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made the leap to the flW tour in 2014 at age 24 , fresh out of college at clemson university . only , cobb admits , he was “ a little green ” that first season . in fact , while it ’ s easy to focus on the early successes at the Bfl level , it wasn ’ t all top 10s and cashed checks leading up to his tour debut .
“ i ’ ll admit , i lost a lot ,” says cobb . “ i got my teeth kicked in for a while , especially once i started trying to fish at the regional level . the year after i graduated , yeah , i finished second and third in those two Bfl Regionals to make the all-american , but i also fished the B . a . s . s . southern opens and was absolutely horrible .
“ But that ’ s what made me a better fisherman . i never got discouraged . i always would spend time looking at what i could ’ ve done differently to improve . and that year fishing the opens , i think i needed that to get the jitters out . i mean , when cody Meyer or Brent ehrler pulls up beside you , that ’ s like ‘ holy crap ’ when you ’ re only 23 .” cobb ’ s rookie season on tour told the story . he finished 154th in his first event at lake okeechobee , though , to be fair , reigning forrest Wood cup champ John cox finished 175th in the same tournament . cobb ’ s next event was on lake hartwell , which was the one tournament he was banking on , since it ’ s among his home waters . he cut his first check , but after day one he was in 93rd .
“ i remember thinking , ‘ What am i doing ? Why am i fishing this way ? i ’ ve never fished this way before in my life ,’” cobb recalls . “ the second day i went out and fished it like i would a local tournament and rebounded [ to finish 36th ], but that was just one of many mistakes i made that year .” cobb wound up finishing 99th in points , though that ’ s a bit misleading as he had to
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skip one of the events to fish the Bfl all-american he ’ d qualified for the previous year . his was a rookie season marked with many mistakes , yet it laid the groundwork for future success . cobb ’ s second season saw him cut checks in the first five tournaments . he finished 17th in points and qualified for his first forrest Wood cup , which would prove pivotal . the 2015 cup at lake ouachita would serve as his coming-out party in the fishing world . there , cobb found himself in third after day one . as it turned out it was not a fluke , as he stayed consistent throughout the championship and ended up finishing third for his first top 10 at the pro level . he only notched one more top 10 in his third season , but again , it was in the forrest Wood cup at Wheeler lake . |
“ it ’ s a little frustrating , because i ’ ve only made a top 10 at the cup ,” says cobb . “ i ’ m usually better at tough tournaments , though , and that ’ s the cup .” there ’ s no doubt the 2016 cup was among the toughest ever due to intense heat and a pressured fishery . for cobb , though , the 2016 cup was challenging for more than just the fishing .
hot dogs , flowers and support
When you ’ re 24 years old and become a professional fisherman , it begs one big question : how ? how does a recent college graduate make the jump so quickly ? how does he afford the boat , entry fees and travel expenses ? the answer lies where the people of Greenwood county go for the best barbecue sandwiches and hot dogs :
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Barrett ’ s . part gas station , part convenience store , part tire shop , part flower shop , Barrett ’ s is the family business founded by cobb ’ s grandparents , John and lounettie Barrett . and as supportive as cobb ’ s parents have been in his career , his grandfather has been as well – and then some .
“ i wouldn ’ t be where i am today without my granddad ,” says cobb . “ he wasn ’ t even a fisherman . he was just always proud of me and what i was trying to do .
“ every time i ’ d come back from a tournament and i said i didn ’ t win or do well , he ’ d always say , ‘ You ’ ll win the next one .’” don ’ t think cobb was gifted his first season on tour , though . he ’ d pocketed his fair share of money from his local and regional tournaments , and paid for everything he could with it . But
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