COLUMN: NEWELL’S NOTES
JOHN’S BOAT
Thanks to incredible skill, John Cox can win with simple equipment
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
As a freelance writer and
photographer, Rob
Newell has been reporting
on fishing tournaments
for 20 years, finding the
stories between fish and
angler to be a stretched
line of heroes, heartache,
triumph, torture, inspiration
and exasperation.
“D
o what you do.”
That’s a phrase pro
angler John Cox
should wear on his sponsor jersey
– perhaps somewhere on
his sleeve.
I first met Cox in 2011 when
he showed up at an FLW Tour
event on the Red River with a
17-foot aluminum boat. While
other competitors ripped up
and down the river in full-size
glass boats, Cox putted downstream
at 37 mph and then
proceeded to push his tiny tin
craft into a backwater pond
through a metal culvert with a
two-by-four.
Cox won the event outright.
It was a smart play, but I figured
once Cox got his $100,000 check,
he would “upgrade” to a new
glass boat with four big-screen
electronics units, strap 30 new
rods to the front deck and buy a
fancy souped-up truck.
Man, was I ever wrong
about that kid in the tin rig
from Florida. A million-and-ahalf
dollars in winnings later,
there is still nothing fancy
about John Cox. To this day, he
still fishes – and wins – out of
aluminum boats. Those wins
now include a Forrest Wood
Cup, four Tackle Warehouse
Pro Circuit events and two
Bassmaster Opens. In fact, the
only brand-new glass boat he
has ever owned is one he won
in a tournament.
Cox’s unique approach to
the sport doesn’t end in boat
composition, either. During a
decade of pro fishing that has
been defined by remarkable
advancements in electronic
fish-finders, Cox hardly ever
relies on such technology.
Transducers must be mounted
on the outside of aluminum
crafts. Therefore, they often
become compromised when
jumping logs, bumping into
rocks, burning over sandbars
or grinding through muck.
Fishing without a fish-finder is
something that doesn’t bother
Cox at all. In his Pro Circuit win
on Sam Rayburn earlier this
year, Cox didn’t even have a
fish-finder on his deck the first
two days. He is perfectly comfortable
fishing “blind.”
In addition to advancements
in electronics, trolling
motors have also been
improved by leaps and bounds
in recent years. “Anchor Lock”
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FLWFISHING.COM | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING.COM | JUNE-JULY 2020