The Forrest Wood Cup is no different from any bass fishing tournament, in that, the anglers try to have a good time while fishing. The following is a collection of angler’s quotes, notes and statistics that probably won’t make the big news. These are from after the second days weigh-in. I hope you enjoy them and watch for day three’s and four’s in the next two days.
Bill McDonald – In his first Forrest Wood Cup, McDonald thanked FLW for all the prayers and support during this event – He lost his Father this past Thursday. “Sure made it hard to focus but I’m so thankful for all your thoughts and prayers.” Obviously this was an emotional moment for McDonald.
Casey Martin – Casey’s camera man proudly walked Martin’s bag of fish onto the stage while Casey followed behind taking multiple photos of the young man. As everyone had a great laugh, Casey explained that he lost a bet with his camera man by not bringing in a limit on day two. This lost bet allowed him, the camera man, to be filmed for a change. Casey went on to say “I lost a bunch of fish today. The fish were there, but at this level you can’t do that and expect to move on to the next round.
Jay Yelas – He was so glad to qualify for the Forrest Wood Cup, for the 8th time in a row, and cracked everyone up when he came out and asked how his favorite tournament director was doing. Jay had 10 pounds 11 ounces on day one and a day two weight of 7 pounds 10 ounces and said, “It was tough to do today.” He just struggled to find the quality fish he needed. Jay went on to thank his sponsors and wanted everyone to know it was just a dream to flip his new Kistler Lew’s combos; lightest setup he has ever used. Jay thought he was right on the bubble but didn’t think his 18.5 would make the day two cut.
Jimmy Houston – “I’m that Guy”, with a day one weight of 2 pounds and 2 ounces with two fish, couldn’t seem to catch a limit. There wasn’t much improvement on day two, again, catching only two fish weighing 3 pounds 1 ounce. Jimmy finished in 46th place at the 2013 Forrest Wood Cup, but was happy to have fished all 6 tournaments this year and had set out to work hard for the Cup. He came down and pre-fished, something Jimmy said he never does, but a tragic event put a damper on his event. A good friend of his, who joined him prefishing, fell and broke his back. He asked everyone in attendance to say a prayer for him as he was still in the hospital and fighting for his life.
Adrian Avena – Adrian had a day one weight of 13 pounds 2 ounces and his day two weight of 8 pounds 14 ounces put him in first place while on the stage with a total two day weight of 22 pounds. Adrian gave a big shout out to Bass Cat and Mercury, “I’ve been running both hard all year and never had the first issue.”
Ishama Monroe – The California Pro millionaire, with over 2 million dollars in winnings, fished Pool 3 on day two. His day one weight of 7 pounds 7 ounces was improved upon with his day two weigh of 9 pounds 11 ounces, but wasn’t enough. Ish said he ran 160 miles round trip to fish clear water where he hoped he could hook into them. “I’ve fished with FLW for a long time now and plan to fish FLW for a long time to come. You guys are the best anglers out there and I sure enjoy fishing with the FLW family.”
Ray Scheidi – “The river sure has been hard on folks, but not on Ray”, the tournament director stated, Ray finished day one with a total of 12 pounds 7 ounces and finding even better fish on day two with 13 pounds. Jumping his weight up, he was so happy he once again hit the stage just dancing and said he was looking to “Blow the doors off tomorrow.”
Stacey King – He has 12 classics under his belt and this is his 4th Forrest Wood Cup. He brought 8 pounds 12 ounces to the scales day one, his weight was down a little on day two with 6 pounds 6 ounces. Stacey said this tournament just baffled him. He spent the last two days just scratching his head, loved the fishery but couldn’t find the quality bites he needed and still didn’t know what he could change if he could just start all over and do it again.
