No Cup for Me

For the past couple of days I've been seeing a lot of social media posts from friends who are traveling to or have just arrived in Hot Springs, Arkansas for the Forrest Wood Cup. Some are Cup competitors. Others are fellow media. Still others are manufacturer representatives or anglers who aren't competing but who will be involved with the outdoors show.

It's a little odd not being part of that mix. So soon after this year's long trout fishing trip, though, I didn't want to leave home again to travel to Arkansas for a week, and writing deadlines have become challenging. Still, I've been to the last several Cups, so watching the events develop from afar will seem increasingly odd as the actual competition draws nearer. (Official practice began this morning!)

No doubt I'll be following closely, and thankfully, FLW provides enough coverage between their website and their social media that you can almost get a sense of being there. In fact, I'm sure I'll do some remote coverage on this site. Still, it won't be the same as being out there at daylight when the boats blast off, backstage in the media room as guys are coming in and up front by the stage when the fish are being weighed.

Anticipation

It's hard to convey or even imagine the sense of anticipation that has to hanging over Toho area campgrounds, motel parking lots, gas stations and lots near Big Toho Marina about now. The first official launch of the 2015 FLW Tour season is less than two hours away.

Some pros undoubtedly didn't sleep -- or slept very little -- as they wondered how practice finds would translate today or imagined what the season could bring. By now those same pros are likely checking tackle they've already checked five times, just to keep hands and minds occupied, maybe by flashlight in the ramp area.

Others slept soundly and are getting ready for another day at the office. Don't let the coolness fool you, though. Their excited and at least a little bit anxious as well.

Six events all have to be won by someone. Those who perform best over the course of the season will qualify for the Forrest Wood Cup, and the best of the best will take the Angler-of-the-Year title. The year's biggest story lines are all total unknowns right now, and they'll begin to unfold this weekend.

For now, though, the focus must be on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, where the full field will fish for the next two days and top performers will continue through Sunday. It's about time to decide whether to stay close or make a run and play the locking game, whether to cover water or concentrate on a spot, whether to punch mats, target spawners, throw moving baits or mix it up... So many decisions. Such large ramifications.

Several big bags will be brought to the scales this afternoon, but some pros are apt to return disappointed and trying to figure out how to regroup and salvage tomorrow. I saw a few photos of big bass from practice. I also read more than a few reports about tough practices.

I'm fairly eager for things to get started, and I'm 500 miles away and with nothing at stake. I'll keep an eye on the FLWFishing Twitter feed through the day. For now, like the anglers and folks who are on site. I can only wait and anticipate.

Carolina Favorite Prevails Again

Casey Ashley, 2015Bassmaster Classic Champion

Yesterday seemed familiar. As local favorite Casey Ashley hoisted the 2015 Bassmaster Classic trophy, I couldn't help but think about a similar scene, seven months ago, when Anthony Gagliardi won the Forrest Wood Cup on his home waters of Lake Murray. The sport's two championship events, both held on South Carolina waters, were both won not only by in-state anglers but by legitimate local anglers.

If you follow pro bass fishing at all, you already know all about Ashley's win, and you likely know the details of his pattern and quite a bit about his road to victory. Having gotten to watch it unfold and to be close to all that was happening, though, I have to offer a few impressions.

One of the coolest aspects, in my mind, is the fact that Ashley's preparation for this event has been going on since 2008. In a way it goes back even further, because he has fished tournaments with his dad since he was 8 years old and he can't even remember the first time he ever fished Lake Hartwell. However, in 2008, when the Bassmaster Classic was first held on Lake Hartwell, Ashley took note of the event's enormous success and became convinced it would return to Hartwell at some point. Since that time, he has been a student of the lake, and he was quick to point out that he's learned an enormous amount about it from many top local anglers over the past several years.

Ashley also talked about learning so much from his dad, who began handing over boat control and decisions for team tournaments when Ashley was in his early teens and who would question decisions to force Ashley to think about them and to learn. Ashley's dad also put also put together the locally popular spinner heads Ashley used to win the Classic.

