By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor

In hindsight, Larry Nixon said it's probably a good thing that he didn't qualify for this year's Forrest Wood Cup. He might not have survived it.

"It was hot in Alabama and I would've had all the stress of the tournament," he said. "It wouldn't have been a good situation, but the way it worked out, the Good Lord took care of me."

It was at that event in Huntsville, Ala. earlier this month that the legendary Arkansan became aware that he had a serious physical issue that had to be dealt with ASAP. The revelation came as he was walking the short distance from the expo, where he'd been working for sponsors, to the arena that hosted the weigh-ins.

"There was a flight of stairs involved and after I'd gotten about two-thirds of the way, both of my arms started tingling real bad," he said. "When I got home I went to see my doctor, and then he sent me to (a heart specialist) in Little Rock."

It was determined that his blood vessels were clogged by calcium, and just a couple weeks later he underwent quadruple-bypass surgery that also included the replacement of a valve.

He was told that he'd been a candidate for a fatal heart attack for at least the past 5 years. Having seen contemporaries (notably Ken Cook and David Wharton) suffer that fate recently, that was a sobering realization.

He'd undergone heart tests every year during his annual checkup, but those couldn't detect the calcium issue (called atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries).

"The doctor told me that my heart was as strong as it could be, but my blood vessels sucked," he said. "That calcium just shuts those vessels down. The blood was finding another way to get to my heart, but it wasn't the way it was supposed to go."

Earlier Episode a Warning

Nixon said he got an inkling that something wasn't right last January while duck hunting with longtime pal and fellow tour pro George Cochran.

"Me and George always walk quite a ways – if you go a mile and a quarter you get away from so many other hunters," he said. "We did it for 5 or 6 days in a row and every day I thought I might've been breathing a little bit harder than normal, but it was a pretty long walk with waders and all those clothes on.

"I also had that same tingling in my hands, like they were going to sleep. I didn't like what I was feeling and I knew I'd be home in a few days and I could go to the doctor the next week, but I didn't go at that time and that was probably stupid."

The tingling sensations never returned throughout the FLW Tour season.

"Sometimes I'd get a little out of breath at the weigh-ins if I had to carry a big sack of fish up and down a hill or something, but I just blamed that on age."

With the blockage issue out of the way, he expects to have more strength and stamina next year (which will be his 40th professional season) than he has in a long time.

"The doctor said that I'm going to feel so good next year that it'll be crazy. I won't be out of gas at 2 p.m. and I'll have the energy I need to get through those 12- or 13-hour days and stay positive about everything.

"And who knows, maybe even cold weather won't bother me as much as it has recently. (Wife) Amy says that I'm not snoring like I used to, so maybe a lot of things will be cleared up with this surgery."

Shorter Hunting Season

Nixon's hunting activities will be curtailed this fall as he continues to recover from the operation. He'll miss this Saturday's dove season opener (which will come on his 66th birthday), as he's nowhere near ready to absorb the pounding that a shotgun delivers. He should soon be able to handle some squirrel hunting with a .22 rifle, however, and perhaps take a crack at deer with a crossbow.

"If I feel good (on Saturday), I'll probably drive over to a dove field where I can watch other people shoot, but my exertion level isn't good right now," he said. "After about 30 minutes of moving around the house, I'm done. It's going to take awhile to get my strength back, but I'm tickled with the way everything's going right now and so is Amy.

"I was told that by Nov. 1 I should be ready to go deer hunting (with a rifle) and I'll be at full strength by the time the season starts in February. That's still 5 months away, and that's perfect, really. I couldn't have had this done at a better time."

Notable

> Nixon has been very active on social media over the past couple of years and the impetus from that comes from his son Christopher, who works in the computer software industry. "He's the one who talked me into doing that video (posted on his Facebook page) after I'd just gotten out of the hospital and he said that no one was going to care that I looked like crap. I've passed 56,000 views on that one already."

> He said heart ailments are prevalent on his mother's side of the family and his brother and sister have had issues that have been taken care of with stents.