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		Comeback Of The Year Winner Cochran Used His Head To Get Back To The Top

	Wednesday, January 25, 2006 Legendary athletes don't often win comeback awards in their respective sports. In a superstar's prime, there's usually not much to bounce back from (except a major injury) because every year is a good one. Later, when they do start to slip, it's because they've lost the physical ability to compete against – and beat – the best in the game, and they have no way to halt their downhill slide. Bass fishing is a little different than most sports, though. Top anglers don't have to rely on strength or speed. Knowledge and experience can lead to spot-on decisions under specific conditions, and an angler who's past his physical peak can still put a grade-A whip job on his younger competitors. George Cochran did that often in 2005 after he looked like he might be on the other side of the proverbial hill the year before. Because of that, he's the winner of the 4th annual BassFan Comeback of the Year Award (COY). In voting by BassFans and the BassFan staff, he topped a field of nominees that also included Jeff Kriet, J.T. Kenney and Toshinari Namiki. At age 55, the two-time Bassmaster Classic winner claimed his third championship title when he won the Forrest L. Wood Championship on his home lake (Arkansas' Lake Hamilton). He then went on to finish 4th in the Classic and 3rd at the inaugural Cabela's Top Gun Championship. All told, he was no worse than 7th in his final four tournaments of the year. It all came in the wake of a 2004 season that was decidedly sub-par when judged by his hisotrically lofty standards. He won the Guntersville Bassmaster that year, but also had six finishes of 100th or worse, including two in the 180s. He was 110th in the FLW Tour points – a figure he boosted by 94 places to 16th in '05. Fear Factor What was the driving force behind Cochran's return to fishing's top echelon? Well, for one thing, fear played a big role. "I knew I was getting closer to the end of my career, and I didn't want to go out like some guys have, with a string of bad years behind them," he said. "I wanted to go out with my head held high. "It was such a stressful year as far as (there were) so many tournaments and there was so much importance on making the Classic because you could make two of them (2005 and 2006)," he added. "I had a lot on my mind while I was straddling the fence on both circuits (FLW and Bassmaster), but it seems like the older I get, the more I can reach back and give it 110%. I use my head more now than when I was younger and I was determined to give it all the energy I had, and it really paid off. My mind was focused. "I guess like most fishermen, this was something I dreamed of doing late in my career. I really ended the year with a bang and I was in such sync, I really hated to see it end." Fun Under The Sun Cochran was solid through the winter and spring last year, but he found another gear when the calendar turned to summer. He was 7th at the Potomac River FLW the third week of June, then caught the winning fish in sight of his house at Hamilton to win the Forrest L. Wood Championship. His hot streak continued over the next month with Top 5s as the Classic and Top Gun. "I love the summer because I really understand how to fish at that time of year," he said. "I like to fish shallow water, and a lot of the fish are shallow in the summer." He used to go after those thin-water fish primarily with spinnerbaits and worms. Nowadays, he usually employs a crankbait. "Spinnerbaits just aren't as effective as they were at one time – you kind of have to let the weather dictate when to use them," he said. "But what I've started to do over the last 3 years is throw shallow crankbaits into the cover in those same kinds of places. Most people associate crankbaits with structure and deeper water, but I've learned to fish them right through the shallow cover, and that's something different than what the average guy is doing." He uses a variety of baits, but he has the most confidence in a Strike King Series 1 in either chartreuse/black-back or bone/green-back (shad). "I call the Series 1 my Mr. Money Bait," he said. "There are very few times when I find fish that I don't catch limits on it." Big-Game Player Until this year, the Classic had always been staged in late summer, and Cochran said that's one reason he's usually had success in the sport's premier event. Another is because he has the ability to raise the level of his game for the biggest tournaments. He provided strong evidence of that at the end of last season. "If a big tournament is coming up, I'll start psyching myself up a month ahead of time," he said. "I'll start eating differently and taking long walks and playing with my tackle and going through my gameplan in my mind. "I really get up for the big tournaments like the Classic or the FLW Championship, and it seems like my skill level goes up a notch. It seems like I can reach back and do my best fishing when there's the most on the line, and maybe that's because I'm more focused." He knows next month's Classic at Lake Toho, which will be his 21st, might also be his last. He's not fishing the new Bassmaster Elite Series this year and doesn't know if he ever will. "It could be my last (Classic), and I'm real excited about fishing it," he said. "I made my reputation and my living fishing BASS and it was so good to me for so many years, but I'm going in a different direction right now and this could be my last one. "It's at a different time of year at a different kind of place and it should be a good tournament as long as the weather doesn't screw it up. An Arctic front could come through and the fishing could be horrible, but there's probably a 75 percent chance that the weather will be nice and the fishing will be good." No Distractions On The Road Cochran said all the traveling he did in 2005 was a major grind, but he performs better when he's on the road for an extended period rather than when he has short breaks between tournaments. He and Larry Nixon – his great friend, travel partner, fellow Arkansan and fellow fishing icon – were gone for as many as 90 days at a time while fishing both tours last year. "When I'm gone for a long time, that's a lot better for me than spacing them out," he said. "I do my best fishing when I'm on the water all the time, going from tournament to tournament and staying focused. Sometimes guys have a problem when they're going home in between – they get out of their rhythm and then they can't get back into it." He and Nixon will compete on both the FLW Tour and the new FLW Series this year. He said that combined schedule suits him nicely. "I'm going to be down to about 12 tournaments a year (from 19 in '05), and that's perfect," he said. "And as long as my health and my attitude stay good and I've still got some sand in my shoes, then I'm going to try to fish until I'm 65. "I just love all the people, I love the other fishermen and this is all I've ever done," he added. "I don't know what life would be like for George Cochran if I wasn't around fishing. You could just shoot me, I guess." Notable > On winning the BassFan COY, Cochran had this to say: "It's really nice. The funny thing about this sport is that if you're going good you get noticed, if you're doing bad you don't get noticed and nobody pays much attention if you're just rolling along. It's always great to get noticed." > Nixon said that Cochran's 2005 performance inspires confidence in the over-50 crowd. "There's no doubt about it. The great thing about it is, I don't care if you're 65 or 75, a good fisherman in a given week can beat everybody else. We can still catch fish as good as we ever did, but there are certain lures that we just can't maintain an 8-hour pace with like we used to. We just have to outsmart those younger guys." > Cochran finished 47th at last week's FLW season opener at Okeechobee. "I'd call that a 'C' if I was being graded," he said. "When I first got there I found a bunch of fish and I was excited, but then we had the bad winds and bad fronts and that messed up my best area, so I had to go to Plan B in another area. But I survived the first tournament. It's important for me to get an average score in every one because I figure I'll do real well in one or two. You just can't have a throw-out."