I also enjoyed seeing Ashley's calm confidence and his patience in answering the same questions again and again throughout the tournament. It seemed everyone wanted him to feel the weight of being the local favorite, but he didn't allow that. He wanted to win and did all he could to prepare himself to win, but he never accepted the weighty notion that he was supposed to win. He said that it was only after he put his boat on the trailer on day three, when everything was taken out of his hands, that he got nervous.

Going back to those similarities with Anthony Gagliardi, Casey Ashley will be an outstanding champion who will represent the sport exceptionally well.

Gagliardi & Company: My Take as a Nearby Observer

FLW photo by Jeff Samsel

It seems some fuss has arisen about Anthony Gaglardi fishing close to a local angler on Lake Murray during the final morning of the Forrest Wood Cup, with some folks contending that Gagliardi was unsportsmanlike or unethical. Everyone has the right to an opinion, but I don't think any of the folks making those contentions were there at the time. I was, so I thought it might be fitting to offer my take.

From the onset, I'll acknowledge that the other angler was in the area first. Also, it's public water, and he had every right to stay and fish. Many anglers likely would have stepped back, knowing what was as stake for someone else, but that's a personal choice. That said, Gagliardi didn't claim otherwise. He never asked the other angler to yield or did anything to try to push him away. He simply joined him fishing the area.

Regarding the question of moving in on someone else's spot, I believe an important distinction must be made. The other angler was not fishing a defined hotspot, such as a sweet spot on top of a hump, a specific brushpile or a dock. He was working an area where the bass were schooling. On virtually any lake where fish school on the surface, whether those fish are largemouths, stripers, white bass of something else, anglers commonly run those school together. The whole cove doesn't belong to the first angler on the lake. And while I couldn't hear every word spoken, by my understanding, the other angler didn't object to Gagliardi fishing near him. He didn't like the of armada of onlookers that saw his area, and that would have been the same whether they actually had fished 100 yards from one another or 10 feet apart.

Gagliardi also didn't crowd the other angler. He did move to the same area, but the other angler actually did far more pushing tight to Gagliardi's boat and shadowing every shift, based on what I saw. Again, though, they were fishing schoolers, so they both adjusted positions based on where the fish were breaking.

Closely related, I think Gagliardi's comment in the press conference that he threw over the other angler a couple of times made it sound like he was being a bully and felt self important because of the tournament. That wasn't the case. They both threw across one another a couple of times. That happens sometimes when you're chasing schoolers and one suddenly comes up. You only have a moment when bass are eating herring, so you react. A fish comes up, and you cast to it. Occasionally that puts you across the other angler, or, if the fish are sort of between you, your baits might land simultaneously side-by-side.

Most importantly, Gagliardi never said a harsh word. Even when told that he needed to "get a real job," he didn't counter with anything negative. He simply told the other angler that he'd caught fish there the previous day and was going to stay and fish that school, and then he quietly went about his business. He represented FLW and tournament bass fishing well, as I know he will continue to do as Forrest Wood Cup champion.

Final Morning - Forrest Wood Cup

Boats are launching in the darkness just across the way, and soon they'll be coming around to the docks where they'll stage to take off for the final day of competition in the Forrest Wood Cup.

Only 10 remain, and with the uncertainty of the bite it's legitimately possible that anyone who made it to today could cone away world champion and half a million dollars richer.

Only 2 1/2 pounds separate the top 5, which includes threes Carolina anglers. Leading the pack is Brent Ehrler, one of three former Forrest Wood Cup champions in the Top 10.

The wind is blowing only slightly and stars are plentiful above an hour and a half before takeoff.

I'll be following one top anglers this morning, although I don't have my specific assignment yet. Yesterday I watched Bryan Thrift, which was a grand lesson about efficiency. Other mornings I've followed Casey Ashley and Anthony Gagliardi. All three are in the top 5.

I'm looking forward to seeing what happens on the water and especially in the weigh-in this afternoon.

Cool & Misty Columbia?

