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.