Hot Springs to Host 2015 Forrest Wood Cup

Get ready Arkansas because the Forrest Wood Cup is returning to Hot Springs and Lake Ouachita Aug. 20-23, 2015.

FLW and Visit Hot Springs made the official site announcement tonight at the day-three weigh-in of the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup in Columbia, S.C. The event will be held at Bank of the Ozarks Arena, formerly known as Summit Arena.

The Forrest Wood Cup, the tournament that offers the sport’s richest prize, was last held in Hot Springs in 2011, and Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., made professional bass-fishing history by becoming the 16th Forrest Wood Cup champion. And in 2007, Folgers pro Scotts Suggs became bass fishing’s first instant millionaire at Lake Ouachita by winning that season’s Forrest Wood Cup.

The 2015 Cup will also be a history-making event – FLW’s 20th Forrest Wood Cup championship.  

“We are thrilled to be returning to Lake Ouachita for our 2015 Forrest Wood Cup,” says Kathy Fennel, FLW president of operations. “The previous events that we have held in Hot Springs have all been extremely successful, and the attendance has been fantastic. It made returning to Lake Ouachita an easy decision. The bass-fishing community in Arkansas has always welcomed FLW with open arms, and we’re proud to return for the 20th installment of our championship event.”

“FLW and Hot Springs have a great history together,” adds Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs. “Our audiences for the Forrest Wood Cup and other FLW events have been large and enthusiastic, and we know the 2015 Cup will be greeted with the same enthusiasm and hospitality that FLW has become accustomed to.”

In the 2011 Cup, Martin bucked the trend and mined a school of bass relating to offshore cover and shad. Most of the other top finishers fished shallow for roving wolf packs of bass or around bluegill beds. This time around, the moon will not be full for the event, so the bass relating to bluegill could be harder to find, but the lake still figures to fish well and provide an excellent test to determine a true champion.

Best of all, the Cup will feature the most successful anglers from all of FLW’s tournament series – FLW College Fishing, The Bass Federation, the Walmart Bass Fishing League, the Rayovac FLW Series and the Walmart FLW Tour.

Stay tuned to FLWOutdoors.com throughout the 2015 season to see if your favorite anglers make the cut, then plan on joining us in Hot Springs Aug. 20-23, 2015