Elite

Cox’s practice day at Lake Guntersville

After two brutally cold days of practice so far, the comical Florida pro rolls in to launch at 7:45 a.m. Tuesday and begins to bundle up in his warmest Simms gear.

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Photography by
Alan McGuckin
After two brutally cold days of practice so far, the comical Florida pro rolls in to launch at 7:45 a.m. Tuesday and begins to bundle up in his warmest Simms® gear.
Handwarmers have been a wildly popular fishing accessory and nearly mandatory this week.
Bundled up and ready for Day 3 of practice, Cox is grateful there is no wind to make conditions colder, but says he’s never fished water this cold in his entire life.
No surprise, Cox starts the day by heading to a culvert that leads to the sort of shallow tucked-away waters he’s famous for fishing.
You can tell by his comfortable body language this is a move he’s made many times.
A pile of Frittside crankbaits and a random ChatterBait.
Skies are cloudy, and air temps match water temps at 9:00 a.m. — right around 37-degrees. Hence plenty of ice still clings to docks and shorelines.
As all the great ones do – no matter how tough the conditions – Cox catches a chunky 3-pounder on a Berkley Jack.
Cox continues to work a shallow flat thick with submerged vegetation in his Vexus® AVX2100 aluminum.
As Cox makes a frigid run in his Vexus, a captain pilots a barge along the Tennessee River in the background.
Elite Series pros aren’t the only ones braving frigid temps to pursue their passions on Guntersville.
With ice still prevalent around the shoreline. Cox says he’ll lean heavily on shallow flatsided crankbaits like Berkley’s Jack, Frittside, and Money Badger because “that’s the only style of lure I’ve ever caught a bass on in water this cold,” he laughs.

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