By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor


Brandon Cobb despises the way he’s fishing this week. Straight up hates it.

But he sure likes the results it’s brought him so far.

The 27-year-old South Carolina native caught his second straight 19-pound stringer amid tougher conditions at Lake Murray to take over the lead entering the final day of the Forrest Wood Cup. Cobb’s 39-00 total has him nearly two pounds ahead of day-1 leader and roommate Justin Atkins, who bagged 15-14 today and has 37-03 heading into Sunday.

Cobb, who's still recovering from a broken bone in his left foot suffered during the season, is no stranger to the final day of the Cup. He’s 3-for-3 in making the top 10 in FLW’s marquee tournament, but this is easily his best opportunity to win and it’ll likely take another day of targeting offshore fish relating to bait and cane piles to head back to Greenwood, S.C. with $300,000 in his pocket.

“I hate it with a passion,” Cobb said when describing the technique that’s been most effective for him. “It’s too tiring and I feel like I’m wasting too much time not fishing.”

He’s fully committed to the program for Sunday as the time he spent fishing some docks Friday afternoon produced nothing.

“In practice, I took the hooks off (my topwaters) and I didn’t purely do this type of fishing,” he said. “I knew they were good fish, but when they’re 50 yards away it’s hard to tell. Still, I knew it was the best thing to be doing.”

If it weren’t for two dead fish in his bag each day, Cobb would have an even 40 pounds, a total that some felt would be enough to win this week. Now, he’s in position to far exceed the two previous four-day Cup-winning weights at Murray (52-03 in 2008 and 51-02 in 2014).

“I don’t know what to say about it,” Cobb said about leaving the dock with the lead Sunday. “It won’t change anything for me. Either I’ll catch ‘em or I won’t. I tend to not let stuff get to me until the end.”

That’s when he might find himself shoulder to shoulder Sunday with Atkins, a fellow 20-something who has risen to the occasion in his first Cup.

“Either way, we’re about to get a good paycheck,” said Atkins. “If he wins or if I win, I want one of us to win. If he wins, I’m going to jump on stage give him a big hug and congratulate him. If I win, it’ll be the same thing from him.”

It won’t be easy for either, though, as local expert Anthony Gagliardi is lurking in 3rd, less than 3 pounds behind Cobb, after catching 15-00 today to push his total to 36-01.

Travis Fox moved into 4th with a 16-13 stringer that has him at 35-00 while Bryan Thrift clinched his sixth straight top-10 finish at the Cup with a 14-09 bag that put him in 5th with 33-13.

Here's a look at the 10 anglers who will compete on Sunday, with deficit margin from Cobb indicated by red numbers in parentheses:

1. Brandon Cobb: 39-00
2. Justin Atkins: 37-03 (1-13)
3. Anthony Gagliardi: 36-01 (2-15)
4. Travis Fox: 35-00 (4-00)
5. Bryan Thrift: 33-13 (5-03)
6. Scott Martin: 31-14 (7-02)
7. Michael Neal: 30-14 (8-02)
8. Aaron Britt: 29-10 (9-06)
9. Scott Suggs: 28-08 (10-08)
10. Wesley Strader: 28-04 (10-12)

Former Cup winner Scott Suggs (11th to 9th) and Wesley Strader (12th to 10th) both advanced two spots today to round out the top 10. For Strader, it’s the second time in 17 Cup appearances that he’ll compete on the final day. Larry Nixon fell from 6th to 17th after mustering just two fish for 4-05 today.

The weights tailed off today largely due to the high skies and blazing sun that made the topwater fish quite scarce after about 10:30 a.m. The clouds that led to the big day-1 weights are expected to return Sunday and there’s a good chance of thunderstorms in the forecast as well. That might limit the boat traffic on the lake that became an issue today, especially for those who tried to fish shallow in the afternoon.

Timing continues to be a crucial element for the leaders. Many of them are fishing through the same areas – Michael Neal called it a big game of hopscotch – and are trying to make sure they don’t move to a spot that’s been recently vacated as it’s been important to give the fish time to reposition and group back up.

Cobb Overcame Mistakes

> Day 2: 5, 19-04 (10, 39-00)

Cobb lost some quality fish today and figures he could’ve had a 20-plus-pound bag had he landed everything.

“I should’ve had two or three more pounds,” he said. “That stinks because I didn’t lose any on Friday.”