Tom Monsoor – This is his fifth Forrest Wood Cup and had a day one weight of 11 pounds 8 ounces. He brought even more weight to the scales with his day two limit weighing 13 pounds 3 ounces putting him in 2nd place at the time on stage. “Looking forward to fishing day three and just hoping I finally get a chance to fish all day.” He had been plagued with battery issues but thought he had them figured out and could do even better with a full day of fishing but added he really couldn’t promise that because it was, after all, still fishing.
Scott Canterbury – He has now fished 5 Forrest Wood Cups, he took second place last year in the Cup but his day one weight of 8 pounds 3 ounces and day two weight of 6 pounds 4 ounces didn’t look like he would have to worry about coming in 2nd again. Stating it [the Red River] was tough on him this week, he was catching a ton of fish on plastics day one, so he switched to a frog on day two hoping for better fish and actually caught smaller fish. “It’s fishing and you just never know; maybe I should have stayed with plastics”, he said looking a little confused.
Andy Morgan – The Angler of the Year for 2013, he has now has competed in 16 Forrest Wood Cups. He wasn’t sure if he would make the day two cut or not. He had 11 pounds 2 ounces on day one and a lower weight, 8 pounds 11 ounces, on day two had him thinking it would be real close, he didn’t know if he would get to fish on the 3rd day. Said how tough the bite was out there on day two, and was ready to see what everyone else had to bring to the scales.
David Fritts – David has won both a Classic and a Forrest Wood Cup Championship. He has fished 11 Cups now, and is also a Multimillionaire Angler with over 2.2 million in winnings. With a day one weight of 11 pounds 6 ounces and a drop in day two, weighing in just 7 pounds 12 ounces, Fritts said, “Day two of fishing just wasn’t a very smooth day for me.” Fritts told us all just how tough the bite was and that he ended up getting stuck in the locks. However, he wanted to tell folks he won his very first Ranger Boat in an FLW event and here he is, years later, still running Rangers hard, and didn’t know how anyone could ever talk him out of his Ranger.
JT Kenny – JT has fished 8 Forrest Wood Cups, 7 of them in a row, and his $1.2 million in winnings proves he knows what it takes to win. Kenny had 11 pounds 2 ounces day one and added another 11 pounds day two. He said he didn’t practice or pre fish, just hitting the river fishing on instinct. He enjoyed riding around the main river looking for things that just looked good. He said, “When I found something that looked like it would be good to fish and (as he pointed to his head) this tells me ‘hey man you should fish that’, I stopped and fished it. So far it’s worked for me I’ve brought 11 pounds in each day and looking forward to seeing what tomorrow brings.”
Robbie Dodson – Robbie has fished 3 Forrest Wood Cups now. His day one weight of 10 pounds 15 ounces and day two weight of 12 pounds 8 ounces put him in 3rd place on the stage. He stated “There are just so many dang fish out there on the Red, I can’t wait to get back out in the morning.”
Scott Martin – Scott said the great community of Shreveport / Bossier is the City of Champions now that both the Classic and Forrest Wood Cups have been there over the last few years. His day one weight of 6 pounds 9 ounces and day two of 8 pounds 12 ounces will let him hang with the coolest people he knows, the fans. He plans on just “chill’n” at the Expo.
Brent Ehrler – The Former Forrest Wood Cup Champion has fished eight Cups now and is also a Multimillionaire Angler with over $2.1 million in winnings. His day one weight of 8 pounds 12 ounces and day two weight of 12 pounds, which was one of the best stringers on day two, should get him fishing on day three. He went on to say he figured out a few more things, but sometimes you just get chills in this sport. He went on to relay a story from this morning: “I put a couple bags of plastics in my boat today, didn’t think I was going to use them, but brought them along anyway. Well, while at the dock I pulled one of the baits out and gave it to my son who played with it for a while and then threw it back in my boat. Mom picked it up, and my son grabbed it to play with for a bit more. When I went to head out and fish, he threw it back at me in the boat. I remember it hitting the boat and stuck on my electronics. As the day went on, those plastics were what I needed to put the fish in the boat and I ran out of them. Took me a monument, but I remembered that one my son kept throwing back at me this morning. So I went to look to see if it was still there, and it was. So I grabbed it, put it my hook and managed to catch my last good fish of the day on it.”