Cochran wins $500,000 at Forrest L. Wood Championship

16.Jul.2005

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Standing before an arena filled to capacity with cheering, hometown bass-fishing fans, George Cochran of Hot Springs brought in a winning catch of five bass weighing 10 pounds, 3 ounces to pocket $500,000 in the Forrest L. Wood Championship presented by Castrol on Lake Hamilton. The half-million dollar check is the largest first-place award in professional bass fishing.

Cochran entered the event as the No. 16 seed and displaced No. 33 seed Sandy Melvin of Boca Grande, Fla., at the end of the first round. During Friday’s semifinal round, Cochran was paired against No. 9 seed Brent Chapman of Lake Quivira, Kan. There, he again brought in a limit of bass to defeat Chapman and advance to the final round where he ultimately claimed the half-million dollar prize.

“When you get to be my age, it seems like the most important victories are at the end,” Cochran laughed. “I don’t think I’ll have to worry about money for a while.

“But money is just a tool. I love to fish, and I love competing against my friends.”

Cochran pointed out that in a tournament of this caliber, anglers need to have an “ace in the hole.”

“There are very few times that everything goes just like you plan,” Cochran said, “but I had a bank where I knew I could catch some fish. I didn’t touch it at all during practice or during the tournament until today. But I went in there this morning, missed one on the first cast and landed a keeper on the second cast. I had my limit in the boat by 9 o’clock. That bank was my ‘ace in the hole.’”

Cochran, well-known for being a master of shallow-water angling, threw topwater lures, including Baby Chug Bugs and buzzbaits, and a 5-inch trick worm. He concentrated on fish around boat docks in particular, where heavy, line-shredding cables made fishing with heavy, 15-pound monofilament a must.

The bite was best early in the day before bass could get a good look at anglers’ lures. Working the topwater lures at a quick pace was the key to getting strikes, according to Cochran, who fished within site of his lakeside home during the entire event.

Cochran, a veteran of tournament fishing on the FLW Tour, as well as the Bassmaster Tour, had more than $1.24 million worth of winnings to his credit prior to this event, including two Bassmaster Classic wins in 1987 and 1996. Now, his career earnings come to a total of $1,742,509 – an increase of more than 40 percent.

Cochran has qualified for the Forrest L. Wood Championship five times, but this was the first time he’s ever won the event. Following this year’s Bassmaster Classic, Cochran said he’ll be exclusively fishing the FLW Tour in 2006.

The top 48 anglers from the six-event 2005 Wal-Mart FLW Tour advanced to the championship. Anglers were seeded according to their year-end ranking, with the No. 1 pro fishing head-to-head against the No. 48 seed, the No. 2 seed fishing against the No. 47 seed, and so on. The twelve anglers who advanced to the final round fished for the heaviest weight of the day.

Rounding out the top five pros were Chad Grigsby of Colon, Mich. (five bass, 6 pounds, 7 ounces, $50,000); John Murray of Phoenix, Ariz., (five bass, 5 pounds, 4 ounces, $40,000); Dean Rojas of Grand Saline, Texas (five bass, 5 pounds, 4 ounces, $35,000); and Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, S.C. (five bass, 5 pounds, $30,000). Murray and Rojas had identical final-round totals, but Murray took third place because he was the higher seed entering the event.

