Elite

Cox’s colossal morning

Catch up with John Cox as he fills his limit early on Day 1 of the 2022 Simms Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork!

Posted on
Photography by
Andy Crawford
Progressive Angler of the Year leader John Cox said he wasn’t going far – and that he was going to be fishing shallow, which is no surprise for this Florida angler. He headed straight for the dam, and began casting a topwaater right to the riprap.
Cox broke the ice early with a bass that just made the cut as his first bass to be weighed.
The 2022 Simms Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork follows a format that allows only one bass to be taken to weigh-in, and that fish much measure longer than 24 inches. All other fish can be weighed by a judge, but must be immediately released.
Cox wasted no time getting his topwater back against the riprap.
Brandon Palaniuk was fishing near the dam, but he was focusing on deep fish.
Drew Cook also was nearby, working deeper areas. He hooked up while we eased by.
He swung his first bass of the day into the boat.
Cox eased by Palaniuk and Cook, staying tight to a sandy point extending out from the dam.
On the other side of the point was a stretch of riprap that also had boulders, which seemed a likely place for a hookup.
Sure enough, Cox’s first cast to the rocks along the dam resulted in a bass engulfing his topwater.
This fish had a little more heft, so Cox headed to the back deck to lip it.
It wasn’t an over-the-slot bass, but it was a solid fish that would go a long way toward building a nice stringer.
The bass officially weigh in at 5-1, giving Cox a nice foundation for the day.
Cox released the 5-pounder after his quick celebratory smile.
He headed for the far end of the dam, giving a wave to a boat of spectators.
Cox began working at the end of the dam as sprinkles began falling.
And hooked the first of what would be three quick bites.
It wasn’t a giant, added almost 2 pounds to his weight.
The next cast produced another bass.
It weighed 2-5.
Another cast and …
… another hookup.
But finally Cox had a reason to head to the back deck again, smiling the entire way.
The chunky bass didn’t fight too much, allowing Cox to get it in hand quickly.
This one weighed in at 5-10, and temporarily moved Cox into the Top 5.
Cox took the time retie his topwater to ensure he didn’t lose a big bass.
You can see Cox is having fun. He took time to wave at some cameramen in another boat before returning to work.
“I think the bass are running shad and gizzard shad up on the banks (of the dam),” Cox said. So he moved quickly and covered a lot of water trying to increase the odds of ambushing bass when they were feeding tight to the riprap.
He made his first cull minutes later.
Heading straight to the back deck as he felt some weight to the bass.
This bass, which eventually weighed 3-9, was the friskiest of the day. It fought hard to break off the hooks of Cox’s topwater.
However, Cox soon had the fish in had and used it to cull up to almost 18 1/2 pounds.

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