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
january 2017 i flWfishing . Com 23