Although he’s a 29-year-old Elite Series rookie, Brandon Cobb was one of the pre-tournament favorites because of his lengthy history at Lake Hartwell. However, after practice Cobb thought that history might have been more hindrance than help.
“I honestly feel like some different stuff than usually goes on here is going on, and my local knowledge is hurting me,” said Cobb, who is from nearby Greenwood, S.C. “I know what they should be doing, and they’re not.”
So just how did Cobb sack a tournament-leading 19 pounds, 9 ounces on Thursday?
“I found a few places where they’re doing what they should be doing in April,” he said. “But as a whole, I just didn’t see it. A lot of the fish I caught were off history. It definitely helped. It’s still weird. But I saw a little glimpse of what I’m used to seeing.”
Cobb mentioned that he thought he caught both pre-spawn and post-spawn bass.
“There are a lot of fish on beds here, but knowing what this lake looks like when they’re all-out spawning, it’s not happening,” he said. “As of (Thursday) and practice, I just didn’t see what this lake is capable of as far as spawning fish.”