Cox Leads at Eufaula

3/10/2010 7:38:28 PM

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Pro John Cox of Debary, Fla., landed five bass weighing 26 pounds, 13 ounces Wednesday to lead day one of the FLW Series Eastern Division tournament on Lake Eufaula. He holds a slim 12-ounce lead in the tournament featuring 152 pros and 152 co-anglers.

“I took off this morning and started running up the river and ripped my skeg off,” said Cox, who led the first three days of competition during January’s FLW Series Lake Okeechobee event. “But I kept going and got to my spot and sat down and caught a 5-pounder and another one and then missed a couple. Then I ran to about 10 more spots and caught the five I weighed.

“I was done by 10,” Cox added. “After that, I just completely changed it up and tried to find new areas. I caught a few other ones but nothing like I caught earlier.”

Cox said he began the day by running “a pretty good ways” from the Lakepoint Resort State Park launch and caught his fish on a spinnerbait and worm. Cox said he caught 10 to 12 keepers during the course of the day.

“I’ve never seen this place like this,” said Cox, who said he hadn’t fished Eufaula the past three years. “Not this size and quality of fish.”

Sean Wieda of Florence, Ky., trails Cox in the No. 2 spot with five bass weighing 26-1.

Rounding out the remainder of the top-10 pros after day one at Lake Eufaula are:

      3rd: Alan Hults, Gautier, Miss., five bass, 24-1
      4th: Mike Millsaps, Cartersville, Ga., five bass, 23-12
      5th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., five bass, 22-13
      6th: Randall Tharp, Gardendale, Ala., five bass, 22-10
      7th: Koby Kreiger, Okeechobee, Fla., five bass, 22-8
      8th: David Walker, Sevierville, Tenn., five bass, 21-13
      9th: Dwayne Horton, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 21-10
      10th: Tracy Adams, Wilkesboro, N.C., five bass, 21-4
      10th: Kevin Brumfield, Cumming, Ga., five bass, 21-4

Overall there were 640 bass weighing 1,931 pounds, 5 ounces caught by 148 pros Wednesday. The catch included 102 five-bass limits.

In FLW Series competition, pros are competing for a top award of $50,000 plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for a shot at the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing.

Matt Hults of Gautier, Miss., leads the Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 20-2 followed by William Ranquist Jr. of Park Ridge, Ill., in second place with five bass weighing 19-11.

Hults caught his bass while fishing with pro Scott Montgomery of Eufaula, who is currently in 42nd place with five bass weighing 16-6.

The remainder of the top-10 co-anglers are:

      3rd: Wayne Hauser, Mooresville, N.C., five bass, 17-12
      4th: Kurtis Michaux, Clermont, Fla., five bass, 17-12
      5th: Jeff Cummins, Marion, Ohio, five bass, 15-1
      6th: Dean Tucker, Hiawassee, Ga., five bass, 15-1
      7th: Robert Kimbrough, Vero Beach, Fla., five bass, 14-4
      8th: Chris Hults, Vancleave, Miss., four bass, 14-1
      9th: Dylan Hays, Greenbrier, Ark., five bass, 13-13
      10th: Steve Phillips, Douglas, Ga., five bass, 13-8

Overall there were 351 bass weighing 888 pounds, 14 ounces caught by 128 co-anglers Wednesday. The catch included 25 five-bass limits.

Co-anglers are competing this week for a Ranger 177TR with a 90 horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard motor as well as valuable points that could help them qualify for the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup.

Anglers will take off from Lakepoint Resort State Park located at 104 Lakepoint Drive in Eufaula at 7 each morning. Thursday’s and Friday’s weigh-ins will also be held at Lakepoint Resort State Park beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at Billy Lawrence Chevrolet located at 3220 S. Eufaula Ave. in Eufaula beginning at 4 p.m.