ANDERSON, S.C., March 18, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Florida pro John Cox, brought a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 20 pounds, 5 ounces Friday to take the lead after day two of the Walmart FLW Tour at Lake Hartwell presented by Evinrude. Cox now brings a 2-pound, 4-ounce lead into day two of the four-day tournament that features 168 of the world’s best anglers competing for a top cash award of up to $125,000.
In second place is Darrel Robertson of Jay, Oklahoma, the day one leader, who weighed in five bass totaling 14-7 Friday for a two-day cumulative total of 10 bass worth 34-13. The field is trimmed to the top 20 on Saturday, with only the top 10 anglers fishing on the final day Sunday.
“I covered a ton of water today and ran into some good fish here and there,” said Cox, a three-time Forrest Wood Cup qualifier. “My three smallest stringer fish were caught sight-fishing. It was all about timing. If I saw them in a pocket earlier in the day and they weren’t ready, I’d swing back in later and get them.”
Cox said he focused on nearly 100 different pockets between Green Pond Landing and the Hartwell Dam. He said he moved fairly quickly through his areas and did his best to avoid boat traffic.
“On my second or third cast I caught a 6-pound, 11-ouncer off of a dock using a Zoom Trick Worm,” said Cox. “I usually never shake with excitement, but that one got me going.”
The Florida pro said he caught 10 keepers over the course of his day, including one fish that he weighed in on a jig.
“Tomorrow I plan to continue sight-fishing,” said Cox. “I ran to some new pockets today and marked around 10 bass that I think are worth 16 or 17 pounds. Hopefully they don’t move too far from their spots.”
The top 20 pros that made the Buck Knives Cut and will fish Saturday on Lake Hartwell are:
1st: John Cox, DeBary, Fla., 10 bass, 37-1
2nd: Darrel Robertson, Jay, Okla., 10 bass, 34-13
3rd: Yamamoto Baits pro Larry Nixon, Bee Branch, Ark., 10 bass, 33-13
4th: Blake Smith, Lakeland, Fla., 10 bass, 33-6
5th: Clark Wendlandt, Leander, Texas, 10 bass, 33-0
6th: Lew’s pro Peter Thliveros, Saint Augustine, Fla., 10 bass, 32-2
7th: Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 10 bass, 31-10
8th: Jamie Horton, Centerville, Ala., 10 bass, 31-4
9th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 31-2
10th: Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 10 bass, 30-13
11th: Chris Johnston, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, 10 bass, 30-13
12th: Rusty Trancygier, Hahira, Ga., 10 bass, 30-8
13th: Cory Johnston, Cavan, Ontario, Canada, 10 bass, 30-3
14th: Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark., 10 bass, 29-11
15th: Keystone Light pro Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, 10 bass, 29-10
16th: Jason Reyes, Huffman, Texas, 10 bass, 29-9
17th: Powell Kemp, Scotland Neck, N.C., 10 bass, 29-8
18th: Jeff Gustafson, Keewatin, Ontario, Canada, 10 bass, 29-7
19th: Tony Davis, Williston, Fla., 10 bass, 29-6
20th: Quaker State pro Matt Arey, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 29-6
For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.
Davis earned the Big Bass Award on the pro side Friday, weighing a 7-pound, 10-ounce bass to win the $500 prize.
Overall there were 781 bass weighing 1,772 pounds, 4 ounces caught by 166 pros Friday. The catch included 140 five-bass limits.
Chuck Kavros of Grass Valley, California, won the co-angler division and $20,000 Friday with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 22 pounds, 2 ounces, followed by Anthony Goggins of Auburn, Alabama, who finished in second place with 10 bass weighing 21 pounds, 9 ounces worth $7,500.
“I haven’t been fishing at this level for very long so to win a Tour event as a co-angler is pretty cool,” said Kavros, who is fishing his fourth season as a co-angler on the FLW Tour. “I caught all of my fish this week fan casting near docks and points using a wacky-rigged Yamamoto Senko.”
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Chuck Kavros, Grass Valley, Calif., 10 bass, 22-2, $20,000
2nd: Anthony Goggins, Auburn, Ala., 10 bass, 21-9, $7,500
3rd: Gary Haraguchi, Redding, Calif., nine bass, 20-15, $5,000
4th: Greg Glouse, Liberty, S.C., 10 bass, 20-7, $4,000
5th: David Larson, Mound, Minn., 10 bass, 20-1, $3,000
6th: David Hudson, Jasper, Ala., 10 bass, 19-4, $2,500
7th: Joseph Marks, Duncan, S.C., 10 bass, 18-13, $2,000
8th: J.P. Sims, Cookeville, Tenn., 10 bass, 18-11, $1,800
9th: Joey Cifuentes, Clinton, Ark., 10 bass, 18-10, $1,700
10th: Anthony Marks, Spartanburg, S.C., 10 bass, 18-8, $1,600
Hiroyuki Watanabe of Shizuoka, Japan, earned the Big Bass Award on the co-angler side Friday with a fish totaling 5 pounds, 14 ounces to win the $250 prize.
Overall there were 512 bass weighing 840 pounds, 8 ounces caught by 163 co-anglers Friday. The catch included 55 five-bass limits.
In FLW Tour competition, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2016 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing. The 2016 Forrest Wood Cup will be on Wheeler Lake in Huntsville, Alabama, Aug. 4-7 and is hosted by the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Anglers will take off and weigh-in Saturday and Sunday at Green Pond Landing located at 470 Green Pond Road in Anderson at 7:30 a.m. each day. Saturday and Sunday’s final weigh-ins will begin at 4 p.m.
Fans will also be treated to the FLW Expo on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. at Green Pond Landing prior to the final weigh-ins. The Expo includes interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, and the opportunity to interact with professional anglers to learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities. All activities are free and open to the public.
Also for youth, the FLW Foundation’s Unified Fishing Derby will be held at Chris Taylor Memorial Park located at 5 Jim Ed Rice Circle in Anderson on Saturday, March 19, from 9-11 a.m. The event is hosted by FLW Foundation pro Cody Kelley along with other FLW Tour anglers, and is free and open to area youth 15 years of age and younger and Special Olympics athletes. Rods and reels are available for use, but youth are encouraged to bring their own if they own one. All bait is provided by the DMF Bait Company.
The tournament is hosted by the Anderson Convention & Visitors Bureau.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2016 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 235 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW" television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Periscope: @FLWFishing.
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CONTACT:BRIAN JOHNSON
COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST
o: 612.337.1958 c: 218.428.9641
e: brian.johnson@flwfishing.com
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