Cox Catches 11-08 To Clinch Cup Victory

By BassFan Staff

John Cox had said on Saturday evening that the gnarly Wheeler Lake backwater he'd exploited to lead the Forrest Wood Cup after each of the first 3 days was history. He'd pillaged it for all it could give him and he'd have to try to close out the victory somewhere else.

As it turned out, the swampy, duckweed-laden stretch of Cotaco Creek produced for him one more time, and he collected enough weight on that final visit to win FLW's annual championship with some room to spare. The victory, which was worth $300,000, provided further confirmation that the shallow-water specialist from Florida's has become one of the top anglers in the sport.

He may not be one of the best-conditioned, however, from a purely physical perspective.

"I'm feeling all kinds of stuff right now, but today at noon I realized just how out of shape I am," he said just a few minutes before taking his bag to the weigh-in stage at Propst Arena in Huntsville, Ala. "I got drained to the point that I almost couldn't cast anymore and I had to dig down deep to keep going, and I ended up catching a big one."

He boxed a 4-plus-pounder with about a half-hour remaining in a day that had been an epic struggle to that point. He might've won without that fish – which was his only cull of the day and supplanted a 13-incher in his livewell – but there would've been high drama right up to the point when he took his stringer to the scale.

The 11-08 bag gave him a 54-08 total for 4 days. That held off Michael Neal, who's been runner-up multiple times on Tennessee River events in his still-young career, by a little more than 4 pounds.

Neal sacked 12-12 on Sunday to finish with 50-10. Todd Auten, whose weights had been climbing each day and who'd boxed a day-best 17-10 in the previous round to pull within about half a pound of Neal, managed just three fish for 7-09 to finish 3rd with 50-05.

Perennial Cup contender Bryan Thrift was 4th with 49-06 in the wake of an 11-09 final-day haul. BFL All-American winner Jeremy Lawyer climbed five places on the strength of a 16-06 stringer – easily the best of the final day – to finish 5th.

Here are the final numbers for the remainder of the Top 10:

6. Mark Rose: 47-15
7. Jacob Wheeler: 46-07
8. Chris Johnston: 44-08
9. Brandon Cobb: 44-04
10. Joseph Webster: 42-03

Many expected the event to be won from the offshore ledges, which is the standard for Tennessee River lakes during the summer, but that bite never developed to a significant extent. Competitors who advanced to the final day got there by one of two routes – pounding the woody backwaters or catching schooling fish that were pushing shad toward the banks.

Lawyer, a Missourian who'll be a rookie on the FLW Tour this year (as will TBF National Championship winner Webster) made the only substantial move on a slow day of fishing all around. Everybody else concluded the round within two places of where they'd started.

Cox Dumbfounded

> Day 4: 5, 11-08 (15, 54-13)

The 30-year-old Cox, who had a brief stint at the top of the BassFan World Rankings earlier this year and entered the derby at No. 4 on that list, became the first competitor to win the Cup from an aluminum boat. The tin rig made it possible for him to reach his area in Cotaco during practice and on the first 2 days of the tournament before a couple of thunderstorms during the event provided enough additional water to make the upper reaches of the tributary more accessible.

It was his second victory of 2016 (he won the second regular-season stop at Lake Hartwell) and the third tour-level triumph of his career.

"I still don't believe it," he said. "I think it'll probably set in soon."

He had a 6 1/2-pound advantage at the midway point, but saw almost all of that evaporate on day 3 when his weight fell off considerably and Auten caught a big bag. Lawyer boxed a stout sack Sunday, but he was too far back to threaten the leader, and none of the serious contenders could capitalize on the opportunity that was presented.

Cox started day 4 in a backup tributary, but it was unproductive. He resorted to a Senko to catch three miniscule keepers, then returned to Cotaco and completed his limit before making the massive cull.

He didn't enjoy the day much prior to hooking the big one.

"It was awful," he said. "It was one of the worst days I've ever had before that."

Full details of his winning pattern, as well as those of the other top finishers, will be published in the coming days.

2nd: Neal Close Again

The bridesmaid finish was Neal's third on a Tennessee River impoundment in a tour-level career that dates back only to 2012.

"It's very disappointing, but I'm not going to think about it right now," he said. "The first thing I thought of (when he got back to the ramp) was that I was probably going to come in 2nd again."

He stuck with schooling fish in one place near the dam the entire day, but said he probably didn't make 100 casts because the activity was more scarce than on previous days and the fish weren't as numerous.

"It took a lot longer to get a limit and the first limit I caught weighed maybe 6 1/2 pounds. I caught my two biggest fish with an hour left, when the sun really started to pop out, and both were over 3 (pounds).

