February 8, 2019 by FLW Communications – Photo courtesy of FLW
KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Pro John Cox of DeBary, Florida, brought five bass to the scale weighing 17 pounds, 4 ounces, to hold the lead after day two of the FLW Tour at Lake Toho presented by Ranger Boats. Cox’s two day total of 10 bass weighing 48-13 will give him a 3-pound, 9-ounce advantage over second place angler Aaron Britt of Yuba City, California, (45-4). The field of 170 anglers is now cut to just the top 30 as the world’s best bass fishing professionals continue their competition for the top award of up to $125,000.
Cox said he fished a lot of the same areas from Thursday, rotating in some new areas as well. He said the sight-fishing bite was tough once again and it forced him to move deeper to salvage the day.
“I looked at a lot of beds and nothing was happening – it was dead again,” said Cox, who looks to earn his 19th top-10 finish in FLW Tour competition. “There were four or five other guys that ran into big ones and I never ran into any. Yesterday, I got one before anyone else got any. There are only a handful of spots and everyone is rotating them.
“At about 1 (p.m.), I finally was like ‘man I need to put some fish in the boat’,” continued Cox. “I started fishing and caught two nice ones and a couple of other keepers to try and save the day.”
Cox’s two “nice ones” were a 5-pounder and one that was close to 4. He said he caught them on the Berkley Windup Worm – the same bait he relied on Thursday.
“This place has always had my number – I’ve never made the cut here,” said Cox. “I’ve won some one-day tournaments, but I’ve never done well in a multi-day event. The fish always seem to change.”
The Florida veteran said that for Saturday, he plans on doing something completely different.
“I’m going to go try something else where I think there might be some real big ones. I got a feeling about this one area. I’ll give it an hour, and if it happens, I’ll bust them big time. If it doesn’t, I’ll leave and try and do something else.”
The top 30 pros that made the cut and will fish Saturday on Lake Toho are:
1st: John Cox, Debary, Fla., 10 bass, 48-13
2nd: Aaron Britt, Yuba City, Calif., 10 bass, 45-4
3rd: Braxton Setzer, Montgomery, Ala., 10 bass, 42-12
4th: Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 10 bass, 42-11
5th: Buddy Gross, Chickamauga, Ga., 10 bass, 42-4
6th: Josh Douglas, Isle, Minn., 10 bass, 42-3
7th: Nitro pro Casey Scanlon, Lake Ozark, Mo., 10 bass, 40-10
8th: Power-Pole pro Tyler Woolcott, Port Orange, Fla., 10 bass, 39-5
9th: Rapala pro Terry Bolton, Benton, Ky., 10 bass, 35-12
10th: John Voyles, Petersburg, Ind., 10 bass, 35-7
11th: Jamie Horton, Centerville, Ala., 10 bass, 35-6
12th: Joseph Webster, Winfield, Ala., 10 bass, 35-4
13th: Darrell Davis, Dover, Fla., 10 bass, 35-3
14th: J. Todd Tucker, Moultrie, Ga., 10 bass, 34-8
15th: Wade Strelic, Alpine, Calif., 10 bass, 34-6
16th: Brian Latimer, Belton, S.C., 10 bass, 33-13
17th: Nitro pro David Williams, Maiden, N.C., 10 bass, 33-12
18th: Austin Wilson, Citrus Heights, Calif., 10 bass, 33-6
19th: Polaris pro David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 10 bass, 32-11
20th: Bryan Schmitt, Deale, Md., 10 bass, 32-7
21st: Bass Pro Shops pro Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., 10 bass, 32-7
22nd: Brandon McMillan , Clewiston, Fla., 10 bass, 31-15
23rd: Strike King pro Andrew Upshaw, Tulsa, Okla., 10 bass, 31-14
24th: Lowrance pro Austin Felix, Eden Prairie, Minn., 10 bass, 31-9
25th: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 10 bass, 31-2
26th: Mike Surman, Boca Raton, Fla., 10 bass, 30-13
27th: Chad Warren, Sand Springs, Okla., 10 bass, 30-3
28th: Tommy Dickerson, Orange, Texas, 10 bass, 30-2
29th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 30-1
30th: Billy McCaghren, Mayflower, Ark., 10 bass, 29-13
Full results for the entire field can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Horton caught the heaviest fish in the pro division Friday – a 10-pound, 5-ounce largemouth – and earned the day’s Big Bass Award of $500.
Overall there were 794 bass weighing 1,902 pounds, 15 ounces caught by 165 pros Friday. The catch included 148 five-bass limits.
In FLW Tour competition, the full field of 170 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.
The total purse for the FLW Tour at Lake Toho presented by Ranger Boats is more than $860,000, including $9,000 through 65th place in the Pro Division. The tournament is hosted by Experience Kissimmee and the Kissimmee Sports Commission.
Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2019 FLW Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2019 FLW Cup will be on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 9-11 and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.
Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. EST each day from Big Toho Marina, located at 69 Lakeview Drive, in Kissimmee. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will be held at the marina, beginning at 4 p.m.
Prior to the weigh-ins FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at Big Toho Marina from 2 to 6 p.m. The Expo is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.
Also for youth, the FLW Foundation’s Unified Fishing Derby will be held at the marina on Saturday from Noon-2 p.m. The event is hosted by FLW Foundation pro Cody Kelley along with other FLW Tour 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 Tour stage, just prior to the pros weighing in.
Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Lake Toho presented by Ranger Boats will premiere in 2019. The exact air-date will be announced soon. The Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show airs each Saturday night at 7 p.m. EST and is broadcast to more than 63 million cable, satellite and telecommunications households in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean on the World Fishing Network (WFN), the leading entertainment destination and digital resource for anglers throughout North America. FLW television is also distributed internationally to FLW partner countries, including Canada, China, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and South Africa.
The popular FLW Live on-the-water program will air Saturday and Sunday, featuring live action from the boats of the tournament’s top pros each day. Host Travis Moran will be joined by veteran FLW Tour pro Peter Thliveros 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.
