Meet the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup contenders II

Seventy-eight of nation’s top bass pros vie for $500,000 payday, place in history

With the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup slated for Aug. 5-8 on Lake Lanier in Atlanta, the clock continues to tick toward the start of one of the most prestigious and exciting bass-fishing championships in the nation. In an effort to provide bass-fishing fans with a little more perspective and background on the competition, FLWOutdoors.com is launching a five-part series/overview of each of the 78 qualifying pros – one of whom will walk away with the title of Forrest Wood Cup champion.

With a guaranteed first-place prize of $500,000 on the line (as well as another $100,000 if the winning pro is Ranger Cup qualified), there is clearly plenty at stake in Atlanta. So without further ado, let’s meet the contenders.

(Editor’s note: Forrest Wood Cup competitors will be featured in alphabetical order. This is the second in a five-part series.)

2010 Forrest Wood Cup contenders

Brent Ehrler – Redlands, Calif. Ehrler seems to be unstoppable in 2010 with two FLW Tour victories and one FLW Series National Guard Western Division victory. The National Guard pro finished the FLW Tour ranked fifth in the Angler of the Year race and now has his sights set on becoming the first two-time Forrest Wood Cup champion. Ehrler won the Forrest Wood Cup in 2006 on Logan Martin Lake. Ehrler also has a top-5 FLW Series finish at Lake Mead and currently sits in first place in the Angler of the Year race. Ehrler has won more than $1.5 million in his six-year career with six victories and 23 top-10 finishes under his belt. Ehrler has qualified for the Cup five times, scoring his 2010 invitation via the FLW Series.

Mike Folkestad – Orange, Calif. Folkestad is making his first Forrest Wood Cup appearance. He qualified through the FLW Series National Guard Western Division. His highest FLW Series finish in 2010 was a 22nd-place effort at Lake Mead. The 2007 season proved to be his best year on the FLW Series when he finished fifth in the Angler of the Year standings. Folkestad has accumulated almost $1.5 million in career winnings and six top-10 finishes.

David Fritts – Lexington, N.C. Fritts gained steam during the 2010 FLW Tour season and ended the regular season with his highest finish of the year, a third-place effort at Lake Guntersville. A crankbait-fishing expert, Fritts has now qualified for 10 Forrest Wood Cups. Fritts won the 1997 Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Ferguson and is also a member of the exclusive five-member club of anglers who have won both the Forrest Wood Cup and the Bassmaster Classic. Fritts qualified for the 2010 Cup through the FLW Tour.

Shinichi Fukae – Palestine, Texas Fukae showed amazing consistency during the 2010 FLW Tour schedule, cashing checks in all five regular-season events and finishing ninth in the Angler of the Year race. During his rookie season, Fukae stunned the bass-fishing world en route to capturing the FLW Tour Angler of the Year title. Fukae will be attending his sixth Forrest Wood Cup appearance. To date, Fukae’s highest finish in Cup competition was a fourth-place effort which came in 2006 at Logan Martin Lake. Fukae qualified for this year’s Cup via the FLW Tour.

Anthony Gagliardi – Prosperity, S.C. The 2006 Angler of the Year produced his highest finish of the 2010 FLW Tour season at Lake Norman where he scored an 18th-place result. The Chevy pro has posted three FLW Tour wins in his career and has qualified for eight consecutive Forrest Wood Cups. Gagliardi had perhaps his best overall season in 2009 when he earned an FLW Tour victory on Table Rock Lake and finished second on Lake Champlain. Gagliardi qualified for this year’s Cup via the FLW Tour.

Jake Gipson – Niceville, Fla. Gipson represents one half of the National Guard FLW College Fishing team that won the inaugural national championship in April on Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes to qualify for the Forrest Wood Cup. Gipson will fish as a pro after bringing in the heavier weight of the two-member team at the national championship while his partner, Matt Wercinski, will fish as a co-angler. The team has been virtually unstoppable since the FLW College Fishing circuit was announced in 2008. They have amassed two victories and four top-10 finishes during their FLW College Fishing careers.

