Cox Says to Stay Offshore for Harris Chain Giants

By Pete Robbins 

 

Expect seriously un-Florida style weather – with some days not topping 60 degrees and multiple nights dropping down into the thirties – in the leadup to the season-opening Big Bass Tour event on the Harris Chain of Lakes. Some see that as a problem, but veteran bass pro John Cox said it’s a huge opportunity: The bass are at their fattest right now, and they’re in predictable spots. 

 

Anglers might not get to fish for them aggressively, but it provides great opportunities up and down the hourly leaderboards. 

 

“By the time the tournament starts, I’d expect them to be out in front of the canals and in areas leading into spawning areas,” he said. “And it one hundred percent could be won on Berkley’s new Jack. It’s a trap-style bait they developed for walleye. It’s slender and heavy for its size. A half-ounce is the size of a three-eighths ounce, and the three-quarter weighs a half-ounce.” 

 

He'd look for areas with submerged vegetation where the big fish can hunker down, winding the lure until it gets caught up, then breaking it free. 

 

“It really excels when you find a small bald spot in the grass,” he added. “Then you can give it a small yo-yo. Not big movements – maybe move the rod four to six inches, really feathering it up and down. It’ll be like a worm bite when they hit it.” 

 

One other tip he provided – while standard chromes and golds will of course work well, he’s had exceptional success with some of the gaudy walleye-oriented colors, too, showing the bass a little something different. 

 

He might only have one other rod on the deck of his boat, this one ready to launch a Carolina Rig. 

 

“I’d search with the Jack and then we I caught one I’d slow down and drag the C-Rig around,” he said. “I’d definitely use something with Maxscent, like the General, the Hit Worm, the Kingtail, or even the Jerk Shad. I’d just let it soak and those same areas and let them find it.” 

 

The key at any Harris Chain event is not to lose hope, because one bite can be an absolute game-changer. While savvy anglers watching the live leaderboard will be able to cash in on substantial hourly prizes, the grand prize award winner almost always tops ten pounds. Last year was one of the rare exceptions, when the winner tallied 9.86 pounds, but there were a total of five bass weighed in over 9 pounds. In six of the last nine years there have been multiple double digits caught. The biggest one was an 11.17 in 2022, when three other anglers who caught 10-pounders went home mildly disappointed. In a tightly-contested 2020 race, there were four bass landed between 1037 and 10.60 pounds. 

 

Cox said that the great thing about the Harris Chain is that both the quality bass and the true giants are spread out equally. Hourly and overall winners could come from any place on the system. 

 

He also said that the winners could come during any point of the day. Because he generally focuses on shallow or even ultra-shallow zones, he said that he’s historically done best in the afternoons, when the sunshine warms those areas and the fish either move in or get active. But he noted that in comparing notes with some of his colleagues who favor offshore areas, they often “put their fish in the boat before 8:30.” 

 

Remember, while Florida bass can be finicky, they’re also ultra-predictable. Giants will show up next weekend, and anglers who heed Cox’s advice and pay attention to the live leaderboard will have a big time chance to cash in.