TAKEOFF
ANGLER PROFILE
DREAMS, YOUNG AND OLD
BRandon coBB fulfills Youthful aspiRation With help fRoM GRandpa By Sean Ostruszka
it’ s a simple headline for a simple story; the kind of headline you often see in community papers.
Brandon Cobb, 4-year fishing veteran at age 7, dreams of being professional a pair of black-and-white pictures accompanies the Greenwood, s. c., Index-Journal article. the main photo is of a young Brandon cobb and his dad, doug, fishing in the family pond. the inset is a casting shot of Brandon and his younger brother, hunter. in both, Brandon holds a spinning rod that looks three sizes too big for his small frame – his winnings from his first tournament the week earlier. his pride of purpose and intensity are evident by the look on his face.
Brandon isn’ t quoted much in the article – too shy at the time – but both he and his dad report that the youngster wants to be a professional angler someday. doug brags about how he and his son fish“ tournaments” against one another every afternoon in the pond, and how Brandon jumps out of bed every morning at daylight to go fishing. it’ s a cute, feel-good story. Brandon’ s mom, amy, still has the clipping, as any proud parent would. after all, it’ s the kind of clipping parents love to pull out years later when they reminisce about how their son dreamed of being a cowboy or their daughter a ballerina. only, almost 20 years later, the“ fishing veteran at age 7” actually is a professional angler. and not only that, he fulfilled his dream faster than most ever thought was possible.
a little green from greenwood
When you’ re 24 years old and become a professional fisherman, most observers would think you’ ve been a stick your entire life, that you dominated local tournaments at 15 and regional tournaments by 20. and sure, cobb’ s story follows along those lines … to a point.
“ i started tournament fishing when i was 12 or 13,” says cobb, now 26.“ i got my boating license, and my dad would drive me to the ramp, drop me in and then come back later to pick me up.” his first win came at 14 on lake Greenwood, and plenty more followed around his home in Greenwood, s. c. By 16 he was fishing t-h Marine Bass fishing league tournaments, notching his first top 10 at 17 and his first Regional qualification the same season, in 2007. at age 20, cobb won 2010 angler of the Year in the Bfl savannah River division, and three seasons later he doubled-qualified for the Bfl allamerican when, in a single season, he finished second in one Regional and third in another. that’ s more success at the local and regional level than most anglers experience during their entire careers. so it seemed logical when cobb
In only two seasons on Tour, Cobb has made the top 10 at the Forrest Wood Cup twice. photoS by ANDy hAGEDoN
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