The timing on his rotation through several areas on the lower end of the lake felt a little off, he said. He hopes with just 10 competitors out there Sunday, he’ll be able to get back in a rhythm of knowing when to let a spot rest and when to jump on a new area.

“A lot of us are down there and I think I got behind some guys,” he said. “To clear my mind sometimes, I just left and went elsewhere and came back later.”

The boat traffic created by his spectator gallery also had an impact.

“It made them not bite later on,” he said. “I love having spectators out there, but it got excessive. A lot of places I’d hit two or three times and when I’d leave the boats would run over them and mess them up.”

He was able to eliminate some stops in his rotation today and now has a firm grasp on what spots are holding the better quality fish. He plans to hit those first on Sunday.

“Tomorrow I will change it up,” he said. “I know it’s hard to say, but I know what are the best ones, but I have to be careful with my rotation because I’ve come close to running out of gas both days.”

With clouds in the forecast for Sunday, it could stretch out the topwater bite and give Cobb more chances to pad his lead.

“Normally, I would want the sun, but for some reason, I don’t know that they like it here,” Cobb added. “I’m not sure if it’s a Murray thing or an August thing. They still bite with sun, just not as well. Sun and wind are perfect for this type of fishing, but windy, rain and clouds seems to be the right combination for here right now.”



FLW
Photo: FLW

Justin Atkins said the bite window Friday morning was much shorter due to the high, sunny skies.

2nd: Atkins Not Discouraged

> Day 2: 5, 15-14 (10, 37-03)

Atkins caught considerably fewer fish today and he directly attributes that to the lack of clouds this morning.

“The bite gets real short when it’s sunny like that,” he said. “You have to make it happen quick.”

He sure tried, but some missed opportunities bumped him down a spot on the leaderboard. He’s not discouraged, though, looking ahead to Sunday.

“If I’d have capitalized on a couple opportunities and caught the one I lost, I’d have had 19 today, too, and would’ve had it by 9 this morning,” he said. “It’s happening quick.”

He’d much rather be leading entering the final day, but knows he can make up his deficit with one quality bite.

“I wouldn’t say it’s scary. It is definitely exciting,” he said. “I don’t like chasing, but at the same time 2 pounds is nothing out there. If I catch two 5-pounders tomorrow and he catches five 3-pounders, I’m right back there. It’s not a big deal at all. I’m just excited to get back out there.”

FLW
Photo: FLW

Anthony Gagliardi said he might take a risk Sunday and abandon his topwater program.

3rd: Gagliardi Might Gamble

> Day 2: 5, 15-00 (10, 36-01)

Gagliardi would much rather be the first finalist away from the dock Sunday morning, but he’ll settle for where he’s at and the chance to become the first two-time Cup champion on his home lake.

“I’d rather be in the front just because I can catch fish and be consistent,” he said. “I think the consistency is what won it for me last time and if you’re behind, you have to be a little more than consistent. You might have to catch a big bag. Doing what I’m doing it’s possible, judging from yesterday, but it’s harder to catch a big bag doing that unless the fish are really biting like they were on Friday.”

He’s going to continue with the same program and rotation Sunday that he’s ridden so far, but if he senses he needs to try something new, he won’t hesitate.

“I may have to pull the trigger and do something different tomorrow,” he said. “We’ll see how it goes. I’m going to start out fishing how I’ve been fishing and give it until lunch time and see where things stand at that point. If I feel like I need to make a gamble, then I’ll make a run up the river and fish some brush.”

He recycled more water today than he anticipated, but he played it safe based on the conditions.

“I fished mostly the same milk run and fished more of the same water today than I planned to,” he added. “I went back to a lot of places that I fished yesterday. I wasn’t planning to do that, but the more I thought about it with the conditions like they were, since it was a little tougher, I wanted to go to places where I knew there were fish. I figured I’d hammer them for what I could and if I burned them up, so be it.”

4th: Fox Not On Cane

> Day 2: 5, 16-13 (10, 35-00)

Fox said his left arm was sore Saturday morning from all the topwater fishing he did on day 1. It’s probably going to be sore again Sunday morning and again Monday, but he’ll gladly deal with it for a chance at the biggest win of his career.

“It’s pretty cool,” he said. “It’s not easy getting here. It’s taken me eight years to get here. Long story short, it’s hard to get in the Cup and you find out how good these guys really are. To compete at this level and get to fish against guys like Larry Nixon, who’s an icon, and rub elbows with them and hold your own, it’s pretty cool to have that experience more than anything.”

