Staff report, Lone Star Outdoor News
Forrest Wood, founder of Ranger Boats and a founding father of tournament bass fishing, died Jan.24 at Baxter Regional Medical Center in Mountain Home, Arkansas.
Wood, who began his working career as a trout guide on Arkansas’ White River, developed one of the first specialized bass tournament boats in 1968.
In 1996, Wood began a long association with Kentucky-based Operation Bass, which was renamed “FLW” in Wood’s honor.
Under Wood, Ranger patented the aerated livewell to keep fish alive for release following a tournament.
He was named to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission in 1998. The commission honored Wood by naming its nature center for him in Jonesboro.
Wood qualified for the second Bassmaster Classic in 1972 and again in 1979, won a B.A.S.S. Invitational tournament in 1979, and was inducted into the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, Professional Bass Fishing Hall of Fame, International Boating Hall of Fame, National Marine Manufacturers Hall of Fame, Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame, Arkansas Game and Fish Hall of Fame, Arkansas Walk of Fame, and the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame.