"If a shad didn't fly out of the water, I wasn't going to get a bite. I spent a lot of time sitting there with the rod in my hand."

3rd: Tough Day for Auten

> Day 4: 3, 7-09 (17, 50-05)

Auten's total weigh-fish count was three shy of the tournament limit, and that cost him dearly. He opted to return to the creek where he'd caught the big day-3 bag, and that was a decision he regretted.

"I should've gone left instead of right (when he left the ramp)," he said. "I had some schooling fish a little ways up and I'd definitely have gone toward those if I had it to do over again.

"The water came up a little bit (in the creek) and dirtied it up and it had a whole different look about it. It was up maybe half a foot from yesterday and usually on shallow fish that's a good thing, but for resident fish living in the back of a creek it's not good."

He had several fish follow his bait in the creek, but none would commit to it. He had just one keeper for much of the day before boating two quality smallmouths during the afternoon."

4th: Thrift Feels Fine

> Day 4: 5, 11-09 (20, 49-06)

Thrift's final placement was his fifth straight of 7th or better in the Cup, and event he's yet to win.

"I feel good about it," he said. "I never felt like I was on the fish to win, or even contend. To get that finish out of what I had, I'm very pleased with that."

He caught 8 keepers on day 4, two of which were 2 3/4-pounders. He lost one that might've given him a couple more ounces.

"I was kind of disappointed in my afternoon – I had everything I weighed by 10 o'clock again and I ran around all day trying to get a big bite. I tried everything under the sun – shallow docks, creeks, offshore – but I couldn't make it happen."

5th: Fun Day for Lawyer

> Day 4: 5, 16-06 (19, 49-05)

Lawyer's final-day haul was his best of the tournament by almost 4 1/2 pounds.

"To have the biggest bag on the final day, I'm excited," he said. "I wish I'd been closer (to the lead) so maybe I could've challenged for the win, but then I might've fished differently, so you never know."

He caught about a dozen keepers and weighed three that were in the 4-pound class. His bag was comprised of four smallmouths and a largemouth.

"I threw the same key baits (a spoon and a topwater popper), but I had my timing down a little better and I jumped around to some other places instead of staying in one spot. I had two good fish come off in the net, so it was just a good fishing day."

6th: Rose Couldn't Capitalize

> Day 4: 5, 11-06 (20, 47-15)

Rose had a pretty good morning, catching a 2 1/2-pound smallmouth and three other decent keepers on a buzzbait, but ran into the midday lull plagued him throughout the event.

"At this point I'm a little frustrated because (the leaders) left the door wide open and I couldn't capitalize with a big day," he said.

He filled out his limit in the afternoon with a run-of-the-mill schooler. His biggest bite of the day didn't help him.

"I went deep and pulled up on a spot that had four big arches on the graph, and I threw out a Strike King 10XD and the road loaded up. It ended up being about a 20-pound flathead (catfish)."

7th: Wheeler Satisfied, Happy for Cox

> Day 4: 5, 9-04 (20, 46-07)

Wheeler brought in his fourth consecutive limit of largemouths, but they weren't enough to prevent him from dropping two places. The 2012 winner of the event has placed in the Top 10 in five of the six Cups he’s competed in.

“I’m okay with it,” he said. “I’m glad it wasn’t too close. Eight pounds (behind the leader) is better than 8 ounces. I’m pretty happy for John – it’s cool to see him win this thing. I lost too many fish to win a tournament like this, but it feels good to have a Top 10.

“What’s funny is I found those same fish he won on in practice. Then after he went in there the first day, I wasn’t going to go in there too. I was saving that as my backup place, and it turns out he was saving the place I fished as his backup spot.”

He caught 15 keepers on day 4, but no real kickers.

“I fished completely different stuff today,” he noted. “The creeks are only good for so much. Only so many were good and it was sort of scary to run new creeks during the tournament, but I had to do that to get the most bites I could. The first time you find them you get the most out of that water, because most of them don’t replenish.”

He pulled out all the stops trying to get to places most anglers wouldn’t dare run a bass boat.

“The most dicey thing I did in this tournament was today,” he added. “I ran this shoal to get to a new stretch of water and caught one of my key fish today up there. After I chewed my way back out I had to change my prop.

“I think I made good decisions. The only thing I might have done different was to have gone the first thing to the fish John was on, but you have to make those decisions. All you can ask for is to have a chance, and I did. Losing fish is just part of it.”

8th: Johnston Was One-Dimensional

> Day 4: 5, 10-05 (20, 44-08)

Johnston, the Tour's Rookie of the Year and runner-up to Andy Morgan in the Angler of the Year race, was happy that he was able to advance to the final day.