Jacob Powroznik – Jacob had 6 pounds 12 ounces day one and 11 pounds and 13 ounces on day two. He was one the few who did better on day two than day one.
Randall Tharp – The day one leader with 18 pounds 8 ounces brought in 11 pounds 3 ounces on day two, and was told he sure was looking strong in this event. Tharp reminded everyone this tournament can’t be won in two days, “You better not get to confident fishing against these guys!” Simply stated he was looking forward to seeing what he weighed and if he made the cut to fish all 4 days.
Barry Wilson’s – This was Barry’s first Forrest Wood Cup, his day one weight of 9 pounds 7 ounces and a day two weight of 8 pounds and 9 ounces left him wishing he would be fishing on the third day but is so blessed to be out here fishing. He believes he culled a hundred fish today. He said he had to go through 10 or 12 at a time just to gain an ounce or two and couldn’t believe just how many fish are on this river system.
Christopher Brasher – He had 5 pounds 14 ounces on day one and jumped way up to 12 pounds 3 ounces on day two. Christopher thought he went to his best spot way to early on day one. He added that he believes he had the bites for a 10 to 20 pound sack, but was unable to connect with them, he commented that this left him disappointed in missing a top 20 finish needed to fish a 3rd day.
Justin Lucas – Justin has fished 5 Forrest Wood Cups now. With his day one weight of 10 pounds 3 ounces and a day two sack of 12 pounds 13 ounces, he was one of the few FLW anglers that improved their catch on day two when so many others struggled to find the better bites. In his last two hours, he managed to jump up his weight from 7 pounds to the near 13 pounds and is positive he has an area that holds 18 to 19 pounds and just can’t wait to get back out on the water.
Wesley Strader – Wesley has fished 13 Forrest Wood Cups, the last 5 in a row. A day one weight of 9 pounds 7 ounces and day two weight of 10 pounds 13 ounces left him saying while on stage, “I’m on the bubble, but I want to fish tomorrow bad enough I can taste it.” Wesley recounted that he and his Co-Angler were witness to one of the coolest things he’s ever seen. A miniature tornado sprung up right next to his boat on day two. He said the funnel popped up 10 foot or so above the water sucked water and bait fish from the red and moved them across him, his Co Angler and boat.
Michael Neal – Fishing his first Forrest Wood Cup here on the Red River, he had a day one weight of 11 pounds and 5 ounces along with his day two weight of 10 pounds 11 ounces for a total of 22 pounds even. He was definitely on fish, catching 30 to 40 a day in a little stretch of back water.
Kerry Milner – Also fishing his first Forrest Wood Cup here on the Red River, stood in 9th place while on stage after his day one weight of 8 pounds 15 ounces was combined with a bigger bag with 12 pounds 4 ounces on day two for a total weight of 21 pounds 3 ounces. He said he was just ready to jump in the boat and get right back out on the river.
Larry Nixon – The General has now fished 14 Forrest Wood Cups. He built on his day one weight of 13 pounds 4 ounces with a day two weight of 14 pounds 5 ounces for a total of 27 pounds 9 ounces. The General said, “I’m getting it done. It sure wasn’t easy, I fished my tail off for those bites; caught one flipping and struggled and struggled and struggled until I caught another flipping and put it together. A lot of work but well worth it.”
Jim Moynagh – His day one weight of 10 pounds and 1 ounce and day two weight of 8 pounds 3 ounces had the Minnesota M&M pro nervous about his chances. He loves the FLW and joining the M&M team gained his popularity. Known as the M&M guy, no one knows his name but everyone hopes he has some candy.
