Here are a few post-Forrest Wood Cup thoughts and observations while waiting to fly home from Little Rock.
> Byron Velvick is well suited for the analyst role he filled during the Cup for FLW. He has credibility with other pros and his on-air presence gave FLW's video updates from the water a polished feel. Mark Rose, an Arkansas native, was also solid in an analyst's role.
> Size-wise, the Hot Springs Convention Center and Bank of the Ozarks Arena were the perfect venues for the Cup and FLW Expo. It also helped that everything was under one roof.
> McClard's BBQ in Hot Springs was incredible. Great stepping-back-in-time atmosphere. Had the chopped pork and beef and will have to try the tamale on my next visit.
> The local and recreational boat traffic on Lake Ouachita was a non-issue during the tournament, probably due to the spotty weather on Saturday and Sunday. Schools in Arkansas were also back in session last week.
> Maybe B.A.S.S. should consider Ouachita and Lake Hamilton for its BASSFest event in the future.
> Kudos to Brad Knight and Mark Daniels, Jr. for being professional and respectful of one another while fishing the same area all 4 days. It's not often a small stretch of water like that produces the winning bags, let alone multiple Top-10 finishes in a major tournament. Even some locals were surprised at the population of fish in that spot.
> It'll be interesting to see how the weights at next year's Cup (Wheeler Lake) are affected by not having co-anglers in the boat the first 2 days.
> Regarding the 2016 Cup, wonder if Guntersville tried to make a play for the event.
> Nice touch by FLW to have past the Forrest Wood Cup champions on stage together prior to the day-4 weigh-in. Did y'all catch the cherry red sport coat David Fritts was rocking?
