Hot Springs to Host 2011 Forrest Wood Cup

5/25/2010 2:53:10 PM

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FLW Outdoors and the Hot Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau announced Tuesday Hot Springs would once again host the Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing, Aug. 11-14, 2011, on Lake Ouachita. The last time the Forrest Wood Cup, the sport’s premier event, was held in Hot Springs was 2007 and Scott Suggs of Bryant, Ark., made professional fishing history winning the first $1 million first-place cash prize.

"We couldn't be happier about returning to Hot Springs for the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup," said Charlie Evans, President and CEO of FLW Outdoors. "The then-record attendance we had at the 2007 Forrest Wood Cup and FLW Outdoors Expo speaks volumes about the enthusiasm for bass fishing that fans have throughout the state and the entire region."

Hot Springs isn't a new venue for FLW Outdoors' championship tournaments. The 2005 Forrest Wood Cup and FLW Outdoors Expo was held on Lake Hamilton, a sister lake to Lake Ouachita, and drew a then-record crowd of 40,671 fans to the Hot Springs Convention Center and Summit Arena over the course of four days. Those same fans ultimately witnessed Hot Springs resident and bass-fishing legend George Cochran reel in $500,000. The Forrest Wood Cup returned to Hot Springs and Lake Ouachita in 2007 where many of those same fans and more, 61,967 to be exact, saw Suggs make history.

“The 2007 Forrest Wood Cup was by far the largest and most successful event we’ve ever held in the Hot Springs Convention Center since the construction of Summit Arena in 2003," said Steve Arrison, executive director for the Hot Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau. "Hot Springs is a bass-fishing town situated along some fantastic lakes and full of fishing fans. There's no better place to hold the most lucrative event in the history of the sport."