provided by John Phillips
I don’t like a substantial wind when I’m fishing. A wind of 5-15 mph won’t bother me that much, but a wind of more than that is one of my biggest weaknesses in fishing successfully. Trying to catch bass in 25-35 mph winds is tough on me, because my bouncing up and down on the front end of a boat doesn’t allow me to work my lures the way I want. Also, I can’t feel the structure or the bite. To be honest, I prefer to fish in monsoon-type rains than winds of 20 mph or more. I realize that all the anglers will have to deal with that kind of wind. Some anglers even like to fish in a roaring wind, but I’m not one of them. I prefer protected waters. In a strong wind, I’ll have a problem casting to targets and not presenting the bait to the bass the way I want.
I think one of the advantages I’ll have is I’ve fished in several Forrest L. Wood Cups, so I’m looking at the 2020 Classic at Lake Guntersville as just another tournament. My sponsors are at these big events to help me - not hurt me - because they want me to focus on winning. My family also understands what my job is, so they’ll not be a distraction. Although the Classic will have a bigger press corps than any other tournament I’ve ever fished, I don’t see that as a negative factor. I want the press to get to know me and me know them. I will do as many interviews as I can.
Now spectator pressure is a different problem. I actually lost the Forrest L. Wood Cup on the FLW circuit because of this. On the last day of the tournament, I had about 100 boats following me. I was running a milk run and only fishing each of my spots for three or four casts. However, when 100 people cranked-up their boats, followed me for a half-mile and then shut their boats down again - that much activity disturbed the bass. In that particular tournament, I was fishing between 50-75 locations each day. Normally, I’d stop well away from the bank I was attempting to fish, but I realized if I did, I’d only be able to fish 20-30 spots. Having said that, I should say that spectator pressure doesn’t bother me when I’m fishing the way I normally fish.
To learn more about Brandon Cobb visit his Facebook page.