"Especially after my practice, it wasn't the best I've had," he said. "In fact, it was probably the worst I had all year."

He handled 12 or 13 keepers from his schooling areas on day 4, but several barely met the minimum-length requirement.

"I never could get a kicker – the biggest one I had was just under 3. A few swatted at the bait and knocked it sideways, but I never got a hook in them."

"One time I was trying to get the hooks out of a 13-inchers and a bunch of 3- and 4-pounders erupted, but by the time I could get my bait back out there they were done. It only lasted for like 10 seconds."

9th: Cobb Didn’t Finish It Right

> Day 4: 5, 8-11 (20, 44-04)

Cobb dropped two spots from yesterday to conclude his second Cup appearance.

“Any time you make the Top 10 at the Cup it’s a good tournament, but I’m a little disappointed,” he said. “If you don’t move up on the final day you feel like you didn’t finish it right.”

He practiced for schooling fish but ended up running back into the creeks.

“I fished for schoolers for about 2 hours the first morning,” he noted. “When I saw how many other guys were out there doing that I quit and ran up shallow. The problem was I hadn’t looked enough in practice and I didn’t know how to get into enough of the little creeks. I had gotten hung up on the schooling fish too much.”

On day 4 he tried to recycle an area, running up to a little creek in the Elk River.

“I caught 14 pounds in there yesterday but had a tough time today,” he said. “I came out with 5 pounds less. I think I caught nine keepers, including two that hit a buzzbait today.

“I’d been catching at least one or two 2 1/2- to 3-pounders every day, but today they were all small. I had one bite today that I missed, and then it jumped so I saw how big it was. It was about 3 pounds. I don’t know why it jumped, since I didn’t hook it. Maybe it was just taunting me. That was how my day went.”

10th: Webster Pleased with Top 10

Day 4: 5, 7-06 (20, 42-03)

Webster acquitted himself well with a Top-10 finish in the biggest tournament of his career. His weights see-sawed up and down each day, ending on a lower note that dropped him from 8th to 10th.

“I’m tickled to make the Top 10, so this whole thing was a pretty good deal,” he said. “Today I was going for big ones to try to move up. I only had two places to fall and the money wasn’t much different. I fished deep brush throwing a Norman DD22 crankbait and a Zoom Ol’ Monster worm.

“I was fishing bars and shell beds in about 12 to 15 feet of water. It wasn’t main-lake, it was back in First and Second creeks. I started off on schooling fish running points and caught around 25 keepers a day, but no big ones seemed to come up.”

He'll fish the Tour next year via the "Living the Dream" package he received as the TBF champion.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “With the entry fees being paid, the expense stipend and use of the boat, that will make it easier. But these guys are the best there is. We’ll see what I can do.”

Notable

> Day 4 stats – 10 anglers, 9 limits, 1 three.

Day 4 (Final) Standings

1. John Cox -- Debary, Fl -- 16-11 (5) -- 15-10 (5) -- 11-0 (5) -- 11-8 (5) -- 54-13 (20) -- $300,000

2. Michael Neal -- Dayton, Tn -- 10-2 (5) -- 15-12 (5) -- 12-0 (5) -- 12-12 (5) -- 50-10 (20) -- $60,000

3. Todd Auten -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 10-12 (4) -- 14-6 (5) -- 17-10 (5) -- 7-9 (3) -- 50-5 (17) -- $50,200

4. Bryan Thrift -- Shelby, NC -- 14-7 (5) -- 10-3 (5) -- 13-3 (5) -- 11-9 (5) -- 49-6 (20) -- $37,600

5. Jeremy Lawyer -- Sarcoxie, Mo -- 8-15 (5) -- 12-0 (5) -- 12-0 (4) -- 16-6 (5) -- 49-5 (19) -- $30,000

6. Mark Rose -- West Memphis, Ar -- 13-15 (5) -- 10-5 (5) -- 12-5 (5) -- 11-6 (5) -- 47-15 (20) -- $24,000

7. Jacob Wheeler -- Indianapolis, In -- 8-5 (5) -- 17-9 (5) -- 11-5 (5) -- 9-4 (5) -- 46-7 (20) -- $23,000

8. Chris Johnston -- Peterborough, On -- 9-5 (5) -- 12-3 (5) -- 12-11 (5) -- 10-5 (5) -- 44-8 (20) -- $22,000

9. Brandon Cobb -- Greenwood, SC -- 11-6 (5) -- 10-4 (5) -- 13-15 (5) -- 8-11 (5) -- 44-4 (20) -- $21,000

10. Joseph Webster -- Fulton, Ms -- 14-2 (5) -- 6-13 (5) -- 13-14 (5) -- 7-6 (5) -- 42-3 (20) -- $20,000