Lake Ouachita. It’s because of the water clarity. It makes it tough for a four-day tournament. The cloud cover earlier in the week helped out but the clear skies on Sunday made things more difficult — clouds are what you need on a clear lake.”
PICKUP
PHOTO BY FLW OUTDOORS
Rose enjoys fishing in his home state. It’s so much easier to win over a crowd and it’s really nice to be close to home — although he lives about three hours from Hot Springs, he had team Arkansas in his corner.
Fishing is big business but it’s also a family business. As each angler approached the microphone during the weigh-in, many things were said and many people were thanked; however the one subject that remained constant was family. Like Rose, Ron Shuffield is an Arkansan that made it to the 2011 FLW World Cup. He finished 19th in the tournament. This year marks Ron Shuffield’s 26th year of professional fishing. Raised in Bismarck, he first started fishing professionally in 1985 with the BASS organization. With a straight face, Shuffield said, “If I do this much longer, I’ll be on The History Channel!” He fished his first championship in 2007. This was his fifth year to fish in the World Cup. He fished in the 2007 tournament, also held at Lake Ouachita. “This year the fishing was much better. Luckily, the weather cooperated. The cloud cover kept things cooled down. It also helped with the bite,” said Shuffield. Arkansas is known for its crystal clear lakes that are very appealing to visitors. For fishing, however, it can make things a little more challenging because the fish can see you. Near the end of a big tournament such as
The
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4718 N. Shobe Rd • Alexander (Bryant) • www.arkansasmarine.com Fall 2011 Arkansas Wild | 53