Cox Leads Walmart FLW Tour on Red River Presented by OFF!

SHREVEPORT, La., May 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- John Cox of Debary, Fla., crossed the stage Thursday with a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 10 ounces to lead day one of the Walmart FLW Tour on the Red River presented by OFF! Cox now holds an 11-ounce lead over Mike Reynolds of Modesto, Calif., who caught five bass weighing 13-15 in a tournament featuring 280 anglers from all across the country.

Cox chose to fish the tournament from a 17-foot boat powered by a 75-horsepower Mercury outboard with hopes the lighter rig would allow him to access areas the other competitors could not.

"I started off in an area I found in the last day of practice," Cox said. "I got into a shallow pond and it was loaded. I caught my first five in five flips. I was real lucky there was still enough water to get in there. It worked out great."

Cox said he began throwing a chatterbait but switched tactics after the chatterbait didn't produce the results he was looking for. He said he made the switch to a Dandy Baits jig and the change paid off immediately.

"I pulled in and started off throwing the chatterbait and said, 'Something's not right,'" Cox said. "So I switched to the jig. You could really throw anything in there.

"It's all just falling into place now," Cox added. "Well, today it did. Who knows what the rest of the week will hold. We'll see. I'm going to do same thing tomorrow."

Rounding out the top 10 pros after day one on the Red River are:

For a full list of results visit FLWOutdoors.com.

Reynolds caught the Snickers® Big Bass weighing 5-2 on the pro side to win $500.

Overall there were 525 bass weighing 880 pounds, 10 ounces caught by 132 pros Thursday. The catch included 73 five-bass limits.

Pros are competing for a top award of up to $125,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart, the world championship of bass fishing. This year's Cup will be in Hot Springs, Ark., Aug. 11-14 on Lake Ouachita where pros are competing for a top prize of $600,000 – the sport's biggest award. Pro anglers are also vying for the prestigious 2011 Walmart FLW Tour Angler of the Year presented by Kellogg's that will be determined by the most points accumulated over the six Tour Majors with the winner receiving $100,000 for their accomplishment.

Mike McDonald of Randleman, N.C., leads the Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 12-1 followed by Timothy Sisk of Gastonia, N.C., in second place with five bass weighing 11-7.

Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers are:

For a full list of results visit FLWOutdoors.com.

Aaron Beshears of Van Buren, Ark., caught the Snickers® Big Bass weighing 5-1 in the co-angler division to win $250.

Overall there were 245 bass weighing 391 pounds, 1 ounce caught by 106 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 14 five-bass limits.

Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $25,000 this week plus valuable points that could help them qualify for the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup. The Walmart FLW Tour Co-angler of the Year presented by Kellogg's will be determined by the most points accumulated over the six Tour Majors and the winner will receive a new Ranger 198VX with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.

Anglers will take off from Red River South Marina located at 250 Red River South Rd. in Bossier City, La., at 6:30 each morning. Friday's weigh-in will be held at the Red River South Marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday's final weigh-in will be held at the Shreveport Convention Center located at 400 Caddo St. in Shreveport beginning at 4 p.m.

Fans will be treated to the FLW Outdoors Expo at the Shreveport Convention Center on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. prior to the final weigh-ins. The first 300 kids 14 and under on Sunday will receive a free rod and reel combo compliments of KTBS 3. Fans can also register to win a Can-Am ATV courtesy of Kiss Country 93.7 and 99X which will be given away following the final weigh-in. The Expo includes Ranger boat simulators, the opportunity to interact with professional anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by sponsors, and fans can learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities. All activities are free and open to the public.

Coverage of the Red River tournament will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS. "FLW Outdoors" will air June 26 from 1 to 2 p.m. ET. "FLW Outdoors," hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to more than 500 million households worldwide.

For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow FLW Outdoors on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWOutdoors.

ABOUT FLW OUTDOORS

FLW Outdoors is the best in fishing, on and off the water. Anglers worldwide can compete for millions over the course of 191 tournaments in 2011. FLW Outdoors has taken fishing mainstream with the world's richest fantasy sports game, FLW Fantasy Fishing presented by Straight Talk, where competitors can play for free as well as sign up for Player's Advantage to gain an edge. For more information about FLW Outdoors and FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FLWOutdoors.com or FantasyFishing.com.

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