Arkansas' two professional anglers in the Forrest Wood Cup next week are participating in a meet-and-greet session before the Lake Ouachita tournament.
Mark Rose, of Marion, and Greg Bohannan, of Bentonville, are scheduled to appear from noon-2 p.m. Saturday at the 4019 Central Ave. Walmart location in Hot Springs. Besides meeting some of their favorite pros, fans may get autographs, take photos and talk fishing.
Four other Fishing League Worldwide Pro Angler Day events are scheduled at the same hours Saturday. Matt Stefan and Todd Hollowell will be at the 1601 Albert Pike Road Walmart location in Hot Springs and Chad Grigsby and J.T. Kenney at the Hot Springs Village Walmart, 3604 North Highway 7. Other Pro Angler Day sites are Bass Pro Shops in Little Rock with Scott Martin, Clark Wendlandt and Andy Morgan and the Malvern Walmart, 1910 Martin Luther King Blvd., with Matt Arey and Bryan Thrift.
The Hot Springs Albert Pike Walmart is host to a lunch-break tailgate party from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday featuring Quaker State pro-team members Jimmy Houston, Arey and Scott Canterbury. Quaker State is providing free food and drinks, along with gift cards for free Quaker State oil changes to the first 15 fans in attendance.
The Forrest Wood Cup is Aug. 10-12 with daily launches at 7 a.m. from Brady Mountain Resort & Marina and weigh-ins at 5 p.m. at Bank OZK Arena in downtown Hot Springs. Each day of the tournament includes an outdoors exposition in Hot Springs Convention Center starting at 10 a.m. A free Justin Moore concert, starting at 4 p.m., precedes the Aug. 12 final weigh-in.
Rose is the reigning FLW Tour Angler of the Year after totaling 1,074 points in seven qualifying tournaments, two top-10 finishes included. He has four top-10s in the Forrest Wood Cup, placing third in 2011 on Lake Ouachita.
Florence, Ala., pro Justin Atkins received automatic entry as defending Cup champion, as did Thrift (Shelby, N.C.) as 2017 FLW Tour Angler of the Year. Martin (Clewiston, Fla.) won in 2011 and placed fifth in 2015 in past Cup events on Lake Ouachita.
Visit Hot Springs and Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism are tournament hosts.
Sports on 08/03/2018