Word from the water is that yesterday's high in Lake Murray Country never broke out of the 70s and that it was misty and almost cool feeling. Having spent a couple of summers in Columbia, which were hotter than most summers in Florida when I was growing up, that's kind of hard for me to imagine in mid-August. Seems it's true, though.

Apparently the water temperature has dropped about 5 or 6 degrees since the end of the allowable pre-practice time for the Forrest Wood Cup a couple of weeks ago, and the shallow and deep bites have picked up. How that will translate to tournament days, which are still a few days way and are supposed to be sunny and hot, no one knows for sure. With conditions projected to change so much between now and the tournament, David Dudley calls the fish he is catching now "liars," which have the potential to confuse matters more than they teach.

One more day of practice, and I should be in Columbia before it is over. I'm driving down tomorrow and plan to arrive in time to drive around a bit and talk to the pros during media day and will be reporting what I learn on FLW's Forrest Wood Cup page, where plenty of written and video updates are already being posted.

Greenville Cabela's Demands a Detour

I've not yet had opportunity to explore the Greenville Cabela's, which opened earlier this year, but as of now, it looks like I'll be able to change that in a couple of days.

Tuesday plans have me traveling to Columbia for the Forrest Wood Cup, but my part doesn't begin until late Tuesday afternoon. Unless something changes at that end, or I end up with too much prep stuff to finish at home to leave sufficiently early, my plan is leave plenty of time to roam around and enjoy the closest Cabela's to home (and probably to pick up a few new jig-tying supplies).

The straightest route to Columbia would turn south just shy of Greenville, and Cabela's is actually on the other side of town. It's well worth the detour in my mind, though, and I'm excited about the chance to visit the new store. I might even plan my visit around lunchtime and grab an Elkburger while I'm there!

View from the Water: Forrest Wood Cup

2013 Forrest Wood Cup champion Randall Tharp on morning
No. 1, before a single cast had been made.

By far my favorite place to watch tournament action is from the water. Although the computer or a media room provide more big-picture news, reading reports simply isn't the same as seeing how anglers are working cover, what their body language says, how the water looks and the air feels and such.

Normally, I can't really do that. Not for more than a day, anyway. Stories need to be written, and if I'm physically at en event it usually makes more sense to spend maybe a day on the water and invest other daytime hours either working on the computer or doing other things that are associated with the event.

Last year, during the Forrest Wood Cup, I got to spend a bit of time on the water, and it was cool learning a bit about how the Red River fishes during the summer and seeing the contrasting strategies of working backwaters and the main river.  I even watched Randall Tharp fish for a while. At time I had no idea that he was working on what would turn out to be the winning strategy.

This year it's my job. A this year's Cup, which begins on Thursday on South Carolina's Lake Murray, I'm contributing to FLW's live coverage, so I'll be on the water reporting back what I see, probably all four days.

Be sure to keep the Forrest Wood Cup page bookmarked and watch the FLW Twitter feed for a fabulous flow of images, stories, notes and video clips, including iON footage from the pros' boats.

Today is Walmart Pro Day (12-2) and Chevy Pro Day (5-7) in Columbia, so most pros are in town and things officially get started in a couple of hours. Practice begins tomorrow morning!

Final Cup Preparations

Yesterday David Dudley posted a photo of himself preparing gear for the Forrest Wood Cup -- at his boat with compartment doors open and boxes and rods everywhere. Practice begins Sunday morning, four days from now, so I suppose there's a lot of that going on. Gear sorting, hook sharpening, forecast studying, pre-practice pondering, strategizing... And for any angler who prepped everything early and is fully ready, a lot of waiting and anticipating.

Forty-five pros qualified to compete. One will walk away world champion and half a million dollars richer. Sixteen are fishing the Forrest Wood Cup for the first time. Others are veterans, some with Cup and Classic experience. A handful have even won the Cup before.  Some are traveling from far away and have never seen Lake Murray. Anthony Gagliardi lives on the lake.

For now, everyone is even, and when they blast off a week from tomorrow, they'll all be tied for first and last place with zero pounds. Word is that it will be a grind.