Mark Rose – Coming to the stage with 11 pounds 14 ounces, just down from his 12 pounds 15 ounces on day one, ensured his third day of fishing with 24 pounds 13 ounces. He stayed in one area for two days. He wasn’t even going to go back on the third day because he has saved his best spot for in the morning. He hoped to duplicate some of the monsters he caught in practice and just prays his best two days of weight are yet to come.
Luke Clausen – Both, a Forrest Wood Cup and Classic Champion, he has fished 9 Cups now and spent the day swinging for the fence. His day one weight of 8 pounds and 11 ounces was better than his day two weight of 7 pounds 14 ounces but cut him out of a third day on the water with just 16 pounds and 9 ounces.
David Dudley – The all-time FLW money winner with over $3.5 million has made fifteen Forrest Wood Cups appearances. Knowing his weight of 9 pounds 5 ounces from day one and having 7 pounds 5 ounces on day two wasn’t enough to make the cut, he said while sitting in back waiting to come on stage it was just eating at him. He gave a big thanks to Ranger Boats, “People have no idea how well these boats hold up”, he continued, “I mean, when you are launching your boats over stumps this high (as he holds his hand about waist height) no other boat can take that kind of punishment day after day as well as a Ranger.”
Stetson Blaylock – Fishing his 4th Forrest Wood Cup, Stetson started out on day one with just 6 pounds 14 ounces and brought in a bigger bag of 10 pounds 6 ounces day two. He said he has been consistent all year and showed that by accumulating enough points in the AOY race for second place. In doing so he may be out of the Cup, but won a Ranger 520Z for his efforts.
Spencer Shuffield – Fishing his seventh Forrest Wood Cup, Shuffield brought 12 pounds 8 ounces in on day one and followed up with 7 pounds 3 ounces in day two. He felt he made a few bad decisions on day two that will keep him from making the cut to fish day three.
Jacob Wheeler – The 2012 Forrest Wood Cup Champion had 7 pounds 4 ounces on day one, but jumped way up with 13 pounds 7 ounces on day two for enough to make the cut with 20 pounds 11 ounces. He feels he had a great day two and is on a roll going into day three.
Troy Morrow – Troy has fished 3 Forrest Wood Cups with $520,000.00 in FLW winnings. His day one weight of 10 pounds 15 ounces and day two weight of 10 pounds 10 ounces for a total of 21 pounds 9 ounces, will get him into the cut. He thought it all just came together in the last 10 minutes of the day. He made a lot of mistakes on the water but is thankful it didn’t keep him from making the cut, and he was able to learn from those mistakes and hopes for an even better day tomorrow.
John Cox – In his 2nd Forrest Wood Cup, his day one weight of 10 pounds 10 ounces combined with his day two weight of 13 pounds 5 ounces allowing him to advance to day three. He said he won here on the Red two years ago and hopes he can continue to keep his weights coming up each day he comes to the scales.
Cody Meyer – Cody has now made it to 5 Forrest Wood Cup Championships, and all 5 are in a row. Day one weight of 8 pounds 8 ounces and day two of 8 pounds 2 ounces wasn’t enough to let him move on. He said, “Every angler here hopes and dreams for the Cup. I may not have made the cut to fish day three, but just getting here is awesome. However, it’s only the first small step to win it. With these guys, you have to be at the top of your game each and every day at this level.”
Zell Rowland – Zell has been to the Classic 16 times, and this was his second Forrest Wood Cup. His day one weight of 8 pounds and 12 ounces and day two sack of 7 pounds and 14 ounces wasn’t enough to move him on to the third day of competition. Zell said he “…sure enjoyed fishing with you all here”, referring to the other FLW Anglers, and just hopes he is back next year to do it all again.
Fishing Never Felt So Good!
See You On the Water!
Ronald S. “Fogy” Fogelson, MSgt USAF (Ret)
Administrator Ultimatebass.com
Kistler National Pro Staff
Okuma Reels
El Grande Lures
Lead Pro Staffer KaRu Lures Elite Tungsten
