Forrest Wood Cu p Has New Champion

Today, the Forrest Wood Cup has a new champion- Michael Bennett of Lincoln, California. In addition to being the newest member of the very exclusive "instant millionaire's" club in fishing, he's also the youngest champion.

After winning the title, a somewhat shell-shocked Bennett talked with the media about his win. In that conversation, it was obvious that this was a totally new experience for the young man, despite his already having won more than $400,000 in competitive fishing.

Michael Bennett's the man in the front, but Scott Suggs in the background photo leaves a hard act to follow.
"This hasn't sunken in," he said, "I mean, I'm excited, and have an unbelievable feeling, but it really hasn't sunk in."

He also told me that while he had started thinking he had a chance at the $1 million top spot in the Cup as early as Saturday, he really didn't start imagining what it could mean until the actual weigh-in was underway in Columbia, South Carolina's Colonial Center. "I was fishing today (Sunday) with a good feeling," he said, "but when I saw the other weights coming in, I started thinking about the idea of winning pretty seriously."

And he won despite a penalty for one of his five-bass limit not surviving the tournament experience. In FLW, the weight is allowed, but an eight ounce penalty is deducted. Despite the deduction, Bennett still won comfortably, proving his strategy of fishing without a preconceived pattern. Normally, that's called "junk fishing" but when it produces a million-dollar payday, it looks like a better moniker might be "junque strategy.

As the new champion, Bennett will find that his life is changed. Few are more aware of that than 2007 champion Scott Suggs. His approach to the whole title (be accessible, be cooperative, be grateful) may have endeared him to fans, sponsors and the media, but it ultimately may have prevented him from qualifying for the 2008 Cup.

It's fair to say that Suggs might be the embodiment of the dream champion. He's approachable, able to laugh at himself, and genuinely aware of the fact that there are certainly worse ways to make a living- much less a million dollars in a single weekend

With that in mind, I asked Suggs one question while he was standing quietly toward the back of the Colonial Center watching the hoopla unfold as Bennett prepared for his first press conference.

The question: "What advice do you have for Michael Bennett."

Laughing, Suggs replied, "I've just spent the last few minutes talking with Michael's parents and telling them there are some secrets to being a champion that I want to share with him. Unfortunately, no one shared them with me, so I had to learn a lot of it on my own."

So, I asked, what are some of the keys to know? "Be available," Suggs replied, "tell the tour and your sponsors that you want to be useful and helpful. And don't wait for things to come to you, go to them. The first thing I did after winning was go visit my sponsors and ask what I could do to help. I meant it, and I'm glad I did it."

Even to the point that he didn't qualify for this year's event, I asked. "I'm not saying the championship shouldn't come with an automatic exemption for the next year," Suggs laughed, "but I think it's important - for you and your sponsors - to do everything you can to be a real champion. Otherwise, you could win one year, and be forgotten the next. That's not what I have in mind - I wanted to help everyone, me included. I think that's how you build a career that goes on, and that's my goal."

I don't know when Bennett will get his opportunity to visit with Suggs, but from my conversation, it seems most professional athletes could do with a few minutes of that counseling.

And a final observation about this year's Forrest Wood Cup. Despite a tough economy, some quirky weather, and all the usual complications of an event like this one, the people and city of Columbia, South Carolina proved to be formidable competition for other venues looking to host this -or any other - major fishing tournament.

Later this week, the FLW puts the capper on their tournament year with the announcement of the winner of their fantasy fishing tournaments. From the regional winners, a single fantasy fishing competitor will be selected as the second million dollar winner in the 2008 season. Appropriately, it seems, the FLW has recognized the success of this event and moved the venue for the final event to the Colonial Center in Columbia rather than the original location in Atlanta, Georgia.

Someone's about to have a very, very good week.

As always, we'll keep you posted.

--Jim Shepherd

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