He didn’t change anything today in comparison to how he fished on Friday, but he started to get an idea of what are now his best spots and the spots he should probably avoid Sunday.

“I started on my absolute best spot where I felt like I could win the whole thing on because it was that good and didn’t get a single bite for the second straight day, so evidently it’s no good,” he said. “Today, I learned all about blueback herring in that they can make you and break you.”

Some of his best spots in practice have not produced in the tournament while other places where he caught one fish before the tournament have been reliable over the first two days.

“I’ve yet to find a cane pile,” he added. “Supposedly, they’re everywhere here and I’ve looked. I guess I’m blind as a bat, so I said, ‘Heck with it.’ I know what the fish I’m after are setting up on and it’s working for me.”

5th: Thrift Doesn’t Like His Odds

> Day 2: 5, 14-09 (10, 33-13)

Thrift said today was a “little different,” and he managed to have more weight than he thought he had. Still, he doesn’t like his chances to pull off a 5th-to-1st rally Sunday.

“No. There’s no way,” he said.

He was surprised he was able to recycle water from Friday and still catch fish on those spots offshore. That makes him uneasy entering the final day.

“Didn’t think I’d catch them on the same stuff and that has me worried for tomorrow,” he said. “There can’t be three days’ worth of fish there.”

7th: Neal Hoping for Clouds

> Day 2: 5, 14-14 (10, 30-14)

Once the clock struck 11 a.m. today, the fish Michael Neal was catching stopped coming to the surface with any sort of regularity. He blamed the high skies and hopes the cloud cover in the forecast for Sunday brings about a repeat of Friday.

FLW
Photo: FLW

Travis Fox has caught nothing but topwater fish through two days.

“The weather changed for the worse for me,” he said. “Everybody’s talking about how the sun was great for a herring bite, but I didn’t get a bite from 11 to 3:30 p.m. I just want it to be cloudy.”

He followed the same rotation through the same spots today, but only got a third of the bites that he had on day 1. Still, he believes there are enough quality fish on his areas for him to have a strong final day.

“I don’t think I’m running out,” he added.

8th: Britt Stoked

> Day 2: 5, 14-01 (10, 29-10)

Britt was nearly speechless when asked to describe what it felt like to make the top-10 cut at his first Cup.

“It means the world to me,” he said. “I busted my (butt) to get here and be here and for the last eight years of not being employed and having the support and belief that I can do this at a high level means a lot to me.

“It’s like what Jordan Lee said at the Classic (this year). For me, it’s not about the fame, it’s a little bit about the money, but I’m just addicted to catching fish.”

Chasing fish that are relating to herring has been like riding a roller coaster for Britt, who lost 3/4 of a pound due to three dead fish.

“It’s fun for the first two hours because everything is visible, but whether I’m fishing topwaters or if they’re on beds, it’s hard to breathe,” he said. “It stops your heart. Then it gets to the point I want to lie down in the shade.”

He said most of the activity today occurred within the first three hours, but after 10 a.m., he’d see fish breaking the surface maybe once an hour.

“It’s hard to wait them out,” he said. “You start wondering, ‘Should I go here or there?’ The area has them, but it’s just a time of day thing when they come up.”

He stayed in the same area until 11:30 and fished one particular spot four different times before leaving to catch his last fish on a worm off a dock around 1:30 p.m.

9th: Suggs Happy He Made It

> Day 2: 5, 13-11 (10, 28-08)

Suggs said the fishing was much tougher today, but he’s more than pleased to have made the final day.

“Look at the leaders,” he said. “Most of them are all from this area and understand the area and know how things work. To come here and do what I did this week, I’m pleased with it.”

He said in order to make a big move up the leaderboard tomorrow, a lot of things would have to go his way.

“I’m only on about four spots and there were big fish on them in pre-practice,” he said. “When I came back and saw some good fish, I thought it was the kind that would be what a person needed until I saw what they’re catching.

“Those big ones would have to show up and I’d need a miracle day and they’d have to have a bad day.”

10th: Strader’s Timing Was Better

> Day 2: 5, 13-14 (10, 28-04)

Strader said his rotation timing was off Friday and that’s what forced him to run a shallow-water pattern. Today, he got off to a better start on the herring spots and was able to parlay that into a berth on the final day.

“Any time you make the top 10 it’s awesome,” he said. “It’s even more special at the Cup. You only get so many and they’re special in their own way.

“On Friday, I got behind other guys and Cobb and those guys, we’re all fishing the same stuff. I just got in a bad rotation and didn’t get bit. I panicked at 8:30 and went shallow in a creek.

