Next week at Lake Lanier, Spencer Shuffield will fish his sixth Forrest Wood Cup as a co-angler. He’s hoping it’s his last out of the back of the boat.
The Bismarck, Ark., native and son of longtime pro Ron Shuffield had hoped to qualify as an FLW Tour rookie and fish from the bow against his dad and 44 other pros vying for the $500,000 payday. A 56th-place finish in points kept him from bringing his own boat to the Cup, a result that’ll eat at him until next season.
He earned the back-seat slot by virtue of his Tour Co-Angler of the Year title in 2011.
“It’s definitely going to be weird fishing out of the back of the boat,” he said. “I’d rather be fishing out of the back, though, than not at all. It’s a bummer for sure.”
He opened his initial season as a Tour pro with a 77th at Lake Hartwell, then scored a runner-up finish at Table Rock Lake. His Cup hopes went south, however, at the Potomac River in May.
He’d uncovered an area of brackish water that was holding 4- and 5-pounders in practice, but come tournament time, the winds made it virtually unfishable and he wound up finishing 130th.
“Having looked back it, all I needed was an 80th at the Potomac and I would’ve made it,” he said. “I thought that would be my best tournament this year.
“The way this year turned out, it makes me want to get back out there and get back at it a lot harder,” he said. “I’m very disappointed how this year turned out. I look back and see places where I could’ve made up ground.”
