Hawk wins 2010 Forrest Wood Cup
Hawk, who would have earned $500,000 for his Forrest Wood Cup victory, was pleasantly surprised when Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens, a new equity partner in FLW Outdoors, personally contributed $100,000 to the champion. With that, Hawk took home $600,000 for his victory.“I’m super happy,” Hawk said. “If I’m not showing it, I’m blowing up inside right now. It’s probably not going to set in realistically until the next few days. I’m still kind of in shock. I’m just going to savor the moment. When it all calms down I’ll have time to reflect on the moment, for sure.”
Hawk relocated from California to Georgia in November 2009 after he qualified as a pro for the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup through the 2009 FLW Series National Guard Western Division. He said the clear western waters he was used to are very similar to Lake Lanier.
Rounding out the top six pros were:
2nd — Cody Meyer, Grass Valley, Calif., 20 bass, 48-8, $100,000
3rd — Larry Nixon, Bee Branch, Ark., 19 bass, 47-3, $85,000
4th — National Guard pro Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 19 bass, 46-8, $60,000
5th — Troy Morrow, Toccoa, Ga., 18 bass, 41-13, $50,000
6th — Ronald Hobbs Jr., Orting, Wash., 15 bass, 35-3, $45,000
The six top finishers caught 21 bass Sunday, with a total weight of 48 pounds, 7 ounces. The catch included 2 five-bass limits.
“In southern California, the lakes I grew up on are deep, clear reservoirs, so when I came to Lanier I felt right at home,” Hawk said. “They were set up exactly the same way — light line and finesse tactics. So I felt comfortable from the day I got here.”
Hawk said he concentrated on fishing between Brown’s Bridge and the dam on the south end of the lake.
“Today they started biting the (Swarming Hornet) Fish Head Spin really good and when they started doing that, I knew I had to set down that spinning rod and cover as much water as I could and hit as many brushpiles as I could with the Fish Head Spin, because the Fish Head Spin is going to catch you better quality fish on average than a drop-shot (rig) by far,” Hawk said.
Hawk said he threw the 1/2-ounce Albino Fish Head Spin on a cranking rod and 10-pound-test fluorocarbon line paired with a white Zoom Super Fluke Jr. Hawk said his drop-shot setup consisted of a Morning Dawn Roboworm paired with a 3/8-ounce drop shot weight on a 12-inch leader and 7-pound-test line fished from a drop-shot rod.
Hawk said he did not plant any brushpiles of his own because he felt there was enough brush in the lake; all he had to do was find it with his electronics.