“It was the same thing today, but I caught them fast. Then I look behind me and this armada was pulling up behind me. I got ahead of them today and caught what I caught.”

Notable

> Day 2 stats – 53 anglers, 24 limits (6 fewer than yesterday), 11 fours, 7 threes, 4 twos, 4 ones, 3 zeroes.

> Entering the final day in 2014, the top 5 was separated by 2 pounds, 10 ounces. The spread this year is 5-03.

> If Cobb, Atkins or Neal prevails, it’ll be the first time since 2006 that the reigning Bassmaster Classic and Forrest Wood Cup champions are both under 30 years old. Jordan Lee was 25 when he won the Classic last March. Luke Clausen was 27 when he won the ’06 Classic and Brent Ehrler was 29 when he captured the Cup the same year.

> Andrew Upshaw was one of the few competitors who had success without a topwater bait tied on. Toward the end of day 1, he fished a few docks and boated three keepers in the last hour. He rose 13 spots today and finished 15th despite having four fish.

He continued to target shade lines around docks today, a pattern that was helped by the intense sunshine.

“I felt like the quality (fish) on the bank sucked to the docks with the water dropping,” he said. “I covered a lot of water and fished a lot of docks.”

The best docks were on the main lake, he noted, and the key was finding the ones that threw the biggest shadow on the water.

Weather Forecast

> Sun., Aug. 13 – Mix of Clouds and Sun – 87°/72°
- Wind: Light/variable

Day 2 Standings

1. Brandon Cobb -- Greenwood, SC -- 19--12 (5) -- 19--4 (5) -- 39--0 (10)

2. Justin Atkins -- Florence, Al -- 21--5 (5) -- 15--14 (5) -- 37--3 (10)

3. Anthony Gagliardi -- Prosperity, SC -- 21--1 (5) -- 15--0 (5) -- 36--1 (10)

4. Travis Fox -- Rogers, Ar -- 18--3 (5) -- 16--13 (5) -- 35--0 (10)

5. Bryan Thrift -- Shelby, NC -- 19--4 (5) -- 14--9 (5) -- 33--13 (10)

6. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, Fl -- 15--14 (5) -- 16--0 (5) -- 31--14 (10)

7. Michael Neal -- Dayton, Tn -- 16--0 (5) -- 14--14 (5) -- 30--14 (10)

8. Aaron Britt -- Yuba City, Ca -- 15--9 (5) -- 14--1 (5) -- 29--10 (10)

9. Scott Suggs -- Alexander, Ar -- 14--13 (5) -- 13--11 (5) -- 28--8 (10)

10. Wesley Strader -- Spring City, Tn -- 14--6 (5) -- 13--14 (5) -- 28--4 (10)

The following anglers missed the cut and will not compete on day 3.

