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FLOYD’ S MOvE TO THE FOREFRONT
BETHEL UNIVERSITY’ S COLE FLOYD IS PUTTING THE FLW FIELD ON NOTICE WITH SIX TOP-10 FINISHES IN 2017
By Joe Sills
To say that Cole Floyd is on fire in the tournament world would be an understatement. At the tender age of 20, the third-year Bethel University student is one of the hottest young guns in the FLW family, having bulldozed his way into September holding down the top spot in the Angler of the Year races of both the Costa FLW Series Central Division and the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League LBL Division.
A strong finish at the Lake of the Ozarks Central Division event in October will likely wrap up the AOY crown for the Leesburg, Ohio, native, who’ s tallied six combined top-10 finishes in the BFL, Costa FLW Series and YETI FLW College Fishing trails this year, plus a runner-up finish with partner Carter McNeil at the Bassmaster College Series Championship.
The Costa FLW Series Central Division tournament on Kentucky Lake in June might be considered Floyd’ s most stunning achievement to date. Competing against some of the Series’ heaviest hitters, the Ohio angler finished runner-up to Tennessee River juggernaut Jason Lambert, whose 71- pound, 10-ounce sack was 7 ounces better than Floyd’ s.
Starting Points
Floyd’ s education in bass fishing began in an unlikely place, a corner of southern Ohio that could hardly be called a breeding ground of aspiring tournament stars.
An hour and a half east of Cincinnati, Paint Creek Lake and Rocky Fork Lake are perched on opposite sides of U. S. Highway 50. At less than 2,000 acres apiece, they’ re the kind of mid-sized, state-managed fisheries that aren’ t large enough or prolific enough to get on the maps of the major tournament trails. They’ re the kind of lakes that are home to countless dinks and occasional trophy
PHOTO BY DAVID A. BROWN
In June, Cole Floyd nearly took down Kentucky Lake ledge master Jason Lambert in a Costa FLW Series event, which put him on the map as a young gun to watch.
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