By BassFan Staff

John Cox has yet to catch a truly big fish at the Forrest Wood Cup. Nonetheless, he has a truly big lead at the midway point.

The shallow-water specialist from Florida caught another stout stringer from his nearly inaccessible Wheeler Lake backwater on Friday, extending his lead to almost 6 1/2 pounds. His 15-10 haul gave him a 2-day total of 32-05.

His closest pursuers are 2012 Cup champion Jacob Wheeler, who sacked 17-09 on day 2, and Michael Neal, who weighed 15-12. Both have 25-14 totals.

Darrel Robertson, the 66-year-old Oklahoman, climbed from 15th to 4th with a 14 1/2-pound bag that pushed his aggregate to 25-03. Todd Auten, another skinny-water guru, caught a 6-04 brute that anchored a 14-06 sack as he rounded out the Top 5 with 25-02.

Here's how the Top 10 stacks up (deficit margins from the leader are indicated by red numbers in parentheses):

1. John Cox: 32-05
2. (tie) Jacob Wheeler: 25-14 (6-07
2. (tie) Michael Neal: 25-14 (6-07
4. Darrel Robertson: 25-03 (7-02
5. Todd Auten: 25-02 (7-03
6. Bryan Thrift: 24-10 (7-11
7. Mark Rose: 24-04 (8-01
8. Bill Chapman: 22-05 (10-00
9. Jimmy Reese: 22-03 (10-02
10. David Dudley: 21-11 (10-10

Overall weights were up a bit from day 1 as it took 20 1/2 pounds to make the cut to the Top 20 (that mark was at 9 1/2 pounds after Thursday's opening round). Some big upward moves were made by competitors taking advantage of schooling bass pushing shad up near the bank.

Unquestionably, the tournament will be won from the shallows. Several competitors mentioned having small pods of offshore fish located, but it seems just short of impossible to entice them to bite.

Wheeler, Neal, Robertson, Auten, Reese (14-07 on day 2) and Dudley (14-15)were all newcomers to the Top 10, with all except Auten making double-digit climbs (he started the day in 13th). JT Kenney (18th) tied Wheeler for the biggest jump of the day as he sacked a tournament-best 19-02 for a 30-place improvement.



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Photo: FLW

The sun has shone brightly on John Cox through the first 2 days of the Forrest Wood Cup.

Falling out of the Top 10 were Brandon McMillan (2nd to 20th with three fish for 5-09), TBF National Championship winner Joseph Webster (4th to 16th, 6-13), Shinichi Fukae (7th to 32nd, three for 4-01), Shane Lehew (8th to 19th, 7-05), Matt Arey (9th to 27th, 6-02) and Cody Meyer (10th to 14th, 9-05).

Saturday's WeatherChannel.com forecast for the Huntsville, Ala. area predicts isolated thunderstorms, a high temperature of 93 degrees and a breeze out of the west/northwest topping out at 7 mph.

The field will be reduced to the Top 10 following the day-3 weigh-in, with the winner determined Sunday on the basis of highest 4-day weight.

Similar Day for Cox

> Day 2: 5, 15-10 (10, 32-05)

Cox fished a little farther back in the remote portion of the tributary than he had on day 1 (he runs an aluminum boat and can access places that anglers in fiberglass rigs can't). He caught everything he weighed on either a topwater or a worm.

He went through seven keepers, and once again his biggest specimen was a 3 3/4-pounder. He didn't lose anything that would've helped him.

"I got in there and put my head down – it wasn't easy at all," he said. "I only caught one in the very back, so I think they're coming out. They might be going back to the lake, but I don't know – that's a long swim."

Not surprisingly, he plans to return to the area to begin day 3.

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Photo: FLW

Jacob Wheeler made a big move up the standings sheet with a 17-09 haul on day 2.

"I've got another spot (in a different tributary), but I don't want to use it right now. There's a lot of quality where I'm fishing and I think if I can catch another 15 pounds tomorrow and 10 on the last day, that should do it.

"I think I might get to a point where I'm a little nervous on the final day, but so much can go wrong between now and then and so much can go right, too. I'm not going to sweat it."

