King withdraws from FLW events
Veteran bass fishing pro Stacey King of Reeds Spring, Mo., has withdrawn from the final two events of the 2014 Wal-mart FLW Tour season to undergo cancer treatment.
“They’re going to take out my tonsils Thursday and also take three biopsies,” said King, who finished second at the FLW Tour event at Beaver Lake in 2013. “There’s a chance the cancer could be in my tonsils, but they’ll be able to tell more after I’ve had that operation.
“I know one thing, I’ve had so many tubes and scopes poked down my throat and my nose that it’s made me pretty sore. But other than that I feel fine and never had felt bad from it.”
King said he first noticed swollen lymph nodes in his throat about six months ago, and after tests he was told that nothing abnormal was discovered, although he should remain vigilant.
“I kind of put it aside when we got into the heat of the tournament season,” King said. “The lymph nodes never changed one way or the other, so a month or so ago I went to a different doctor and he looked at it and said ‘you need a CT scan and a biopsy.’ It showed some cancer in there, but they don’t think it’s in my lymph nodes.
“They can’t tell where it is right now, but they’re going to find out.”
King finished in the top-30 in three of the four FLW Tour events held so far this year. He ranks 26th in the Kellogg’s Angler of the Year race and was in contention to qualify for his fifth Forrest Wood Cup.
Prize fish caught on Lake Hamilton
Anglers caught two major prize fish last week in the Hot Springs Fishing Challenge at Lake Hamilton.
Jimmy Schultz of Hot Springs landed a catfish Monday worth $5,000, the biggest prize awarded in the event’s three-year history. He caught the fish from his dock at Carolina Acres Point.
Zachariah Lessie of Hot Springs landed a $1,000 largemouth bass Wednesday on Lake Hamilton by the bridge on Lakeland Drive behind Riser Ford. Lessie was cleaning the fish when he saw the prize tag.
There are still 53 fish worth $64,500 waiting to be caught in Lakes Hamilton and Catherine, including Big Al, the $10,000 top prize fish.
The contest is open to anyone with a valid Arkansas fishing license except for employees of the Hot Springs Advertising and Promotion Commission, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission at the Andrew H. Hulsey Fish Hatchery, and their immediate family members.
The Fishing Challenge will end at 5 p.m. July 31.
Event will benefit tornado victims
The Arkansas Fayetteville Shale Transporter Association will host the Disaster Relief Fishing Tournament on June 7 at Devils Fork Park on Greers Ferry Lake.
Teams will launch boats at 6 a.m., with weigh-ins scheduled for 3 p.m. There will be guaranteed payouts of $750 (first), $500 (second), $250 (third) and $100 (fourth-10th). The event will include a big bass side pot of $25 per boat that will be split, with 60 percent going to the angler who catches the largest fish and 40 percent going to the runner-up.
The tournament was created to help establish funds that will provide financial assistance to communities and families within the Fayetteville shale region that are affected by a natural disaster. A portion of the proceeds from this year’s tournament will go to the victims of the April 27 tornadoes that went through central Arkansas and caused damage in Mayflower, Vilonia and other communities.
Registration is $100 per boat. Addition information is available online at arkansasafta.com or on Facebook facebook.com/arkansasafta.