By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
Two victories within the span of a month sidetracked him a bit, but Brandon Cobb regained the type of consistency in 2021 that he displayed from the beginning of his tour-level career.
The always-grinning South Carolinian posted eight Top-10 finishes in nine events last year to end up at No. 9 in the final Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year standings. He logged just one final-day appearance (10th at Lake Guntersville), but he was among the Top 25 on six occasions.
"Back in my FLW days (2014-18), that's kind of the way I was – a guy who always got checks," the 32-year-old said. "Then I came to B.A.S.S. and that first year I won two tournaments, and that kind of changed the way I fished. For a while there I was either making the Top 10 or I wasn't getting a check.
"If I had a place with a lot of fish where I felt like I could get a check but I couldn't win, I wouldn't go there. This year I got back to trying to be more consistent. You know the tournaments when you feel like you have a chance to win and the ones where you feel like you need to just fish for a check. I fished smarter this past year and I was successful."
Big Chance Coming
Cobb will be among the favorites for this year's Classic, which will take place March 4-6 at Lake Hartwell in his home state. The first of his two 2019 Elite Series wins occurred at Hartwell, with the other coming two derbies later at Lake Fork in Texas.
Despite his proximity to the venue, he didn't put in a lot of pre-practice time before it went off limits on Jan. 1.
"I only went for 2 days," he said. "I haven't been out there much in the last year, but I've spent hundreds of days on the lake and I feel like I already know the areas where the fish are likely to be. I didn't want to go out and mark a lot of specific places out deep because I know how fast things can change there.
"The water temperature could be 50 degrees or it could be 60 (when the Classic arrives) and the level could be 10 feet low or up in the bushes. I've won tournaments there in March in 30 to 50 feet and I've won not necessarily sight-fishing, but fishing really shallow."
It'd be a nearly unimaginable thrill for him to win this one, but he knows that his "local" status can carry some disadvantages.
"There's a lot more eyes on you, and that's not a bad thing because they're pulling for you, but there may be more pressure on some of the areas I'm fishing. The first day I could have quite a few people following me.
"I think back to the Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Murray in 2017 (where he finished 3rd), and that style of fishing really wasn't conducive to having a lot of people around. In that way, that tournament was a real challenge for me."
Got Some Prior Business
The new Elite Series season will once again get under way at the St. Johns River in Florida (Feb. 10-13). Cobb finished 20th there in his debut season on the tour in 2019, but hasn't fared quite as well in either of his more recent visits.
His 48th there last year was his second-worst showing of the campaign, surpassed only by Pickwick (76th).
"My goal every year is to qualify for the Classic and if better things happen, that's awesome," he said. "You hope to run into one to three tournaments a year when, either after practice or during the event, you feel like you have a chance to win. At that point you really have to pay attention and try to capitalize on those opportunities.
"I used to look forward to certain events, like anywhere I've been a lot of times before, but I've realized that just because you might know a lake, that really doesn't mean anything. Some of your worst tournaments can be on places you think you know well and some of the best will be on places where you've never put the boat in before."