I'll be there to see first-hand what different anglers make work. But first I have some preparation of my own to do: camera cards to clear, batteries to charge, stories to write, junk to pack...  Better get to it, I suppose.

Forrest Wood Cup Fast Approaching

The start of the Forrest Wood Cup is less than two weeks from now, and practice is only a week and half away. Seems fast approaching to me, but I suppose that's probably so for most of competitors, as they anticipate competing for the world championship and bass fishing's biggest prize of 1/2 million dollars.

This year's Cup is extra intriguing to me because of the venue of Lake Murray and Columbia. Having gone to school at the University of South Carolina and only living a few hours away, I've enjoyed some fun days fishing on Lake Murray and know the lake somewhat well at least.

Of course, the more you cover bass fishing, the more friends you make in the sport, so there are several anglers I'll be watching closely as the competition unfolds. I'll also be contributing to the FLW coverage, along with blogging, posting photos and such, so I'll be in the middle of everything going on from start to finish.

Like any fishing fan, I'm curious about the patterns that unfold and which anglers figure out the fish. The nearly universal word from pre-practice was that fishing was very tough, but someone always figures out something.

Last time the Cup was in Columbia it was a junk-fest, with top anglers beating banks and throwing a lot of stuff. Docks and frogs played a big part in the winning pattern and in the strategies of most top finishers. That said, the deep fish that relate to herring offer a wild card. The general word is that you can't count on those deep fish day after day, but if someone finds something shallow that's dependable AND hits the deep fish just right even one day, that could be big.

We'll find out soon.

The best place to keep up with the action is on FLW's Forrest Wood Cup website, and coverage of story lines is already well underway. I hope you'll also keep an eye on what I post on this blog, on the Jeff Samsel Fishing facebook page, on Twitter (@jeffsamsel) and on Instagram (jeffsamsel).

Better yet, plant to be in Columba Aug. 14-17 and see for yourself how the championship unfolds!

FLW Halftime

Brett Hite dominated the FLW Tour season opener on Lake
Okeechobee. FLW Photo

Tomorrow's take-off at Beaver Lake will start the second half of the FLW Tour season and the points race for Forrest Wood Cup qualification. With three events completed and three to go, no one is absolutely in or out based on points. That said, some have pretty substantial hills to climb while others sit in a pretty nice position.

Halfway home, the top few spots in the Angler of the Year standings are occupied by Cody Meyer, Andy Morgan (last year's 2013 AOY) and Randall Tharp (2013 Forrest Wood Cup champion).

So far the Tour has visited Lake Okeechobee in Florida, Lake Hartwell on the Georgia/South Carolina border, and Sam Rayburn in Texas, and the pros have seen three totally different types fisheries. It's been an eventful first half, with many story lines playing out. Check out FLW's Top 10 Highlights.

For the next four days, FLW Tour pros will fish Beaver, in the Arkansas Ozarks, with some anglers fishing ultra clear water in the lake's lower end and other fishing in heavy stain up the White River. The tour season will conclude with stops on two big Tennessee River impoundments --  Pickwick and Kentucky Lake -- both in June.

The championship, the Forrest Wood Cup, will be held on South Carolina's Lake Murray August 14-17.

Murphy on Murray

Dark skies and little breeze made Lake Murray largemouths tough customers yesterday, and fast-approaching rain gave Michael Murphy and I only a few hours to run around the lake.

That's OK. Spending time on Murray with Michael Murphy is always a great education and a lot of fun.  A pro angler who lives only a few miles from the lake, Murphy knows Murray very well, and he does a fabulous job of putting things into words. Although the fish weren't jumping into the boat, Michael did catch a couple of bass on a buzzbait, which was cool, considering that spring patterns are way behind schedule and the water is still only about 50 degrees.

I'll be talking with Michael and other Murray experts quite a bit this spring and summer in anticipation of the Forrest Wood Cup. Watch the FLW website for lake reports I'll be filing.