2nd: Wheeler Doubled Up

> Day 2: 5, 17-09 (10, 25-14)

Wheeler's sack was more than twice as heavy as the one he brought to the scale on day 1. Like Cox, he's fishing far back in a tributary.

"I didn't change that much," he said. "The (type of) fish that I lost yesterday I caught today. My first one was a 4 1/4-pounder and then I caught a 3 3/4. When you start a day off like that, it flows really easy."

He handled 10 keepers and didn't lose anything.

"I caught them all on three different baits – one slow, one moving under the water and one on top. It wasn't a bait thing, it was an area thing.

"I caught 13 pounds by 9:30 today from a place I fished yesterday for 4 hours and only caught half that. Sometimes they just don't bite."

He said it'll be very difficult to duplicate his day-2 haul.

"I don't think I'll catch 17 pounds again, but I think I can rotate around and catch 13 to 14. That's my goal for here on out and if I can accomplish that, I could put myself in position to win."

2nd: Neal Caught Schoolers

> Day 2: 5, 15-12 (10, 25-14)

Neal caught schooling fish from the same area throughout the day and brought in a bag that exceeded his day-1 take by more than 5 1/2 pounds.

"I fished the area yesterday that I caught all of them off today," he said. "The difference was I got to start on it today – there was a local boat on there yesterday."

Much of the day was a waiting game – he wouldn't cast until he saw a fish rise to the surface in pursuit of shad.

"I'd be sitting in one spot, holding my rod in my hand for three or four minutes. Sometimes it started to feel like I was wasting a lot of time, but (the schooling activity) started in the morning and went on for the whole day.

"It seemed like it was a rotation of fish coming up and feeding, then going behind me to a point to suspend, and then coming back. I think they're traveling in packs and they're shoving the bait up there to 1 1/2 or 2 feet of water where they can corral them. For some reason, the baitfish are stupid enough to just sit there."

FLW
Photo: FLW

Michael Neal's 15-12 bag gained him 15 places in the standings.

His bag, which was caught within sight of the Wheeler dam, consisted of four largemouths and three smallmouths. The biggest largemouth weighed 4 1/2 pounds and the smallmouth scaled at 3 1/2.

He said he has plenty of fish remaining.

"They're coming up 50 or 75 at a time."

4th: Robertson was Slow and Steady

> Day 2: 5, 14-08 (10, 25-03)

Robertson caught 4 pounds more than he weighed on day 1 running the same program.

“A couple 4-pounders will sure help you out,” he said. “I made that 50-minute run again and the first one I caught weighed 4, but I lost a 3-pounder that just pulled off. That’s the first one I’ve lost either day.”

He had seven keeper largemouths on Day 2. The twin 4-pounders were his first and last fish of the day and came from opposite ends of the lake.

“I’ve got a little deal figured out that’s worked both days. I’m not ready to talk about it yet, but it’s not exciting. Some of these guys are fishing for schooling fish, which is feast or famine. What I’m doing is just slow and steady.

“I’m still undecided about whether to make the run first thing tomorrow or start fishing closer. I had three keeper bites in the last three hours coming back toward the ramp. I may start closer tomorrow and see how it goes. They don’t seem to start running current until about noon, though, so I’m not sure what I’ll do yet.”

As to what he thinks he can catch on Saturday, he gave himself a wide target to hit.

“I’ll catch something but it may be 6 pounds or it may be 20,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s just hard to predict.”

5th: Huge Cull for Auten

> Day 1: 5, 14-06 (10, 25-02)

Auten caught his 6-04 hawg at about 2 o'clock. It resulted in an upgrade of about 5 pounds, as it replaced a miniscule keeper.

"I caught it on a jig," he said. "I saw the fish come and get it and eat it and I only had about 4 feet of line out. I had to grab the net because I was afraid to try to swing that one in.

"There aren't too many of those around, although (Kenney) seemed to find a pile of them. You have to get a little lucky and pull up on the right spot where nobody's been."

He caught seven keepers on the day and lost one that was about 2 1/2 pounds. He also had one die in his livewell, which cost him a 4-ounce penalty.

