FLW Tour pro Chad Morgenthaler cut his tournament teeth on some of the ultra-tough fisheries in Illinois – places where it's common to be the third or fourth boat to a bush or tree. It's interesting that he said Lake Ouachita, where he fished the 2007 Forrest Wood Cup, shared a lot of traits with the fisheries he grew up on. Not in terms of size, but in the way it fished. The lake was tough, and the fish temperamental. He sacked 9 pounds on day 1 of the Cup and was just 2 pounds in back of the cut, but then faded with a 6-pound day 2 and finished 24th.
About his Ouachita experience – specifically, what he learned at the event – he said: "I guess I took away the confidence of knowing that in those tough conditions, I was able to find enough fish to do very well. It sure was a lot like Illinois fishing. I just didn't capitalize on the bites I got. I learned a lot about focus too. Under those extreme conditions, with the heat and the very few bites you got per day, I had to train myself mentally to stay fired-up and focused. I just kept telling myself that a million dollars was at stake."
