With the last fish being weighed in at the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Lanier in Georgia, Kevin Hawk from Ramona, California finds himself holding the Cup, the title and $600 thousand dollars richer.
A six-time FLW top 10 finisher, Hawk made his first Forrest Wood Cup appearance this year. Having dropped to 4th after leading day 1, he entered the final day with the strategy to, “Run and gun, hitting as many spots as he could”. Dropshotting the brush-piles on drop-offs with 7 lb test and 6 inch Robos was one of techniques that got Hawk a final bag of 14-13. With that 14-lbs Hawk leaped up the leader board into the top spot, earning $600,000 and the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup presented by Forrest L. Wood, himself.
Losing his electronics left California pro, Cody Meyer fishing blind for a time, until Lowrance saved the day with a fix on the water. Lamenting about his mistakes of missing a fish and dead penalties, Meyer brought in his bag for the final day, full of five with 9-13. Meyer locked in a tournament total of 48-08 that ended his 2010 fight for the cup in 2nd, one spot higher than his 2009 appearance, earning him $100,000.
With 12 tries at the Cup, but never a victory, the 1983 Bassmaster Classic Winner, Larry Nixon was hoping to bring home the championship in 2010. With his first cast, Nixon nailed a 4-lb spot and explained a catch on his first cast was a bad omen. Just as he thought, the Cup wasn’t in the cards this year, as the Arizona angler came to scales with less than a limit. He explained he “found four spots to fish on the lake that he had wore out during the week and he just couldn’t scratch out five today”. Placing 3rd, holding a 4-day total of 47-03, Nixon netted $85,000 for his work on the water.
The 2006 Cup holder, Brent Ehrler blasted off in first place today with the chance to make history as the first ever, two-time Forrest Wood Cup winner. With the 7-05 sack he had to settle for today, Ehrler wasn’t able to repeat his 2006 performance. Erhler’s efforts for his 4-day battle for bass landed him in 4th with 46-08. He banked another $60,000 for this finish. The California pro had an amazing season with two FLW tournament wins this year and over a quarter million in earnings.
Georgia resident, Troy Morrow launched with a 4-lb deficit on day 4 and was guaranteed at least a 6th place payout. His 6-12 sack on Sunday saw him step up the in the standings. Morrow managed to make the move to 5th, finding a total weight of 41-13 and grabbing $50,000 of the prize pool.
Ronald Hobbs Jr. came to the scale empty handed, as his fish had just plain ran out. Hobbs remained in 6th place. He explained that he and the other guys had fished “sun up to sun down, for 8 days”. Traveling from Washington, he claimed he never looked at a map and only “found two areas to fish, which he milked for all they were worth”, basically he had nothing left to catch on day 4, but wasn’t disappointed, as he told the audience, “I work 40 hours a week, just like everyone out there. It is a privilege for me to fish against Larry Nixon, Brent Erhler and these guys … if this is your dream, you can do it too”. Hobbs held at a total of 35-03 and saw his dream drop $45 thousand in his wallet for the week.
The Forrest Wood Cup is named after the legendary Forrest Lee Wood. Wood is credited as the creator of the modern bass boat and founder of Ranger Boats. A Professional Bass Fishing Hall of Fame Inductee, Wood is known worldwide for his success in the sport fishing industry.
Happening in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup will take place August 11-14.
For more information on the Forrest Wood Cup visit their website.
For results of the anglers cut prior to the final day click here.
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