"I'm still debating on what I'm going to do tomorrow. I might start where I ended up catching most of the fish today and work off that, but I'm making a long run."

6th: Smaller Bites for Thrift

> Day 2: 5, 10-03 (10, 24-10)

Thrift's weight was off by more than 4 pounds from day 1 as he generated only one quality bite.

"I got six bites again today and five were keepers," he said. "I had one 3-pounder and four 14-inchers and it took all day to catch them. I think I caught my fifth one around 2:30 or 3 o'clock.

"I didn't lose any, but I had a 4-pounder miss a topwater. It just rolled up under it and never did eat the bait."

Most of his action is occurring on the main river channel.

"I'm going to stick with the same deal. I could go run the creeks like everybody did today and try to catch some, but I don't enjoy that. I always feel like I'm fishing behind somebody and it messes with my head."

7th: Rose Felt the Pressure

> Day 2: 5, 10-05 (10, 24-04)

Rose said day 2 was far more stressful that the previous day, and that showed up in his bag as he came in more than 3 1/2 pounds lighter.

"I'm covering a lot of water with a topwater bait in the morning and yesterday I was pretty loose because I had five early," he said. "Today I felt like I was under the gun because I only caught two early on and I was trying to play catch-up all day.

"I fished new stuff with the topwater today and evidently I was behind Wheeler."

He's moving to much deeper water during the afternoons, fishing brushpiles and places where he marked small groups of fish in practice.

"I have to cover a lot of those places to get one bite and today I felt like I was rushing it. You can't fish loose like that and it didn't work."

He had two smallmouths in his bag, including a 3-pounder.

"I lost one big one late in the day that hung me in a pile and broke me off. I never saw it, but it felt like it had some weight."

8th: Chapman Down by 5

> Day 2: 5, 8-13 (10, 22-05)

Chapman's weight was off by more than 5 pounds from the previous day, but it cost him only two positions in the standings.

"There was very little current today and that really hurts me," he said. "I'm fishing a current break between and catching some on top, and the ones on the bottom are in about 6 feet (of water).

"I'll start in a different place tomorrow – I've got another break that holds more current."

A 2 1/2-pounder was the biggest fish he caught on day 2.

"I did fish a lot cleaner than yesterday – I didn't lose any."

9th: Reese Rallied Hard

> Day 2: 5, 14-07 (10, 22-03)

Reese gained 35 places on the standings sheet with a bag that was almost twice the weight of the one he caught on day 1.

"It totally changed today," he said. "I caught zero where I caught my fish yesterday, and yesterday I caught fish on place where I didn't catch any in practice. You just have to keep adjusting."

He weighed four smallmouths, including a pair of 4-pounders. His lone largemouth barely met the keeper requirement.

"It was a 13-incher and I was lucky it didn't go through the outtake of my aerator. "

He farmed out four bites, but said that none weighed more than about a pound and a half.

"They were kind of funky bites."

10th: Dudley Cranked Up

> Day 2: 5, 14-15 (10, 21-11)

Dudley had just one fish in his well at 1:45, but caught nine keepers over the final 2 1/2 hours of the day. He improved his position in the standings by 29 places.

"The big thing was a bait change," he said. "I'd been throwing various stuff, but I went to a crankbait. I tied on a Livingston."

His stringer was headed up by two 3 1/2-pounders – a smallmouth and a largemouth.

"At least now I have a direction to go tomorrow, but I'm not saying it's going to work."

18th: Kenney Moved In

> Day 2: 5, 19-02 (6, 20-13)

After a one-fish day 1 fishing deep ledges, Kenney moved to the shallows on day 2 and scored big-time.

"After 3 days of practice and 1 day of the tournament, I finally got it through my head that (staying offshore) wasn't going to work," he said. "I just went to a place where I had a couple shallow bites in practice and worked hard at it, and evidently the fish there were bigger than I'd thought."

He weighed four fish that exceeded 4 pounds and one that barely made the length grade.

"I had a 3 1/2-pounder that jumped off on a spinnerbait. If I'd caught that one, I would've been around 21 (pounds).

He caught two weigh-in fish on the spinnerbait, two on a crankbait and one on a tube. He had no company, but figures that he may on day 3.

