Quick Bites: Forrest Wood Cup, Three Rivers, Day 2

Leaderboard remains largely the same with one big exception

2009 Forrest Wood Cup

Three Rivers, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Opening round, Friday

Comeback kid … Heading into the second day of Forrest Wood Cup competition, Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., had a paltry 3-pound, 1-ounce catch to his credit. As such he found himself languishing in 36th place needing a small miracle to even make Friday’s top-10 cut. Throw in the fact that largest weight on day one was a whopping 8 pounds, 13 ounces and it was clear that Hackney had his work cut out for him. But despite the long odds, Hackney put on a fishing clinic for the ages – boating an absolutely stunning 11 pounds, 12 ounces to not only capture a berth in the top-10 but also grab the top qualifying position heading into Saturday’s semifinals. So just how amazing was the feat? To put Hackney’s day in perspective, Kevin VanDam won the Bassmaster Classic on the same waterway in 2005 with exactly 12 pounds, 15 ounces combined over three full days of competition. In short, Hackney’s performance was nothing short of amazing. “The good thing about a place like this is that you always have a chance,” said Hackney. “But I’ll tell you what. This is about the 12th day I’ve fished here and these are the best fish I’ve seen the entire time.”

Suggs remains sole Cup survivor … When the tournament began on Thursday, there were seven previous Forrest Wood Cup champions comprising the 2009 field. After Friday’s weigh-in however, there is now just one – Scott Suggs of Bryant, Ark. Consequently, Suggs is the only angler left with a chance to make history as the first-ever two-time Cup champion – a feat which has never been done despite the fact that the Forrest Wood Cup dates all the way back to the 1996 season. Ironically, it was Suggs who became the very first $1 million single-event winner in bass-fishing history after he took home the top prize at the 2007 Forrest Wood Cup. For the record, here’s how the prior Cup winners performed in the 2009 competition: Darrel Robertson (’99 Cup winner) 15th place; Michael Bennett (’08 Cup winner) 18th place; Luke Clausen (’04 Cup winner) 50th place; Brent Ehrler (’06 Cup winner) 53rd place; Dion Hibdon (’00 Cup winner) 71st place; and David Fritts (’97 Cup winner) 77th place.

Powers last man out … Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn., was the very last pro angler to qualify for the 2009 Forrest Wood Cup field. Unfortunately for Powers, as it turned out, he was also the very last pro to get bumped out of the top 10 on Friday afternoon. “You think this isn’t going to keep me up at night,” Powers joked, immediately after learning that he failed to qualify for the top 10 and a chance to fish for $1 million by the grand total of 2 ounces. “I let one fish off and that’s going to stay with me for a very long time.” According to Powers, he’d discovered a prime shallow backwater fishing area on the first day of practice but didn’t think he could sneak his boat into that spot on Thursday. Today, with the rising water levels, Powers took the plunge. “It was a little cut and I wasn’t completely sure what was in there,” said Powers. “But today I finally went in and as it turns out, I was sitting in the middle of a top-three spot at the very least.” Powers wound up catching five keeper largemouth bass in that area at a time when most anglers were ecstatic just to land one largemouth. “My partner caught two as well so we actually wound up catching seven keeper largemouths there,” said Powers. “We caught eight saugers, one white bass and even a spotted bass. This is definitely going to keep me up at night for a long time.”

Bennett comes up just short … Despite a furious comeback in Friday’s competition, 2008 Forrest Wood Cup champion Michael Bennett won’t have a chance to defend his title. While it was going to be a longshot no matter what after Bennett recorded a dismal 1-pound, 3-ounce catch on the opening day of tournament action in Pittsburgh, his 7-pound, 14-ounce catch in today’s competition allowed him to skyrocket from 62nd place to 18th, nearly maneuvering into the top-10 with a total weight of 9 pounds, 1 ounce. “(Yesterday’s performance) kind of pi-ed me off,” said Bennett. “So I really tried to turn things around today. But overall, this has been an incredible year.” As a result, Suggs is the only previous Cup winner still in contention for a 2009 Forrest Wood Cup title.

