Day: February 8, 2019, The National Angler

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.

February 7, 2019Giant Bass Make A Showing at Power-Pole Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns RiverPalatka, Fla. —

After a tough practice, Robbie Latuso said he only had one area that he felt confident about heading into Thursday’s opening round of the Power-Pole Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River.

But it turned out to be a good area — and it just kept getting better as the day went along.

The third-year Elite Series pro from Gonzales, La., caught a solid limit early and then steadily culled up until he had a five-bass limit that weighed 25 pounds, 2 ounces. The big bag, which was anchored by an 8-6 largemouth, was good enough for the Day 1 lead.

“I got to that spot and caught a bunch of fish that were all about 3 pounds,” Latuso said. “Then I finally caught a 3-10. Then I caught a 5-pounder. Then I caught the biggest one and another big fish — about a 5-pounder — toward the end of the day.

“So I really caught most of my big fish later.”

With three days left to fish, anglers are always stingy with details. But Latuso said he’s using a technique he’s very comfortable with — and he believes his one magic spot could actually be better for Friday’s second round.

“I think more fish are coming to that area,” he said. “So I’m just gonna go out there tomorrow and have fun again and try to get five more bites.”

Latuso’s 8-plus was impressive, but it wasn’t nearly the biggest bass caught on a day when the Florida fishery really showed its muscle. The Top 10 anglers in the standings all had more than 20 pounds, and the biggest bass of the day was an 11-2 behemoth caught by Virginia angler John Crews.

The giant fish — which Crews said broke his personal-best mark of 11-1 by an ounce — anchored a five-bass limit that weighed 24-13 and moved Crews into second place.

In a scene that would make even the most experienced anglers queasy, Crews landed the bass on a spinning rod with only 12-pound-test line.

“I had caught four, and I knew I had a pretty decent bag,” Crews said. “I knew if I could just catch one more keeper, I would be in good shape. So I actually just started fishing around and picked up that spinning rod.”

He knew the bass was big when he set the hook, but it was while before he knew exactly how big.

“It went all over the place, got hung up in a tree and came out,” Crews said. “But I didn’t get in a big hurry.

“When it jumped, I thought it was a 6- or 7-pounder. When it got close to the boat and jumped again, I thought it was an 8 or 9. Then when I lipped it, it just kept coming out of the water and I knew it was at least a 10.”

Crews referred to his day as a “typical Florida day” because along with the big fish, he also had one that weighed only about 14 ounces. He said he has no idea what Friday will hold, but he’s seen proof positive once again that a big bass can bite at any moment in this state.

Having just turned 40 last year, Crews has been with the Elite Series since its inception in 2006. Another Elite Series veteran, 54-year-old Mark Menendez from Paducah, Ky., fished his way into third place Thursday — and like the two anglers ahead of him, his bag was anchored by a giant.

Menendez weighed in five bass that tipped the scales at 24-8 with a 9-13 anchoring the bag.

“My day was real slow,” said Menendez, who has three career B.A.S.S. victories. “I lost my first two bites, and they were little peanuts.”

He was about to leave and make a long run, but instincts told him to explore the stretch he was on just a little further.

“I fished and fished and fished and kept thinking I needed to make that long run,” he said. “But then I stopped in a spot, made a pitch and caught the 9-13. I fished around a little longer and caught a solid 3 3/4.

“That’s when I decided I was going to be there a while — and before noon, I caught another 3-pounder and a 6-pounder, all on the same bait.”

When bass are moving onto the spawning beds, as they seem to be on the St. Johns this week, it’s hard to know exactly what will happen next. Warm weather could bring another big wave of bass to the shorelines overnight, making Friday’s round better. Or, the pressure from Thursday’s round could cause a downturn in the fishing.

But one thing is certain: Most of the 75-angler field left Riverfront Park Thursday with a solid understanding of the fishery’s potential.

“I really didn’t know what I could catch going into today,” said Brad Whatley, an Elite Series rookie from Bivins, Texas, who landed in fourth place Thursday with a catch of 23-4 that included two 8-pounders. “I think I’m in an area that has some fish coming in to spawn and some leaving the beds.

“To catch 23 pounds my first day on the job, I’ll take it all day long.”

The tournament will resume Friday with a full field of 75 anglers fishing once again. Takeoff will be from Riverfront Park at 7:30 a.m. ET, and weigh-in will be back at the park at 4:15 p.m.

After Friday’s competition, only the Top 35 will advance to Saturday’s semifinal round.