"I'm sure there'll be 40 boats and a helicopter tomorrow," he joked.

20th: McMillan Struggled

> Day 2: 3, 5-09 (8, 20-07)

Missed opportunities plagued McMillan on day 2, but he still managed to nail down the final cut position despite a three-fish bag.

“They acted a lot different today,” he said. “I started on the same place as yesterday and I missed my first bite, so it didn’t start right. They’re still in there busting the surface,and there’s a lot of bait, but they were just tougher to catch today. Yesterday they weren’t hard, but today they were awful.”

He changed up what he was doing after first 30 minutes, and switched baits several times, finally finding one they bit.

“I caught two and lost two, and then they quit hitting it,” he noted. “Then I broke off about a 3-pounder. I just had a bad fishing day. They weren’t getting the bait good. I didn’t hook and lose any but that big one; the rest just didn’t get it in their mouths.”

He’s fishing shallow – in just over 3 feet of water. The biggest of his three keepers weighed 2 1/2 pounds.

38th: Brauer didn't Connect

> Day 2: 5, 7-09 (10, 15-14)

Denny Brauer never got much going and was unable to weigh a double-digit sack on either day.

"It was a combination of a lot of things going wrong and it was just one of those tournaments," he said. "I felt like I was around the right fish, but it just didn't work out.

"If I had it to do over again, I'd go with the exact same game plan."

Notable

> Day 2 stats – 50 anglers, 39 limits (same as day 1), 2 fours, 4 threes, 1 two, 1 one, 3 zeroes (3 more than day 1).

Day 2 Standings

1. John Cox -- Debary, Fl -- 16-11 (5) -- 15-10 (5) -- 32-5 (10)

2. Michael Neal -- Dayton, Tn -- 10-2 (5) -- 15-12 (5) -- 25-14 (10)

3. Jacob Wheeler -- Indianapolis, In -- 8-5 (5) -- 17-9 (5) -- 25-14 (10)

4. Darrel Robertson -- Jay, Ok -- 10-11 (5) -- 14-8 (5) -- 25-3 (10)

5. Todd Auten -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 10-12 (4) -- 14-6 (5) -- 25-2 (9)

6. Bryan Thrift -- Shelby, NC -- 14-7 (5) -- 10-3 (5) -- 24-10 (10)

7. Mark Rose -- West Memphis, Ar -- 13-15 (5) -- 10-5 (5) -- 24-4 (10)

8. Bill Chapman -- Salt Rock, WV -- 13-8 (5) -- 8-13 (5) -- 22-5 (10)

9. Jimmy Reese -- Witter Springs, Ca -- 7-12 (5) -- 14-7 (5) -- 22-3 (10)

10. David Dudley -- Lynchburg, Va -- 6-12 (5) -- 14-15 (5) -- 21-11 (10)

11. Brandon Cobb -- Greenwood, SC -- 11-6 (5) -- 10-4 (5) -- 21-10 (10)

12. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, Fl -- 11-2 (5) -- 10-7 (5) -- 21-9 (10)

13. Chris Johnston -- Peterborough, On -- 9-5 (5) -- 12-3 (5) -- 21-8 (10)

14. Cody Meyer -- Auburn, Ca -- 12-1 (5) -- 9-5 (5) -- 21-6 (10)

15. Ray Hanselman -- Del Rio, Tx -- 9-5 (5) -- 11-14 (5) -- 21-3 (10)

16. Jeremy Lawyer -- Sarcoxie, Mo -- 8-15 (5) -- 12-0 (5) -- 20-15 (10)

17. Joseph Webster -- Fulton, Ms -- 14-2 (5) -- 6-13 (5) -- 20-15 (10)

18. JT Kenney -- Palm Bay, Fl -- 1-11 (1) -- 19-2 (5) -- 20-13 (6)

19. Shane Lehew -- Mooresville, NC -- 13-3 (5) -- 7-5 (5) -- 20-8 (10)

20. Brandon Mcmillan -- Clewiston, Fl -- 14-14 (5) -- 5-9 (3) -- 20-7 (8)

The following anglers did not make the cut and did not fish on day 3.