Old Hat & Lake Murray Lessons

While sorting through basement storage containers, my wife came across my old Lake Murray Country hat. I don't specifically recall buying the hat, but I remember wearing it a lot, quite a few years ago. It could have been from a writer trip I took while I was editor of South Carolina Game & Fish, but I kind of think it goes back to a day-trip to Murray while I was college, most likely on a day when I when I was supposed to be studying or working on a paper.

Of course, when I consider how I make my living now, I'm not fully convinced that I wasn't studying. I'm not suggesting that it was good prioritization to minimize attention to classes my parents paid so much money for me to take. Only that learning on the lake probably did more to prepare me for my career as a free-lance fishing writer than learning about Japanese history, accounting, astronomy or most other stuff in the core curriculum or even most journalism classes. I definitely remember more from many days on Lake Murray than from any class I took.

There's little I don't remember about my first striper trip: I recall where we started, the lures we had tied on, the instructions of my friend who took me, the size of the first school that came up (right around the boat!), the violence of the first strike and brutish strength of the fish... That September morning outing was fundamental to my understanding of schooling striped bass.

Lake Murray also taught me about twitching a bubble gum-colored floating worm for largemouths during the spring. I believe that approach actually was popularized on Murray around the time I was in college. I know that every bait store had bunch of them and that many folks considered that THE way to target Lake Murray bass when they were around shallow buckbrush.

Then there was the November day when my friend's boat broke down one cove over from where we had launched but we happily discovered that throwing a white curly-tail grub to docks, brush and other shoreline cover would yield tremendous action from bluegills, crappie and a host of other panfish in those particular conditions.

The list of days and lessons could go on for quite a while.

A quarter century later, I'm still using those early Lake Murray lessons, and I'm still learning about the lake. With Murray being the venue of the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup, I've been working on some Lake Murray stories and actively seeking new information about the lake. I look forward to spending a few days in Lake Murray Country and doing more on-the-water learning in August. I might even wear my old hat.

Christie Continues Giving Back

Forrest L. Wood presenting Jason Christie the second annual
Forrest L. Wood Sportsmanship and Community Service Award.

A couple of weeks ago, I watched Jason Christie receive the Forrest L. Wood Sportsmanship and Community Service Award on stage at the Forrest Wood Cup. That came as no surprise, given all I've ever heard about Christie and his character and all I've seen in him as he interacts with fans or talks on stage in front of a weigh-in crowd.

Christie continues to back that solid reputation with his hopeful plans for the Bassmaster Toyota Trucks All Star Week. If he gets voted in, Christie plans to donate all of his All Star Week earnings to the Make-A-Wish America Foundation. Not 10, 20 or even 50 percent. 100 percent. That decision, when combined with his all-star fishing performance this year, easily earns my vote. With a week left in the voting, Christie sits in fifth, one place out from making All Star Week.

Ten anglers earned their way into All Star Week strictly through their fishing. Those ten include the top eight in the Angler of the Year standings, the Rookie of the Year (Hank Cherry) and last year's Bassmaster Classic winner (Cliff Pace). The other four are chosen by fans, who can vote for four anglers daily through Sept. 6. Click here to cast your vote.

By the way, do you know where you would find Jason Christie if you went looking for him this morning? He'll spend this morning pond-side at a children's fishing derby, signing autographs, posing with children in photos and encouraging young anglers.

Looking Toward Lake Murray

SC pro Anthony Gagliardi on Lake Murray

I know the next Forrest Wood Cup is a year away, but I'm already excited about the fact that it will be held at Lake Murray and based out of Columbia, South Carolina. I suppose pros like Anthony Gagliardi, who lives near Murray, also liked hearing that announcement and will be doing everything in their power to make sure they are part of next year's FWC field

Being a South Carolina graduate and living only three hours from Columbia, I've spent a fair amount of time fishing Murray. My time on the lake has been divided chasing bass, stripers, crappie, bluegills, catfish and even gar, but it still adds up to quite a few hours and a lot of fond memories.