11. Bradford Beavers -- Ridgeville, SC -- 9--7 (4) -- 16--9 (5) -- 26--0 (9) -- $15,000

12. Jeff Sprague -- Point, Tx -- 12--13 (5) -- 13--2 (5) -- 25--15 (10) -- $15,000

13. Austin Felix -- Eden Prairie, Mn -- 10--14 (5) -- 14--10 (5) -- 25--8 (10) -- $15,000

14. Matt Arey -- Shelby, NC -- 12--3 (5) -- 12--13 (5) -- 25--0 (10) -- $15,000

15. Andrew Upshaw -- Tulsa, Ok -- 9--12 (5) -- 14--3 (4) -- 23--15 (9) -- $15,000

16. Brandon McMillan -- Clewiston, Fl -- 10--6 (5) -- 12--6 (5) -- 22--12 (10) -- $15,000

17. Larry Nixon -- Bee Branch, Ar -- 17--13 (5) -- 4--5 (2) -- 22--2 (7) -- $15,000

18. Cody Meyer -- Auburn, Ca -- 8--1 (5) -- 13--15 (5) -- 22--0 (10) -- $15,000

19. Shane Lehew -- Catawba, NC -- 15--7 (5) -- 5--12 (3) -- 21--3 (8) -- $15,000

20. Jeremy Lawyer -- Sarcoxie, Mo -- 10--5 (5) -- 10--11 (5) -- 21--0 (10) -- $15,000

21. Jason Reyes -- Huffman, Tx -- 9--14 (5) -- 11--1 (4) -- 20--15 (9) -- $10,000

22. Darrel Robertson -- Jay, Ok -- 13--5 (5) -- 7--7 (5) -- 20--12 (10) -- $10,000

23. Clark Reehm -- Huntington, Tx -- 4--14 (2) -- 15--11 (4) -- 20--9 (6) -- $10,000

24. Shinichi Fukae -- Palestine, Tx -- 9--10 (5) -- 10--12 (4) -- 20--6 (9) -- $10,000

25. Bryan Schmitt -- Deale, Md -- 7--10 (2) -- 11--14 (5) -- 19--8 (7) -- $10,000

26. Scott Canterbury -- Odenville, Al -- 10--9 (5) -- 8--14 (5) -- 19--7 (10) -- $10,000

27. Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, Tx -- 10--2 (5) -- 9--4 (5) -- 19--6 (10) -- $10,000

28. Terry Bolton -- Paducah, Ky -- 9--13 (4) -- 8--7 (3) -- 18--4 (7) -- $10,000

29. Joel Richardson -- Kernersville, NC -- 10--15 (5) -- 6--7 (3) -- 17--6 (8) -- $10,000

30. Andy Morgan -- Dayton, Tn -- 9--2 (5) -- 8--3 (4) -- 17--5 (9) -- $10,000

31. Kyle Alsop -- Overland Park, Ks -- 8--10 (4) -- 8--8 (4) -- 17--2 (8) -- $10,000

32. Christopher Jones -- Bokoshe, Ok -- 10--1 (5) -- 7--0 (4) -- 17--1 (9) -- $10,000

33. JT Kenney -- Palm Bay, Fl -- 5--12 (2) -- 10--7 (5) -- 16--3 (7) -- $10,000

34. Cody Bird -- Granbury, Tx -- 11--4 (5) -- 4--14 (3) -- 16--2 (8) -- $10,000

35. Allen Boyd -- Salem, In -- 14--6 (5) -- 1--7 (1) -- 15--13 (6) -- $10,000

36. Mark Rose -- West Memphis, Ar -- 1--8 (2) -- 14--3 (5) -- 15--11 (7) -- $10,000

37. John Cox -- Debary, Fl -- 10--9 (5) -- 4--8 (3) -- 15--1 (8) -- $10,000

38. Zack Birge -- Blanchard, Ok -- 5--5 (2) -- 8--4 (4) -- 13--9 (6) -- $10,000

39. Casey Scanlon -- Lake Ozark, Mo -- 3--13 (1) -- 9--11 (4) -- 13--8 (5) -- $10,000

40. James Watson -- Lampe, Mo -- 7--8 (4) -- 5--14 (3) -- 13--6 (7) -- $10,000

41. Bradley Dortch -- Atmore, Al -- 4--12 (2) -- 8--5 (5) -- 13--1 (7) -- $10,000

42. Roy Hawk -- Lake Havasu City, Az -- 4--1 (2) -- 8--6 (2) -- 12--7 (4) -- $10,000

43. Greg Bohannan -- Bentonville, Ar -- 5--13 (3) -- 6--8 (4) -- 12--5 (7) -- $10,000

44. Michael Wooley -- Collierville, Tn -- 7--2 (2) -- 5--2 (2) -- 12--4 (4) -- $10,000

45. Pat Fisher -- Colbert, Ga -- 3--4 (2) -- 8--3 (4) -- 11--7 (6) -- $10,000

46. Joseph Webster -- Fulton, Ms -- 6--5 (3) -- 4--11 (2) -- 11--0 (5) -- $10,000

47. Matthew Stefan -- Junction City, Wi -- 9--7 (4) -- 1--8 (1) -- 10--15 (5) -- $10,000

48. Jamie Horton -- Centerville, Al -- 2--14 (2) -- 5--8 (3) -- 8--6 (5) -- $10,000

49. Marshall Deakins -- Dunlap, Tn -- 3--0 (1) -- 4--6 (1) -- 7--6 (2) -- $10,000

50. Chris McCall -- Palmer, Tx -- 7--5 (4) -- 0--0 (0) -- 7--5 (4) -- $10,000

51. Joey Cifuentes -- Clinton, Ar -- 4--4 (2) -- 2--9 (1) -- 6--13 (3) -- $10,000

52. David Dudley -- Lynchburg, Va -- 5--13 (2) -- 0--0 (0) -- 5--13 (2) -- $10,000

53. Hyo Chul Kim -- Benton, Ky -- 3--2 (1) -- 0--0 (0) -- 3--2 (1) -- $10,000