Yelas finally gets off the snide … After blanking over both days of competition at the Pittsburgh Bassmaster Classic in 2005, legendary pro Jay Yelas of Corvallis, Ore., was set to turn things around when the Forrest Wood Cup visited the same body of water in 2009. So with redemption on his mind, Yelas went out on the first day of Cup competition and … zeroed once again. Although Yelas could be excused for thinking that he was in the midst of a bad dream that would never end, Yelas finally, finally caught a fish in Pittsburgh. And although it weighed in at a whopping 1 pound, 7 ounces, Yelas probably felt as if he’d caught a 15-pounder on Clear Lake. “It’s a moral victory for me,” joked Yelas.

Another milestone for Forrest … Forrest L. Wood, the founder of Ranger Boats, the namesake of FLW Outdoors and perhaps the most iconic figure in the entire sport of bass fishing, received yet another honorable distinction during today’s weigh-in. Along with his wife of 58 years, Nina Wood, Forrest was inducted into the prestigious Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, Wisc. “What a thrill it’s been,” Forrest L. Wood told the crowd shortly before weigh-in. “It’s been such a great life. We built our very first Ranger boat back in 1968 and we are so fortunate to have the friends we have in the fishing world from coast to coast. In my closing comments I’d just like to say that without the people of Ranger boats, Nina and I wouldn’t be here.” Forrest and Nina were recognized by the Freshwater Hall of Fame for their “outstanding achievement and contribution to the sport of freshwater angling.”

Quick numbers

1: Total first-place prize award in millions earmarked for the winner of the 2009 Forrest Wood Cup.

1. Number of previous Cup winners (Scott Suggs) still in the running for a 2009 Forrest Wood Cup title.

2: Total number of Bassmaster Classic champions still remaining in 2009 Forrest Wood Cup contention – Larry Nixon (’83 Classic winner); and Michael Iaconelli (’03 Classic winner).

2: Total purse in millions at stake at this week’s 2009 Forrest Wood Cup.

4: Total number of five-fish limits caught by entire co-angler field on second day of Cup competition.

17: Total number of five-fish limits caught by the pro field on Friday.

35: Total number of places in the standings Hackney moved up to grab the top qualifying spot in today’s competition.

119-3: Total weight in pounds and ounces of fish caught on day two by co-angler field.

261-1: Total weight in pounds and ounces of fish caught on day two by pro field. Amazingly, the total poundage was exactly one pound less than the pros caught on Thursday.

Sound bites

“Girls, if a boy comes to your house don’t worry if he’s cute or cool … just ask him one question, do you own a bass boat?” – Television fishing personality Jimmy Houston offering up some quality dating advice to the young ladies in the audience before weigh-in.

“It’s okay. It’s time for the Fun Zone and a pizza party tonight.” – Forrest Wood Cup co-angler Pat Lay putting his rough day on the water in perspective after falling from 11th place to 36th in today’s competition.

“This is by far the toughest tournament I’ve ever had. This place was tough, but it brings out the best in you.” – Forrest Wood Cup co-angler competitor Justin Lucas.

“I think the southern hospitality is moving north.” – Forrest Wood Cup pro Jim Dillard remarking on the graciousness of the Pittsburgh fan base.

“The river came up 2 feet today so it was tough for me. But I did catch one good one and that’s like catching three fish anywhere else.” – Forrest Wood Cup pro Brett Hite on the joy of landing any fish at all on the fickle Three Rivers waterway.

“A few years ago when BASS was here I was sitting there up in the stands watching. So to be onstage right now it’s just amazing.” – Forrest Wood Cup co-angler Jason Ober commenting on the joy of competing at the 2009 Forrest Wood Cup.

“I’m nervous. I haven’t made a top 10 all year and I really want this badly.” – FLW Tour pro Bryan Thrift shortly before the scales confirmed that his two-day weight of 12 pounds, 2 ounces was good enough to qualify for the 2009 Forrest Wood Cup finals.