I caught my first striper on Lake Murray on about the fourth night after I arrived I Columbia for college. I met a fellow freshman who would turn out to be a future roommate one evening, and we got talking about fishing. He was from South Carolina and had brought his boat to school, so we made plans and met the next morning an hour before sunrise to head for a lake I'd never seen and fish for a species I'd never caught. A big school came up around us at first light, and within minutes I was hooked up with  a 6- 7-pound topwater striper. I've been a Lake Murray fan ever since!

I also lost a job because of Lake Murray (OK, it was really the fault of an irresponsible college boy, not the lake). Fishing with the same friend several hours before I was supposed to start a new job we had motor problems a couple of coves over from the launch. The trolling motor would have gotten us back in plenty of time, but I made the mistake of casting to a point as we passed, and I caught a big bream. Well, that led to another cast and another fish and, well, you can probably figure out the rest of the story.

Lake Murray can be tough for tournament bass fishing during mid-summer, despite supporting a great bass population. The last Cup held there (2008) was a "junk fishing" event scratched out by Michael Bennett, whose primary pattern was throwing frogs over grass around docks. Offshore anglers commonly find good bags on Murray during late summer, but it's typically tough to repeat those catches. The morning topwater bite also can be good, but a striper can break an angler's heart if he thinks he has a largemouth on the line.

Of course, summer can also be a fine time to wade the Saluda River, downstream of Lake Murray, to intentionally cast for stripers. So while the pros are out grinding it out on the hot lake, I might chose to stand waist deep in a cool current and have fun catching stripers! With our without the river stripers, I'll enjoy spending a few days in Columbia, eating country vegetables at Lizard's Thicket and watching the nation's top pros tackle Lake Murray.

Hope to see you there.

Fish Understood & Good Decisions Made

Randall Tharp, 2013 Forrest Wood Cup Champion

Randall Tharp's confidence throughout the Forrest Wood Cup and his eventual victory by a 4-pound margin would suggest that he had a magical spot, perfect pattern or secret lure. But in truth it was none of the above. He actually fished a bunch of different spots and multiple patterns, and caught his three best fish today on a lure he'd had tied on throughout the tournament but hadn't picked up until today.

Instead, Tharp won by fishing his kind of waters well. He devised a strong game plan, with good areas that suited that plan, and he made good decisions during the event. Tharp thrives in shallow, stained water, with a big stick in his hand, so he has been excited about the year's Cup location ever since it was announced. He had done well on the Red River before, and everything about it suits the way he likes to fish.

Having found some good locations during pre-practice and having gotten a good feel for what the fish were doing during official practice, Tharp felt confident going into the tournament -- and all along he believed the winning weight would be a little higher than most other anglers predicted. When the first morning of the tournament brought unusually cool weather and dropped the water temperature, he made the adjustments he needed to make.

Tharp did have major patterns he was running, and one backwater area was extra important for producing his biggest bass, but catching limits from the main river and bigger fish from the backwaters were both important to his strategy, and he made good decisions about when to stay and when to go throughout the event. He also had a strong sense of when he was around fish that would bite, largely based on minnow and bluegill activity.

When asked why he picked up a frog rod halfway through today, largely abandoning what had kept him in first or second place to that point, he couldn't really give a specific answer. It just felt right. He was fishing on instinct, as pros often put it, and seemingly it was the right time for that change because he caught one of his best bass of the day on the first cast with a frog. He then stuck with the frog through much of the afternoon and fished four hours in his "big fish spot" for two bites. Those bites were from 4-pound class fish, which he landed. The three frog fish were the difference in the tournament for Tharp.

Tharp also threw a Lucky Craft square bill crankbait quite a bit, and his main lure in the backwaters for the first three days was a swim jig. He said he actually caught fish on several different lures over the course of four days.

Maybe this oversimplifies things too much, but my best analysis of what Randall Tharp did to win the Forrest Wood Cup is that he fished better than everyone else.

For complete coverage of all the top finishers, lures and patterns, visit flwfishing.com.

40th to 17th to 4th to ?

Jacob Wheeler surged to 4th place with today's best bag.

For anyone who has paid attention to the Forrest Wood Cup through the first three days, it would be tough to not have an eye on Jacob Wheeler.

