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BROOKELAND, TEXAS (Jan. 24, 2020) – Berkley pro John Cox of DeBary, Florida, brought a five-bass limit of largemouth to the Umphrey Pavilion scale Friday weighing 18 pounds, 12 ounces, to extend his lead after Day Two of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Brookeland, Texas. Cox’s two-day total of 10 bass weighing 40 pounds, 3 ounces gives him a comfortable 5-pound, 4-ounce advantage heading into Day Three of the four-day competition that features a field of 154 bass-fishing professionals from around the world casting for a top award of up to $135,000.
Pro Darold Gleason of Many, Louisiana, who was in third place after Day One, moved up to second place with a limit totaling 13-12, good for a two-day total of 34-15. Pro Tommy Dickerson of Orange, Texas, who has seven top-10 finishes on Sam Rayburn in FLW competition, is just 1-pound, 8-ounces behind Gleason in third place with 33-7. The field is now cut to 30 for Saturday’s competition with only the top 10 anglers advancing to championship Sunday.
“It’s not often that I am able to fish a tournament where I make the same cast the whole time, but that’s exactly what is happening this week,” said Cox, who is competing in his 10th season at FLW’s top level. “It’s almost painful. I’ve tried to fan cast around in the same area, but nothing else works. I have to make the exact same cast, every time.”
Cox caught his fish Friday from the same spot that he did on Thursday, an area that he described as a spot with “a little bit of sand and rock with patches of hydrilla all around it.” He said it was right at the mouth of a creek, and he thinks fish are moving into the back of the creek to prepare for the spawn.
“They’re just coming through there and they stop and rest for a few seconds to get some sun – it’s real shallow, only three feet – they sit there for a little bit and then go to the back.”
Cox said that his fish bit in the morning Friday – he didn’t catch a keeper after 11 a.m. He caught all of his fish on the same bait as Thursday – a Berkley Frittside 5 crankbait.
“I think tomorrow I might make fewer casts. It seems like every time I take a little break and re-tie or whatever and let it settle, then I make another cast and seem to get one,” Cox said. “Tomorrow I’m just planning to sit there as long as I can. It might fall apart, or I might get there and make 10 casts and decide I can’t do this anymore. I’m just fortunate to be in this position heading into the final two days.”
The top 30 pros that made the cut and will fish Saturday on Sam Rayburn Reservoir are:
1st: John Cox of DeBary, Fla., 10 bass, 40-3
2nd: Darold Gleason of Many, La., 10 bass, 34-15
3rd: Tommy Dickerson of Orange, Texas, 10 bass, 33-7
4th: Jonathan Canada of Helena, Ala., 10 bass, 33-3
5th: Hunter Freeman of Monroe, La., 10 bass, 33-0
6th: Kerry Milner of Bono, Ark., 10 bass, 32-5
7th: Corey Neece of Bristol, Tenn., 10 bass, 32-3
8th: Greg Bohannan of Bentonville, Ark., 10 bass, 31-12
9th: Joshua Weaver of Macon, Ga., 10 bass, 31-2
10th: Chris McCall of Palmer, Texas, 10 bass, 30-15
11th: Sam George of Athens, Ala., 10 bass, 30-10
12th: Bill McDonald of Greenwood, Ind., 10 bass, 30-6
13th: Grae Buck of Harleysville, Pa., 10 bass, 30-0
14th: Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Mich., 10 bass, 29-11
15th: Miles Howe of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., nine bass, 29-4
16th: Mitch Crane of Columbus, Miss., 10 bass, 28-12
17th: Scott Dobson of Clarkston, Mich., 10 bass, 28-12
18th: Mike Surman of Boca Raton, Fla., 10 bass, 28-7
19th: Scott Ashmore of Broken Arrow, Okla., 10 bass, 28-5
20th: Jake Ormond of Sterlington, La., 10 bass, 27-14
21st: Alex Davis of Albertville, Ala., 10 bass, 27-12
22nd: Miles Burghoff of Soddy Daisy, Tenn., 10 bass, 27-12
23rd: Jeff Dobson of Bartlesville, Okla., 10 bass, 26-15
24th: Tim Frederick of Leesburg, Fla., nine bass, 26-12
25th: Bradford Beavers of Summerville, S.C., 10 bass, 26-11
26th: Mark Fisher of Wauconda, Ill., 10 bass, 25-12
27th: Joey Cifuentes of Clinton, Ark., 10 bass, 25-12
28th: Matt Becker of Finleyville, Pa., 10 bass, 25-11
29th: Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 25-5
30th: Tyler Stewart of West Monroe, La., 10 bass, 25-5
Full results for the entire field can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Milner brought the largest bass of the day, a 7-pound, 2-ounce largemouth, to the scale Friday to claim the day’s $500 Berkley Big Bass award.
Overall there were 607 bass weighing 1,412 pounds, 15 ounces caught by 145 pros Friday. The catch included 90 five-bass limits.
In Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit competition, the full field of 154 pro anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Thursday and Friday. The top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight now advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.
Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2020 FLW TITLE, the Pro Circuit Championship. The 2020 FLW TITLE will be on the St. Lawrence River in Massena, New York, Aug. 8-13 and is hosted by the Town of Massena.
Anglers will take off at 7:30 a.m. CST each day from the Umphrey Family Pavilion, located at 5438 Sam Rayburn Parkway, in Brookeland. Weigh-ins will be held at the pavilion, beginning at 4 p.m.
For youth, the FLW Foundation’s Unified Fishing Derby will be held at the pavilion on Saturday from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. The event is hosted by Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit anglers, and is free and open to anyone under the age of 18 and Special Olympics athletes. Rods and reels are available for use, but youth are encouraged to bring their own if they own one. The 1st and 2nd place anglers that catch the biggest fish will be recognized Saturday on the FLW Pro Circuit stage, just prior to the pros weighing in.
Television coverage of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at Sam Rayburn Reservoir will premiere in 2020. The 2020 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit will have 156 two-hour airings on network television, including 26 consecutive weeks of Friday night primetime airing on Outdoor Channel and 130 airings on Sportsman Channel for a total of 312 hours of Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit programming.
The popular FLW Live on-the-water broadcast will air on Saturday and Sunday, featuring live action from the boats of the tournament’s top pros each day. Host Travis Moran is joined by former FLW pro Todd Hollowell to break down the extended action each day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. On-the-water broadcasts will be live streamed on FLWFishing.com, the FLW YouTube channel and the FLW Facebook page.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.