The boat that John Cox and driving on the final day of the Lewis Smith Lake FLW Tour when he and marshal Bryan New were unexpectedly thrown into the water was trailered to the FLW offices in Benton, Ky., after the event and has been undergoing on-the-water testing as well as a detailed dry-dock inspection.
“FLW National Sales Site Director Chris Hoover launched the boat on Kentucky Lake and extensively tested the boat at both high speeds and low speeds and conducted several steering tests,” an FLW official said via email. “The boat operated flawlessly. (Tournament director) Bill Taylor personally used the boat all (last) weekend long and will continue to use the boat as we lead up to the Beaver Lake event. The boat will be put on a lift (later this week) and inspected for any damage on the bottom. As long as everything checks out, the boat will be returned to the FLW fleet for the next FLW Tour event at Beaver Lake.”
Cox told BassFan earlier this week he was still feeling the effects of the incident, which occurred as he was moving to another fishing spot on day 4 of the second Tour event of the season. Amid slick, calm conditions, Cox reported the Ranger fiberglass boat suddenly jerked to the left and went into a spin, causing himself and New to careen into the 50-plus degree water.
The pair quickly gathered themselves and were able to climb back aboard the boat. Neither was seriously injured. New fished as a co-angler at the Sam Rayburn Texas Rayovac Series this week.
Cox clarified that the PFD he was wearing at the time of the accident was a manually-operated model and that’s why it didn’t inflate upon his hitting the water.
