KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — As long as John Cox is fishing, he’s smiling. But he was happier than usual after weighing a 4th-place five-bass limit of 14 pounds, 4 ounces on Day 1 of the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota.
It marked a stark contrast from what Cox saw on the official Classic practice day Wednesday.
“I didn’t even get a bite,” he said. “Not even one of those, ‘Oh, maybe that was one.’ I went back to a lot of those areas and caught fish today. Definitely a lot of stuff’s happening. It warmed up. I got in one area and it was 66, 67 (degrees). It was 59 when I looked at it in practice.
“The weather is definitely pushing them to go shallow – bait, everything. Everything is going to the back of the pockets.”
That is especially pleasing to Cox. The 37-year-old, five-time Classic qualifier from DeBary, Fla., is a noted shallow-water specialist. This could be a tournament that is setting up for him. Another warm day and some early morning showers in the forecast will only help, if they come to pass.
“I think it should make it good, put some more color in the water,” he said. “The ones I’m catching are really fresh. They’re really pale. They’re fat. They haven’t been in that shallow water long.
“What I’m really excited about is that there weren’t just (threadfin) shad, maybe skipjack, something a lot bigger. I feel like when you find those, you find big (bass). I just know when I saw them flickering around, I caught bigger fish.”
Cox threw a Berkley Frittside 5 crankbait almost all day.
“That’s what I did the last time I was here, and I did well,” said Cox, referring to his 3rd place finish in the 2021 Bassmaster Elite Series tournament at Knoxville. “I just love throwing it. They eat it. It’s a really good bait. David Fritts did a really good job designing it.”