Last year's FWC champion came out of the gate slowly, with a 7-pound, 4-ounce first-day catch that put him in 40th place out of 46 anglers. It was popular to say that things could flip flop on Day 2, and a lot of anglers did indeed move up or down notably. Still, I'm not sure anyone expected Wheeler to flop things quite the way he did. Wheeler's 13-7 Day 2 catch was second best brought to the scales that day and jumped him all the into 17th place, which put him within the cut and allowed him to fish again today. He struck again today, bringing in 14 pounds, 4 ounces and jumping all the way to 4th place. Wheeler's bag, which was the best catch brought to the scales on Day 3, put him 4 1/2 pounds behind leader Bryan Thrift.

Thrift has gotten all his biggest fish off a single spot, and he said he had to fish two hours in that spot to catch one fish today. He has seemed somewhat surprised by what he has caught all week. Wheeler, on the other hand, figured something out on Day 2, and it has worked very well for him for two days. He appears to be getting stronger as the tournament progresses.

That's not to say he's going to overtake Thrift (or that either will be the winner for that matter). Although Thrift has seemed surprised by each day's catch, the fact is that he keeps catching them very well.

Five of the ten anglers remaining are within five pounds of one another at the top, and three of them (including Thrift) are still ahead of Wheeler. Randall Tharp, who led for two days and slipped to second today, believes he knows what he needs to do to bring it home. Larry Nixon found muddy water in his best spot today and it didn't produce at all, leaving him scrambling. The Red is a highly dynamic river, though, and that mud could settle tonight and put Nixon right back where he wants to be. Meanwhile, Mark Rose said yesterday that he thought his best bags were still ahead. He wasn't able to prove that today, but tomorrow things might be different.

The ten pros who remain take off tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. Central. The weigh-in begins at 5:00. If you can't be here to watch it in person, you can watch it live on flwoutdoors.com.

Moving Day at Forrest Wood Cup

Larry Nixon, 3rd place going into Day 3 of the Forrest Wood Cup

With only 10 pounds separating the 20 anglers who remain and two days left to fish, I still think the 2013 Forrest Wood Cup is anyone's tournament. The pros toward the bottom would have to have a lot of things work their way, including a bit of stumbling by the anglers at the top, but there are big wild card fish in the Red River, and groups of fish that have produced for someone can run out in four days. Plus, it's a river, and a change in flow, water color or temperature could change fortunes in either direction. Of course, to compete tomorrow, an angler has to finish in the Top 10 after today.

Mark Rose, who sits in 5th place, 5 pounds out, said that a conditions has been changing that should favor his best big-fish spots -- waters he hasn't fished yet during the competition. He said on stage last night that he believe his best days are yet to come. I just read on the @FLWFishing Twitter feed, by the way, that Rose's other pattern is cranking downriver and that improved clarity is the key. He is doing that this morning and got an early limit in the boat.

Meanwhile, Ray Scheide, sitting one place ahead of Rose, brought in 12-12 yesterday, but word is that he had some seriously big fish get off and that he's fishing in mega-thick cover in a backwater that holds some heavyweight fish. He says he figured out a couple of things yesterday and that if he could capitalize today, he could "blow the doors off this thing."

Then there's Larry Nixon. The General is the only angler in field to bring in 13 pounds or more both days, and he apparently has a specific big-bass spot that has been producing for him. He also brings unparalleled experience.

Randal Tharp and Bryan Thrift, in first and second, respectively, both backed giant18-pound-plus bags with solid 11-pound sacks and are separated by only 4 ounces. Both believe they would need at least one more legitimately big day to take home the Forrest Wood Cup and the $500,000 check. Tharp seems confident that he's around the right fish. Thrift still acts surprised by the big fish he's catching but continues to get it done.

Looking down through the top 20, it's roughly a three way split among anglers who had a pretty big first day and a mediocre second day, anglers who did the opposite and moved up yesterday, and anglers who had brought in two solid limits. Last year's champ, Jacob Wheeler, made the most noteworthy jump, following a weak first day that had him in in 40th place with one of yesterday's best bags (13-7), which jumped into the cut in 18th place. Another day like that today, and he'd be fishing for all the marbles tomorrow.

