A field of 56 anglers will head to Lake Ouachita in August for a mid-summer duel with $300,000 on the line along with the Forrest Wood Cup title and all the trappings that come with it. It’ll be the fourth Cup contested at the mountain reservoir located in central Arkansas within the Ouachita National Forest.
Brad Knight won the most recent Cup at Ouachita in 2015, catching 51-12 over four days. This year’s Cup will be a three-day event.
With the completion of the BFL All-American and FLW College Fishing national championship events last weekend, only the spots given to FLW Tour anglers through the Angler of the Year standings remain – those will be determined at the Lake St. Clair FLW Tour at the end of the month.
For now, here’s a rundown of anglers who have qualified to compete in this year’s Cup.
2017 Forrest Wood Cup champion
> Justin Atkins – Florence, Ala.
2017 FLW Tour Angler of the Year
> Bryan Thrift – Shelby, N.C.
2017 FLW Series Championship qualifiers
> Bradford Beavers – Ridgeville, S.C.
> John Soukup – Agra, Okla.
> Todd Hollowell – Fishers, Ind.
> Bill Chapman – Salt Rock, W.V.
> Brent Shores – Boise, Id.
> Michael Mathee – Centurion, South Africa
> Larry Stoafer – Leavenworth, Kan.
> Tim Fox – Meridian, Miss.
> Chad Foster – Pequot Lakes, Minn.
> Jason Abram – Piney Flats, Tenn.
> Sheldon Collings – Grove, Okla.
2018 TBF National Champion
> Austin Wilson – Sacramento, Calif.
2018 BFL All-American champion
> Nick LeBrun – Bossier City, La.
2018 FLW College Fishing champion
> Hunter Freeman – Monroe, La.
2018 FLW Tour points (top 40)
> TBD
