COUNCE, Tenn. — In a tournament where almost everyone in the 91-angler field, and all the leaders, are fishing offshore, John Cox matched the big bag of the day – 22 pounds, 3 ounces – fishing shallow near the bank. That fits right in with the anomaly that is John Cox. When everybody else is going right, Cox is going left. And having fun doing it.
“It was really weird,” he said. “I caught some small ones this morning, and I’m thinking maybe I can catch a nice one and get a (top 47) check. Something happened. I pulled into a little area and caught three nice ones in 30 minutes. They were right on the bank, in maybe two feet, a foot-and-a-half.”
Cox left that spot, came back later and caught two more “good ones” to finish culling the five small keepers he had previously. He finished Day 2 at the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Pickwick Lake in fifth place with 37-13. He weighed 15-10 on Day 1.
“It was crazy,” Cox said. “Everything got perfect. The wind got right. It was blowing in on this little area. Those deep fish decided to come up for whatever reason. They were eating bluegills.”
There was a massive hatch of mayflies that began overnight on Pickwick Lake. By this morning, they were visible everywhere, loaded up on overhanging trees and even the sixth floor windows at the Pickwick Landing Lodge. These were big mayflies, believed to be the species named hexagenia limbata, the most widely distributed mayfly in North America. When mayfly eggs begin hatching on the lake bottom, they emerge as nymphs and rise to the surface before molting into adults. They are an attractive meal for bluegills in their rise to the surface.
“This morning when we took off, (Seth) Feider was like, ‘Look at all the mayflies. We’re going to crush (the bass) today,’” Cox said. “I think the mayflies were coming up and the bluegills were eating them. It was just a little magical area. It was incredible.”
Apparently, the bass moved shallow to feed on the bluegills.
Cox came into this tournament in second place in the Progressive Insurance Bassmaster Angler of the Year race, 20 points behind leader Brandon Palaniuk. AOY points are awarded based on the final standings in each event. The 36-year-old DeBary, Fla., pro clearly had a day that kept him in contention for the AOY title. He was in 33rd place after Day 1 at Pickwick.
Everyone else atop the leaderboard is fishing offshore this week, glued to their sonar screens.
“I refuse to do that,” Cox said.
Amazingly, it’s working for him.