If you want to track how things are progressing during the day, the #FLWFishing Twitter feed is tough to top. They have guys on the water watching and posting regular reports. Of course, they can't follow everyone, with 20 pros still fishing, so who knows which angler might bring a big surprise to this afternoon's weigh-in?

Shared Joy for Co-Angler Title

I've never gotten teary eyed because an angler I didn't know and knew almost nothing about won a fishing tournament. Well, I hadn't. Until about an hour ago. But never before had I seen an angler vanish from the stage upon being announced the winner and run at full stride to embrace his mom and then return to the stage with her scurrying beside him. Never have I seen such unified delight about anyone winning any tournament -- such outwardly visible pride and joy in a mom and thankfulness in a son.

Theo Corcoran, 23, had trouble coming up with words to convey just how he felt, but in truth, he didn't need words. It was all over his face, which he wiped tears from with a weigh-in hand towel, and was equally on the face of his mom, who he said began taking him fishing when he was a little boy. The words that did come out -- youthful, unfiltered and drenched with delight -- pasted a big grin onto the face of virtually every spectator in the Century Link Center, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one in the crowd wiping a few tears.

Corcoran, who fished today with Mark Daniels, Jr., won the co-angler division of the Forrest Wood Cup by more than 7 pounds with a two-day weight of 26 pounds, 10 ounces and earned $50,000. He led the pack with 14-14 yesterday, and backed it today with 11-13, which was the best co-angler weight of today.

Today's action began with a 4-pound frog fish and then a bullet in the head for Corcoran. OK, it was a actually a 1-ounce bullet-shaped weight, but it came at high speed when Daniels swung and missed on a fish, and it immediately drew blood. When told that he was bleeding, Corcoran asked for a towel and some Superglue, did a little self-surgery and went back to fishing.

Despite youthful enthusiasm and understandable confidence after qualifying for and then winning the Forrest Wood Cup Co-Angler title, Corcoran knows he has an enormous amount to learn. Asked on stage if he'd be fishing on the pro side next year, he said he probably needed at least one more year as a co-angler. Although he feels very confident flipping shallow stuff he can look at and catching fish from the back of the boat, he admitted still having a lot to learn about structure, electronics and much more.

Like Theo Corcoran on stage, I feel somewhat at a loss for the right words to tell the story of his win and sort of wish everyone could have seen it for themselves.

Rethinking Top Bags

Randall Tharp, Day 1 leader, Forrest Wood Cup, FLW photo

During the morning's takeoff show, Randall Tharp was asked about finding another kicker, and he pointed out that the biggest fish in his 18-8 bag on Day 1 of the Forrest Wood Cup weighed five and change. His smallest was around three pounds. While it's true a really good kicker could put any pro in the mix and was the missing element for many anglers in the field, Tharp's bag actually consisted of five quality fish, suggesting that he might have been onto something a little different -- yesterday at least. And early word from the @FLWfishing Twitter feed says that he already has a couple of good fish in the box.

Considering Tharp's catch more fully made me look closer at Bryan Thrift's bag and do a little math. Thrift's catch obviously was aided by a 7 1/2-pound bass, which he caught on a shaky head and by his own admission did not expect to find. Still, if you take 7 1/2 pounds off his total and divide the remaining weight by four, his other fish averaged close to three pounds. Make the fifth fish a 3-pounder and he'd still be around 14 pound, and still in second place. Oh, and he also has a 3 1/2-pounder aboard already today.

While I'm talking about backing yesterday's catch, it's worth noting, that Adrian Avena (4th yesterday) was already culling by 8:00 a.m. today, and Mark Rose (5th) has a 4-pounder in the box. I'm not saying the leaderboard won't shift. It may shift a lot, and specific kicker fish might play a huge part. I just realized I had been shortchanging the total efforts of Tharp and Thrift by only talking about kickers and wanted to clarify a bit.