“Not only did the pro join the Century Club, but he landed his personal best largemouth on camera.”
Cobb. That last name is synonymous with Bassmaster Magazine. Unless you are a very young reader, you’ll remember that Bob Cobb was the first editor of this publication, and turned a pickle box full of angler ramblings into the biggest vertical fishing magazine the world has ever seen. Interestingly enough, almost 50 years after Bob started making his mark on the sport, another B. Cobb is making waves in the B.A.S.S. universe.
Brandon Cobb, no relation to Bob, is a 29-year-old newcomer on the Elite Series this year. That said, this South Carolina native has been fishing professionally for five years, stacking up impressive stats on the FLW tour. His work there prepared him well for the Big Stage, it seems, as his results so far this year have been near historic. His first event at the St. Johns River was a solid start with a 20th-place finish. He improved a bit the following event with a 14th-place effort on Lake Lanier. But his coming-out party happened at the next Elite derby on Lake Hartwell, where he posted a wire-to-wire win in front of his home-state crowd.
“My dream since I was 7 years old was to become a professional angler. And I don’t know when I saw my first Bassmaster Classic, but I know since that moment, I’ve wanted to be on that stage in front of all those people, holding up bass for the world to see,” Cobb said.
It is rare for an angler to win an event during his first season on the Elite Series. It has only happened a handful of times since the inception of the tour. However, a guy is just about as likely to win the lottery as he is two regular-season events during his freshman season fishing against the best in the world. It has never happened. Scratch that, it had never happened until Mr. Brandon C-O- double B put on one of the greatest big-bass displays in the modern era of bass fishing during the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting Texas Parks and Wildlife Department held on Lake Fork. During the May event, Cobb landed 20 bass over four days totaling 114 pounds. That is an average of 28 1/2 pounds per day. (Yes, I had to use a calculator for that one.)
Not only did the South Carolina pro join the Century Club (an elite group within the Elites who have topped 100 pounds during a four-day event), but he landed his personal best largemouth on camera. That 11-pound, 1-ounce giant won Cobb a new Toyota Tundra and anchored his impressive weight tally for the big-blue trophy and the $125,000 payday that went alongside it. Really, Cobb’s second victory on the Elite Series was like winning the lottery, as he has earned, after just five events this year, more than a quarter of a million dollars.
The win at Lake Fork did more than pad his checking account. It turned his lifelong dream into a reality. The Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest victory earned Cobb a berth into the 2020 Bassmaster Classic. It seems appropriate that his first Classic will be the 50th anniversary of the world championship event, an event that Bob Cobb helped Ray Scott develop. The 2020 Classic will be in Birmingham, Ala., and fished on Lake Guntersville.
Bob Cobb once said that the tips and tactics of professional anglers are poured into a funnel, with the best information dripping out of the bottom and onto the pages of Bassmaster Magazine to help the rest of us catch more fish. It seems that readers will be seeing a lot of drippings from young Brandon for many years to come. I guess this publication is destined to have a Cobb involved on some level. For anglers who want to get better at catching big fish, that is very good news.