Chad Grigsby – Maple Grove, Minn. Grigsby came close to his first career win in 2010 when he finished second at the FLW Tour event at Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes in Knoxville, Tenn. Grigsby will be making his fourth Cup appearance in 2010 and will be looking to improve upon his second-place finish at the Cup in 2005 on Lake Hamilton. Despite hailing from Minnesota, the Goodwill pro has had a tremendous amount of success at Lake Okeechobee in Florida where he has recorded five of his nine top-10 finishes. Grigsby qualified for the 2010 Cup through the FLW Series.

Kevin Hawk – Ramona, Calif. Hawk’s first trip to the Forrest Wood Cup came in 2009 as a co-angler which he parlayed into a 10th-place finish on Three Rivers in Pittsburgh, Pa. This year he will make his first appearance as a pro after qualifying through the FLW Series National Guard Western Division. Hawk fished the 2010 FLW Tour as a co-angler and earned two top-10 finishes, Fort Loudoun-Tellico Lakes (3rd) and Lake Ouachita (8th).

Brett Hite – Phoenix, Az. The 2010 Forrest Wood Cup marks Hite’s fourth appearance at the championship event. Hite finished the 2010 FLW Tour season ranked 24th, his highest finish in four seasons and cashed checks at four out of five events. He also recorded a sixth-place finish at the FLW Series’ Lake Mead event. In three straight years of National Guard FLW Series Western Division competition, Hite has not finished outside the top-25 in the season standings. Hite qualified for the 2010 Cup through the FLW Series.

Ronald Hobbs Jr. – Orting, Wash. Hobbs qualified for his first Forrest Wood Cup through the FLW Series National Guard Western Division where he finished seventh in the 2009 Angler of the Year race. In 2008, his second year of FLW Series competition, he finished third in the overall points race. Hobbs’ highest finish in FLW Series competition, a second-place effort, came in 2008 at the Columbia River event.

Chad Hulbert – Gilroy, Calif. Hulbert is making his first Forrest Wood Cup appearance and qualified through the FLW American Fishing Series. His highest finish in 2010 was a 19th-place effort at the FLW Series National Guard Western Division event at Lake Shasta. Hulbert currently sits in 14th in the Angler of the Year race in the FLW Series Western Division.

Jay Keith – Camden, S.C. Keith qualified for the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup by winning the TBF National Championship at Watts Bar Lake. The TBF National Championship’s $100,000 prize package boosted his career winnings to $101,500. Prior to that accomplishment, the majority of Keith’s FLW Outdoors experience has come from BFL competition.

Steve Kennedy – Auburn, Ala. Kennedy is an eight-year veteran of the FLW Tour with 28 top-10 finishes and seven FLW Outdoors wins to his credit. Kennedy’s highest FLW Tour finish in 2010 was a 19th-place effort at the Lake Norman event. The 2010 Forrest Wood Cup marks his fourth Cup appearance. Kennedy recorded FLW Tour wins, both on Kentucky Lake, in 2003 and 2006. Kennedy is one of only a few anglers who have successfully competed on both the FLW Tour and the Bassmaster Elite Series.

J.T. Kenney – Palm Bay, Fla. Kenney’s highest finish during the 2010 FLW Tour season came at Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes where he finished sixth. Kenney has booked five Forrest Wood Cup appearances in his eight years as a pro. He has finished inside the top 10 once in Cup competition, 7th in 2005 on Lake Hamilton. Kenney has posted one FLW Tour win and one FLW Series win, both on Lake Okeechobee, on his way to posting 27 top-10 finishes. Kenney qualified for the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup through the FLW Tour.

Justin Kerr – Simi Valley, Calif. Kerr, who is fishing in his first Forrest Wood Cup, qualified by finishing third in the FLW Series National Guard Western Division point standings in 2009. The 2010 season was Kerr’s rookie year on the Tour. His highest finish this year was on Lake Guntersville where he finished 18th. He also finished the season in 26th place in the points race, earning Rookie of the Year honors on the FLW Tour. He also notched a second-place finish at Lake Mead in 2010 FLW Series competition.

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