John Cox had an 8 1/2-pound lead going into the final day of the Red River FLW Tour Major in Louisiana, but he didn't allow himself to feel any real sense of comfort until he'd put a limit in his livewell.
Just 16 months ago, he'd entered the final day of the Okeechobee Eastern FLW Series in his home state of Florida with a 10 1/2-pound advantage, and then watched Scott Martin claim the top prize after Cox's wind-ravaged area gave him only 7 1/2 pounds. He'd averaged more than 20 pounds over the first 3 days.
He failed to break the 8-pound barrier again today, but the Red is no Okeechobee. His 7-13 sack gave him a 48-08 total, and that was more than enough to nail down the wire-to-wire victory.
Mark Rose caught the day's best bag (12-11) and moved up one place to finish as the runner-up with 48-08. He switched places with Clint Brownlee, whose 7-14 bag dropped him one place to 3rd with 40-01.
A couple of grizzled veterans caught double-digit sacks to maintain their places in the Top 5. Darrel Robertson weighed 10-13 for a 40-00 total to finish 4th and Gary Yamamoto sacked 10-04 and ended up 5th with 37-11.
Here's how the bottom half of the Top 10 ended up:
6. Brent Ehrler: 35-00
7. David Dudley: 34-10
8. Mike Reynolds: 34-09
9. Jon Strelic: 34-06
10. Christian Romans: 33-08
The tournament was the fourth on the six-event Major schedule. Dudley took over the lead in the Angler of the Year (AOY) race and has a 30-point advantage over previous pole-sitter Stacey King.
The Tour takes this week off before heading to Maryland for the Potomac River Open June 2-5.
Cox Somewhat Numb
> Day 4: 5, 7-13 (20, 48-08)
After what occurred at Okeechobee last year, it was a big relief for Cox to close this one out.
"It's unbelievable – I was sick to my stomach the whole time," he said. "I don't think it's set in yet because I'd just been beating myself to death trying to make it happen. Tomorrow it'll probably sink in and I'll feel a little bit better.
"I only had two fish at 1:30 and all I was thinking about was when Scott beat me last year. The very last one I caught was a 2 1/2-pounder, and it was like a big weight was lifted off my shoulders."
He took command of the event over the first 2 days by using a 17-foot aluminum boat with a 75-horsepower motor to get into an overflow pond that was inaccessible to anyone running a standard fiberglass boat. He abandoned that area after day 2 as the water level continued to recede and fished out of a full-size, FLW-provided Ranger today.
Mark Rose caught the day's biggest bag and moved up one place to finish 2nd.
He casted and flipped various baits throughout the tournament. Full details of his winning pattern, as well as those of the other top finishers, will be posted soon.
2nd: Rose Okay With It
> Day 4: 5, 12-11 (19, 43-04)
Rose caught the day's best bag, but it wasn't enough to threaten Cox.
"I was as close (to the win) as I could get in a fiberglass boat, anyway," he said. "But my hat's off to John – he worked the hardest and he wanted it more than anybody, and he got it. It was just his time to win and I'm a realist, and I knew what was going to happen. I accomplished the one goal I had for today.
"It was a grind, but I enjoyed fishing this way. I've kind of been real intrigued by ledge-fishing for the past couple years, but this is the way I grew up – Bubba-fishing on backwaters on the Mississippi River with fluctuating water."
He caught about nine keepers today and his bag was topped by a 4-pounder.
3rd: Brownlee Feels Good
> Day 4: 5, 7-14 (20, 40-01)
Brownlee, a third-year pro from Georgia, logged his first career Top 10 and climbed 34 places to 30th in the AOY race.
"It feels pretty good," he said. "I'd come pretty close before, but this time everything lined up right and I fished well. I didn't lose anyting.
"This was my kind of fishing. I like to sit down in one spot and milk it for everything it's worth."
He caught six keepers today, including a 3 3/4-pounder.
"The water was down 6 or 7 inches and the sun being out hurt me. I was mainly throwing topwater and it slowed that bite down."
4th: Robertson Going Strong
> Day 4: 5, 10-13 (20, 40-00)
Robertson notched his first single-digit placement since 2008 and moved up to 13th on the points list
"I was pitiful last year, but this year has been a lot better – I've gotten a check in every tournament," he said. "I enjoyed this tournament. It was a lot of shallow flipping and it reminded me a lot of being back home in Oklahoma.
"I started out today in 4th place and I knew I'd have to catch them pretty good to stay there. Eleven pounds is a pretty decent stringer around here right now. I didn't lose any and I've got nothing to feel bad about."
He caught about 10 keepers, which was his average for the event, and the biggest was a little over 3 pounds.
5th: Yamamoto Returns
> Day 4: 5, 10-04 (20, 37-11)
Yamamoto hadn't logged a placement this high since the Kentucky Lake event in 2006.
"It feels good," he said. "It's been a couple of years that I've been down in the dumps. I thought I was going to do well at Chickamauga, but the water came up and messed my fish up.
"This tournament was what I like to do. The water was fluctuating and fishing conditions were tougher than usual, and I was able to flip for some fish I'd found."
The five fish he weighed were the only bites he got today, and one was a 4-pounder. He never got more than seven bites on any of the 4 days.
"I had a limit before noon, and the other days it took me all day to catch five."
Notable
> Day 4 stats – 10 anglers, 10 limits.
Day 4 (Final) Standings
1. John Cox -- Debary, Fl -- 5, 14-10 -- 5, 14-00 -- 10, 28-10 -- 5, 12-01 -- 5, 7-13 -- 20, 48-08 -- $100,000
2. Mark Rose -- Marion, Ar -- 5, 12-10 -- 4, 7-04 -- 9, 19-14 -- 5, 10-11 -- 5, 12-11 -- 19, 43-04 -- $32,553
3. Clint Brownlee -- Tifton, Ga -- 5, 10-10 -- 5, 9-13 -- 10, 20-07 -- 5, 11-12 -- 5, 7-14 -- 20, 40-01 -- $27,886 -- $750
4. Darrel Robertson -- Jay, Ok -- 5, 10-12 -- 5, 6-13 -- 10, 17-09 -- 5, 11-10 -- 5, 10-13 -- 20, 40-00 -- $23,219
5. Gary Yamamoto -- Palestine, Tx -- 5, 7-05 -- 5, 12-07 -- 10, 19-12 -- 5, 7-11 -- 5, 10-04 -- 20, 37-11 -- $18,553
6. Brent Ehrler -- Redlands, Ca -- 5, 13-00 -- 5, 8-06 -- 10, 21-06 -- 4, 5-08 -- 5, 8-02 -- 19, 35-00 -- $15,753
7. David Dudley -- Lynchburg, Va -- 5, 7-03 -- 5, 12-01 -- 10, 19-04 -- 5, 8-00 -- 5, 7-06 -- 20, 34-10 -- $14,819
8. Mike Reynolds -- Modesto, Ca -- 5, 13-15 -- 5, 6-10 -- 10, 20-09 -- 4, 6-01 -- 5, 7-15 -- 19 -- 19, 34-09 -- $13,886
9. Jon Strelic -- El Cajon, Ca -- 4, 10-08 -- 5, 8-06 -- 9, 18-14 -- 5, 7-06 -- 5, 8-02 -- 19, 34-06 -- $12,953
10. Christian Romans -- Carrollton, Ky -- 5, 10-03 -- 5, 9-08 -- 10, 19-11 -- 5, 7-09 -- 5, 6-04 -- 20, 33-08 -- $12,019
