Florida Pro Catches 18-pound, 4-ounce Limit to Take Slim 7-ounce Lead into Championship Saturday – Field Cut to Final 50

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (May 5, 2023) – Pro John Cox of DeBary, Florida, weighed in five bass totaling 18 pounds, 4 ounces Friday to take the lead after Day 2 at the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitational Phoenix Stop 4 at Lake of the Ozarks Presented by Mystik Lubricants. Cox’s two-day total of 38 pounds, 5 ounces give him a slim 7-ounce advantage over 19-year-old pro Marshall Robinson of Landrum, South Carolina, who has weighed in 10 bass totaling 37-14 to end the day in second place.

The three-day tournament, hosted by the Tri-County Lodging Association, features a roster of 150 anglers competing for a top prize of up to $115,000 and an invitation to compete at REDCREST 2024, Major League Fishing’s most prestigious event. The full field of 150 anglers concluded the two-day opening round on Friday, with only the top 50 pros based on their two-day cumulative weight now advancing to Championship Saturday.

“It feels good to be here again,” Cox said in his post-game interview. “The last one I won was at Smith Lake (March 2021), and that feels very similar to this place. I do feel like if I end up winning tomorrow it’s going to be because I land on something. Either a pocket with two or three big ones, or something like that. Cause so far, it’s just been super random and I’ve had to do a lot of trolling to run into one of them.

“Luckily today I got a 5-pounder,” Cox continued.  “That fish was everything. I worked on that one for a really long time. I had to come back to her, and the wind was blowing hard – it was just terrible. I was just blind pitching and somehow ended up getting her, so I was just super lucky on that one. If I somehow win this thing, I’ll definitely remember that fish catch for a long time.”

Cox spent the majority of the day roaming the shallows targeting bed fish with a 5-inch Berkley PowerBait MaxScent The General worm.

“I saw one really nice one right at the end of the day and I was going to try to catch it, but it was getting really close on check-in time so I decided that I’ll just need to start on it in the morning,” Cox said. “It’s a solid 5 (pounder). If I can catch that first thing, then we’re looking at only needing to catch four for the rest of the day, and I’d feel really good about that.”

The top 50 pros advancing to Championship Saturday at the Phoenix Boats Stop 4 at Lake of the Ozarks are:

1st:        John Cox, DeBary, Fla., 10 bass, 38-5
2nd:       Marshall Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 10 bass, 37-14
3rd:       Drew Gill, Mount Carmell, Ill., 10 bass 37-11
4th:        Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., nine bass, 35-11
5th:        Andrew Nordbye, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 35-4
6th:        Andy Newcomb, Camdenton, Mo., 10 bass, 33-4
7th:        Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 10 bass, 33-2
8th:        Tom Redington, Royse City, Texas, 10 bass, 32-7
9th:        Tai Au, Glendale, Ariz., 10 bass, 32-0
10th:     Charley Slaton, Valliant, Okla, 10 bass, 31-15
11th:     Joe Bennett, Ashland, Mo., 10 bass, 31-4
12th:     Dylan Hays, Hot Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 30-10
13th:     Connor Cunningham, Springfield, Mo., 10 bass, 30-9
14th:     Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., 10 bass, 30-4
15th:     Jordan Hirt, Glenwood, Iowa, 10 bass, 29-13
16th:     Robby Lefere, Jackson, Mich., 10 bass, 29-12
17th:     Thomas Wooten, Huddleston, Va., 10 bass, 29-7
18th:     Jaden Parrish, Liberty, Texas, 10 bass, 29-5
19th:     Derik Hudson, Concord, Va., 10 bass, 29-3
20th:     Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 29-0
21st:      Kyle Schutta, Forest Lake, Minn., 10 bass, 29-0
22nd:    Jeremy Southerly, Fulks Run, Va., 10 bass, 28-5
23rd:     Brock Reinkemeyer. Warsaw, Mo., 10 bass, 28-10
24th:     Bobby Bakewell, Orlando, Fla, 10 bass, 27-14
25th:     Kyle Palmer, Winchester, Tenn., 10 bass, 27-13
26th:     Joshua Weaver, Macon, Ga., 10 bass, 27-13
27th:     Matthew Stefan, Junction City, Wis., 10 bass, 27-12
28th:     Shaw Grigsby, Gainesville, Fla., 10 bass, 27-12
29th:     Jared Lintner, Covington, Ga., 10 bass, 27-11
30th:     Tyler Stewart, Dubach, La., 10 bass, 27-8
31st:      Troy Stokes, Trenton, Mich., 10 bass, 27-8
32nd:    Brian Latimer, Belton, S.C., 10 bass, 27-7
33rd:     Grae Buck, Green Lane, Pa., 10 bass, 27-5
34th:     Cody Pike, Powhatan, Va., 10 bass, 27-1
35th:     Cody Parker, Ball Ground, Ga., 10 bass, 27-1
36th:     David Walker, Huntingdon, Tenn., 10 bass, 27-1
37th:     Jordan Collom, Canyon Lake, Calif., 10 bass, 26-14
38th:     Kyle Hall, Granbury, Texas, 10 bass, 26-11
39th:     Brad Jelinek, Lincoln, Mo., 10 bass, 26-11
40th:     Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., 10 bass, 26-10
41st:      J. Todd Tucker, Moultrie, Ga., 10 bass, 26-10
42nd:    Rick Chenoweth, Fredericksburg, Va., 10 bass, 26-6
43rd:     Mike McClelland, Blue Eye, Mo., 10 bass, 26-3
44th:     Kyle Weisenburger, Columbus Grove, Ohio, 10 bass, 26-0
45th:     Andrew Behnke, Fond du Lac, Wis., 10 bass, 25-13
46th:     Austin Culbertson, Moberly, Mo., 10 bass, 25-12
47th:     Joe Grafeman, Camdenton, Mo., 10 bass, 25-10
48th:     Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., 10 bass, 25-10
49th:     Dakota Ebare, Brookeland, Texas, 10 bass, 25-10
50th:     Hunter Eubanks, Inman, S.C., 10 bass, 25-9

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Pro William Fletcher of Dallas, Georgia, weighed in a 5-pound, 12-ounce largemouth to earn Friday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award.

Overall, there were 673 bass weighing 1,647 pounds, 10 ounces caught by 145 pros Friday. The catch included 120 five-bass limits.

In MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitational competition, the full field of 150 anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Thursday and Friday in a traditional five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 50 pros based on their two-day cumulative weight now advance to the final round on Championship Saturday, where they will compete for the grand prize of up to $115,000, including the lucrative $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus for qualified anglers. The winner of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitational Phoenix Boats Stop 4 at Lake of the Ozarks Presented by Mystik Lubricants will be determined by the heaviest three-day cumulative weight and will receive an invitation to compete at REDCREST 2024.

The final 50 anglers will launch Saturday at 6:30 a.m. CT from the Grand Glaize Beach Boat Ramp (Public Beach No. 2) at Lake of the Ozarks State Park, located at 711 Public Beach Road in Osage Beach, Missouri. The final weigh-in will also be held at the boat ramp beginning at 2:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the live on-the-water action online on MLF NOW!beginning at 7 a.m. CT at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action on all three days of competition from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. CT. MLF NOW!®  will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

The MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitational Phoenix Stop 4 at Lake of the Ozarks Presented by Mystik Lubricants will feature live on-the-water coverage and a two-hour action-packed television show that will premiere on the CBS Sports Network on Saturday, October 21.

Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Fox Rent a Car, General Tire, Grundéns, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Wiley X and YETI.

For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals on the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and  YouTube.