bell of O’Fallon, Mo. (zero bass, 0-0, $3,000).

Sanchez was the first female angler in the sport’s history to advance to the final round of the Forrest Wood Cup.

The full field competed in the opening round for 10 slots in Saturday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights were cleared for Saturday, and co-angler competition concluded. The top 10 pros continued competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from both days.

Pros and co-anglers were randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fished from the back deck against other co-anglers.

Coverage of the Forrest Wood Cup will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States Sept. 23 and Sept. 30 as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast in Canada on WFN (World Fishing Network) and to more than 429 million households in the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East through Matchroom Sport, making it the most widely distributed fishing program in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.

A record crowd of 61,976 fans attended the historic Forrest Wood Cup during its four-day stay Hot Springs.
 

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Compiled by Brandon Shook