Forrest Lee Wood (June 9, 1932 – January 24, 2020)Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture: Forrest L. Wood
/ref> was the founder of

Ranger Boats Ranger Boats are a popular line of bass fishing boats designed primarily for black bass fishing. Since launching, the company has expanded their line of boats to offer recreational options as well. The company has fiberglass boats, but with the mod ...

, and widely acknowledged as the developer of the modern

bass boat A bass boat is a small boat that is designed and equipped primarily for bass fishing, usually in freshwater bodies such as lakes, rivers and wetlands. The modern bass boats are motorboats that feature an elevated flat front deck with swive ...

. He was also the namesake of the

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

FLW Tour for sportfishing. Born in

Flippin, Arkansas Flippin is a city in Marion County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 1,345 at the 2020 census. The city was named for the Thomas H. Flippin family and was incorporated in 1921. The Thomas H. Flippin Chapter of the Arkansas State Socie ...

, Wood began his outdoors career as a fishing guide on numerous lakes and rivers in Arkansas, while maintaining a construction business and a cattle farm. Wood began to build lake boats in 1968 behind a service station. The business moved to an old nightclub; by 1970, Ranger Boats sold 1,200 units. The boats are considered to be the prototypes of what are now called bass boats. The facility was destroyed by fire in 1971, but Wood salvaged orders from his desk in the building and restarted. That same year, Wood qualified for the first-ever

Bassmaster Classic The Bassmaster Classic (known as the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic for sponsorship) is a tournament in the sport of professional bass fishing. It was first held in 1971 on Lake Mead, Nevada. Originally it was a fall event, (1971-1983 ...

. The next year, Wood signed a sponsorship deal with the tournament, making it the Classic's official boat from then until 2000. Wood sold Ranger Boats in 1987, but remained active in the industry. In 1996, the tournament organizer Operation Bass renamed itself with Wood's initials, a name it retains to this day. Wood is a member of the Professional Bass Fishing Hall of Fame, the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, the 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. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission named its

Crowley's Ridge Nature Center Crowley's Ridge (also Crowleys Ridge) is a geological formation that rises 250 to above the alluvial plain of the Mississippi embayment in a line from southeastern Missouri to the Mississippi River near Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, Helena, ...

for Wood, who served a seven-year term on the commission after an appointment by Governor Mike Huckabee from 1998 to 2005. Wood and his wife of 68 years, Nina, resided in Flippin (where he had large cattle holdings) until his death on January 24, 2020. The couple has four daughters.

References

American boat builders American fishers 1932 births 2020 deaths American company founders Businesspeople from Arkansas Ranchers from Arkansas People from Marion County, Arkansas {{fishing-stub