21. Scott Canterbury -- Springville, Al -- 6-0 (3) -- 14-5 (5) -- 20-5 (8) -- $10,000

22. Charlie Weyer -- West Hills, Ca -- 8-13 (5) -- 11-2 (5) -- 19-15 (10) -- $10,000

23. Clark Reehm -- Huntington, Tx -- 6-4 (5) -- 13-4 (5) -- 19-8 (10) -- $10,000

24. Andy Morgan -- Dayton, Tn -- 9-7 (5) -- 10-1 (5) -- 19-8 (10) -- $10,000

25. Wesley Strader -- Spring City, Tn -- 8-10 (5) -- 10-11 (5) -- 19-5 (10) -- $10,000

26. Jeff Sprague -- Point, Tx -- 9-11 (5) -- 9-2 (5) -- 18-13 (10) -- $10,000

27. Matt Arey -- Shelby, NC -- 12-8 (5) -- 6-2 (5) -- 18-10 (10) -- $10,000

28. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, Ar -- 10-7 (5) -- 7-15 (5) -- 18-6 (10) -- $10,000

29. Terry Bolton -- Paducah, Ky -- 11-13 (5) -- 6-3 (5) -- 18-0 (10) -- $10,000

30. Dan Morehead -- Paducah, Ky -- 10-8 (5) -- 7-4 (5) -- 17-12 (10) -- $10,000

31. Jamie Horton -- Centerville, Al -- 8-7 (5) -- 9-3 (5) -- 17-10 (10) -- $10,000

32. Shinichi Fukae -- Palestine, Tx -- 13-7 (5) -- 4-1 (3) -- 17-8 (8) -- $10,000

33. Greg Bohannan -- Bentonville, Ar -- 9-15 (5) -- 7-5 (5) -- 17-4 (10) -- $10,000

34. Brad Knight -- Lancing, Tn -- 7-4 (5) -- 9-15 (5) -- 17-3 (10) -- $10,000

35. Brandon Perkins -- Counce, Tn -- 9-1 (5) -- 7-13 (5) -- 16-14 (10) -- $10,000

36. Troy Morrow -- Eastanollee, Ga -- 7-11 (5) -- 8-15 (5) -- 16-10 (10) -- $10,000

37. Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, Tx -- 6-2 (5) -- 10-6 (5) -- 16-8 (10) -- $10,000

38. Denny Brauer -- Del Rio, Tx -- 8-5 (5) -- 7-9 (5) -- 15-14 (10) -- $10,000

39. Tyler Suddarth -- Valdosta, Ga -- 9-12 (5) -- 6-1 (5) -- 15-13 (10) -- $10,000

40. Scott Suggs -- Alexander, Ar -- 7-7 (5) -- 7-13 (5) -- 15-4 (10) -- $10,000

41. Jay Kendrick -- Grant, Al -- 8-9 (5) -- 5-14 (5) -- 14-7 (10) -- $10,000

42. Jeff Hippert -- Hamburg, NY -- 9-7 (4) -- 4-15 (2) -- 14-6 (6) -- $10,000

43. Jim Tutt -- Longview, Tx -- 5-11 (5) -- 6-2 (3) -- 11-13 (8) -- $10,000

44. Jeff Gustafson -- Keewatin, On -- 8-5 (4) -- 3-2 (4) -- 11-7 (8) -- $10,000

45. Nick Prvonozac -- Warren, Oh -- 0-9 (1) -- 9-15 (4) -- 10-8 (5) -- $10,000

46. Bryan Schmitt -- Deale, Md -- 2-8 (2) -- 3-12 (3) -- 6-4 (5) -- $10,000

47. Brian Holder -- Denver, NC -- 5-15 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 5-15 (3) -- $10,000

48. David Barnes Sr. -- China, Me -- 4-8 (4) -- 1-6 (1) -- 5-14 (5) -- $10,000

49. Hampton Anderson -- Anderson, SC -- 4-7 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 4-7 (3) -- $10,000

50. Cory Johnston -- Cavan, On -- 1-8 (1) -- 0-0 (0) -- 1-8 (1) -- $10,000