Friday’s action saw the conclusion of the co-angler competition after the co-angler field cut down from 48 to 24 on Thursday. Trevor Janscasz of White Pigeon, Mich., walked away with a check for $25,000, thanks to his tournament-winning catch of three bass weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces.

Allen Tillery Chevrolet held a drawing to award a bass boat to one lucky fan. Army National Guard Sgt. Daniel Geremy Newman, 28, of Hot Springs won the new Ranger Z-20 Comanche worth $47,500. The boat is powered by Yamaha, EverStart Batteries, Garmin electronics and a Minn Kota trolling motor.

Day-four notes:

Forrest L. Wood Championship winner George Cochran of Hot Springs, Ark., entered the event with $1,242,509 in pro bass-fishing earnings accumulated through his 26-year career – one of the most successful careers in the sport. With the $500,000 payday he collected Saturday in Hot Springs, Cochran boosted his career earnings by 40.2 percent to $1,742,509.

BFGoodrich Tires pro Chad Grigsby of Colon, Mich., finished the championship in second place. The top-10 finish was Grigsby’s third of the year, and he ended the 2005 FLW Tour season with earnings of $102,000.

Once again, the fishing on Lake Hamilton was very tough. Only the top five pros caught 5 pounds or more.

The 12 pro finalists at the Forrest L. Wood Championship have career earnings totaling $9,290,185 and have 101 Forrest L. Wood Championship and Bassmaster Classic appearances, including five wins.

Cochran’s final-round bass were worth $3,067.48 per ounce – more than seven times the current value of gold at $420 per ounce.

Old Glory
Cochran Wins, Says
Still Feels The Fire

Saturday, July 16, 2005

They said the local couldn't win. They said he was too old – he didn't have the fire. But George Cochran woke up this morning, drove down the street to the Forrest L. Wood Championship launch and attacked the lake like he needed this win more than any other. Like he had something to prove. Like it was his day, not theirs.

He'd laid off his best area all week – an untouched stretch of bank within sight of his house. He went straight there this morning, rocked two 2-pounders and left the entire field sucking 2-stroke smoke.

Nobody else was even close. His 10-03 limit (which would have been 10-11 except for a dead-fish penalty), was 3-12 better than 2nd-place Chad Grigsby. Grigsby weighed five for 6-07 today and John Murray finished 3rd with a 5-04 limit. Rojas tied Murray but finished 4th (tiebreaker is 2005 Angler of the Year points standings). Anthony Gagliardi rounded out the Top 5 today with a 5-00 limit.

The rest of the Top 12 look like this:

6. Alton Jones: 5, 4-14
7. J.T. Kenney: 5, 4-13
8. Wesley Strader: 4, 4-12
9. Robert Karbas, Jr.: 3, 4-03
10. Takahiro Omori: 4, 3-02
11. Larry Nixon: 3, 3-02
12. Chip Harrison: 2, 2-01

The thunderstorms of yesterday never appeared today, and conditions were largely hot and sunny, like days 1 and 2 of competition.

Cochran Happy, Tired

"The lord answered my prayers last night," Cochran said. "I got about 4 1/2 hours of sleep last night. I dreamed about winning this."

This is his second FLW Tour win ─- his first was at Kentucky Lake in 1996. He's also won two Bassmaster Classics (1987, 1996). The 55-year-old veteran knows his career was close to twilight, and said that's what makes this win so special. It's also special because he won it in his hometown.

"When you get to 55, I know that my career is getting close to the end. But it seems like the most important victories are the ones late in your career. This has set me up financially. I won't have to worry about (money) for a while.

"My family's all hear. My friends. I had 40 boats following me. The people were cheering. It can't get any better than this – when you're at home, and everybody's cheering you on."

He also said, if he had to choose, he'd rather win this tournament than the Bassmaster Classic, 2 weeks from now. "I'd pick this one (FLW). I'm going to retire from BASS. I've made up my mind. I'm too old to be gone. I've been gone 126 days from January. I enjoy fishing, but I'm just wore out. And my arms and stuff are going to wear out.

"I picked a good tournament to win."

All weights were zeroed this morning, and the 12 anglers started a 1-day shootout for a half-million dollars. He said he pulled up to his spot – one he'd saved all week – missed his first fish, then caught his second. Within an hour, he was culling.

"You get an adrenaline high when you love what you're doing," he said. "When I caught my fifth fish, I was shaking I was so nervous. I still have the fire in my stomach to compete.

"I know I'm not as accurate, and that I can't see as good, and I don't have the energy (I had) when I was 35. But what makes up for it is I think I'm smarter (now). I fish better than I used to. Like today, I knew where to go. I fished fast but slow. I knew the lures to stay with. In other words, I have a lot more knowledge than I used to.

"I still can focus real good. I think that's the main thing. Today I gave it all I had. I was completely focused. I never lost one. I casted good. I did everything just like I wanted to.

"I stayed in the right area – at the peak time. I didn't run around. The strategy worked."

He caught his two big fish today – the fish that won the tournament – on a 1/4-ounce Strike King buzzbait with a red head and white skirt.


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