Abu Garcia and Berkley Pros John Cox and Keith Carson have dreamt of fishing professionally their whole lives and with their first and second-place finishes at the Major League Fishing Tackle Warehouse Invitational, their dreams became a reality.

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (May 9, 2023) – When the MLF Invitational at Lake of the Ozarks was scheduled for early May, both Cox and Carson had it circled on their calendars. Both anglers have proven to be deadly anytime the bass get shallow, but even more so when the event can be won sight fishing. Since growing up together in Debary, Florida, learning and honing their fishing skills, the multi-tour pros have been working for this moment their entire lives.

Cox, winning his ninth MLF event with this victory, arrived at Lake of the Ozarks with only a day and a half of practice time remaining. After struggling to settle in with tournament boats and locals virtually in every part of the lake he chose to fish, Carson clued his travel partner into the area which eventually led to the duo earning a combined $130,000 for their efforts.

“I was stressing out a little but like the Abu Garcia commercial, Keith told me to ‘relax and go fish on the other side of the lake’ from where he was fishing.” laughed Cox. “So I went to the other side and just went fishing. I noticed the beds were few and far between where I was and I think it kept a lot of other boats out of my area; I was able to settle in and try to catch five.”

Cox started strong on day one boating a limit of 20 pounds, 1 ounce, added 18 pounds, 4 ounces on day two, and caught a final-day limit of 17 pounds, 9 ounces to take the victory by just over a pound. The victory was bittersweet as Cox was excited to have qualified for Redcrest, but disappointed that it came down to him and Carson.

“Keith is my buddy; I was hoping he would win. We both want each other to do well every time,” said Cox. “It felt great to win this event and to get back to Redcrest. Keith and I got to do what we grew up doing (click link for video) and we had a blast.”

With the lack of dirty water in the area, Cox relied on finesse techniques to trick spawning bass and fry guarders each day. His main setup was a John Cox Abu Garcia Pro Series rod paired with an Abu Garcia Zenon spinning reel. He opted for a Berkley FireLine main line with a 10-pound-test Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbonleader. He rotated between two soft plastics to catch the majority of his bigger bass – a wacky-rigged PowerBait® MaxScent The General and a PowerBait® Power® Jerk Shad.

Carson Overcomes Day One to Finish Second

Despite being one fish shy of a limit on day one with his 14 pounds, 15 ounces, Keith Carson added 20 pounds, 12 ounces on day two, and 19 pounds, 2 ounces on the final day to finish just over a pound behind Cox.

While Cox was fishing up the river on the afternoon of the second day of practice, Carson was fishing near the dam and locating lots of spawning bass. Wanting Cox to do well in the event, he convinced him to spend a portion of the final day sight fishing and it paid off.

“Cox got sucked into the river; neither of us had been here before and with the amount of docks on this lake, it was tough to scout using google earth,” said Carson. “I found over 100 bass on beds early in practice and knew what I was going to do. Cox found some big fish on the last day and he just went with it.”

Like Cox, Carson effortlessly executed his sight fishing plan all week to put himself in contention after two days of competition. Sitting in fourth, while Cox led, the two Florida anglers knew they both had a shot going into Saturday.

“I never settled in on day one of the tournament and it ultimately cost me the victory,” added Carson. “I tried to catch only big fish and was one short of the limit. Cox and I both knew whoever caught 20 pounds on day three would win and while neither of us ended up doing it, we were able to fish how we like and finished one, two in a major event; it was amazing.”

Carson rotated between a main spinning combo and a main casting combo to catch all of his bass. For the 5-inch PowerBait® MaxScent The General, Carson used a John Cox Abu Garcia Pro Series rod paired with an Abu Garcia Zenon spinning reel. He used a 6-pound Berkley FireLine main line with a 10-pound-test Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon leader.

“That was my main setup, but I also fished a casting combo,” said Carson. “It was a 7-foot, 6-inch medium-heavy action Abu Garcia Fantasista X rod, with an Abu Garcia Zenon MG-X reel and a 20-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon line rigged with a PowerBait® Power® Jerk Shad.”