At the time of this writing during the second morning of the 2019 Toyota Bassmater Texas Fest benefiting Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Drew Benton and Drew Cook are holding down spots two and three on the BASSTrakk leaderboard. At this event BASSTrakk is official, unless there’s a human error.
Benton is a returning Elite Series pro and former Rookie of the Year, while Cook is a rookie earning his place through the Carhartt Bassmaster College series. Both serious contenders in their own right. Cook is currently in second place in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year race, and Benton is in 17th. As the season is halfway completed, both dudes are very much in the hunt.
Both are also in the hunt for the Classic berth that’s on the line here. The first-place angler will claim $100,000, a beautiful 45-pound coveted blue trophy and a guaranteed spot at the 2020 Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.
Drew Benton is the reigning Texas Fest champion; he won the event last year on Lake Travis near Austin. Texas has been good to him, and it continues to be.
The Drews shared a specific point on Lake Fork this morning, and it paid out substantially for both young men.
With both boats nearly rubbing bump rails, they shared the spot, swapping casts and ultimately sharing fish. I asked if I could climb aboard and get the scoop on what they were doing, and they happily agreed.
“I let Benton make the first cast,” Cook said. “He’s the older one, and I respect my elders.”
Benton flashed Cook the stink eye and nodded, “That’s right.
“As long as we don’t get tangled up, I’m good. And I can’t promise I’d put my rod down to help Cook pull a crankbait out of his hand,” Benton laughed.
“We both knew about this spot, and with the shad spawn taking place, the action has been pretty good. The minute the shad spawn is over for the day the bass will leave, so we had to take advantage of the action.”
Both Benton and Cook grew up in the same region of northwest Florida, and have known each other for years.
“We travel together, room together and share information,” Cook said. “We’ve known each other for years, but being on the same national tour now has allowed us to work together on a regular basis. And it pays off. The third wheel to our crew is David Mullins, and we’re missing him this morning,” he laughed.
“Ya, we kind of have to babysit Mullins,” Benton said with a grin. “We love to pick on him, but he brings the comic relief to the group. That, and I have to do his laundry all the time.”
Cook laughed and nodded in agreement.
(David, if you’re reading this, I’m only printing what they said. And I left out the meaner things because I know you’re sensitive. *insert laughing/crying emoji here*)
With Cook certainly in the running for AOY, keeping his mind free of that objective at this point in the season is important.
“I like to eat good barbeque,” he said. “There’s a little place near where we are staying that sells beef ribs the size of your femur. I mean they’re for real.
“Seriously though, I’d like to not think about AOY, but it’s impossible to stay away from it,” Cook explained. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint. It takes a whole season, so what’s happening now may or may not matter at the end of the season. Regardless, that information won’t affect how I fish. You just can’t let up against this crew of anglers, they won’t give you anything.”
Benton wholeheartedly agreed.
At that moment, Cook hooked up with a fine 4-pounder that helped cull him up to near 16 pounds.
Benton congratulated him.
At this level of the sport, trust is not something freely given or easily earned. However, camaraderie is still at the baseline of why fishing is so much fun — even on the Elite Series. And that’s clearly important to Cook and Benton.
Both anglers want to win, both are working on building careers that support their families, and to fulfill their dreams of being the best bass fisherman on the face of the planet. Yet at the same time, they can maintain a friendship that is rooted in the heart of our sport.
I think we could all learn from that.
Earlier today, they focused their efforts on a dwindling shad spawn that had bass up shallow. The shad spawn occurs overnight and into the early morning hours, but when the sun gets higher and the light gets brighter, the shad move to deeper water, only to be reinvigorated overnight, once again.
For one reason or another, that small grassy point both guys were set up on was attracting loads of shad, and that means plenty of big bass.
Cook would cast a topwater while Benton dragged a swimbait, then when Cook changed to a jerkbait and caught a few; Benton took note and did the same. The opposite is true, too. When Benton experienced a shift in the feeding pattern and adjusted to it, Cook noticed and did the same thing.
It’s almost like they were fishing with two lines in the water, figuratively speaking of course. Both are independent thinkers and very accomplished anglers, but remained open to what was happening next door, both made good decisions and cranked in the fish — together.
But as it always does, the bite slowed and the time to go their separate ways arrived. They exchanged pleasantries, which in the world of fishing buddies were actually insults, and off they went.
This encounter was a short one, but reminded me that the new Elite Series field has a bunch of new faces in it, yet it’s clearly holds a tremendous level of prestige, and an elevated level of respect and admiration for fellow competitors.
With weigh-in approaching, the Drews are still in command of spots two and three; obviously they’re onto something. At the time this article was uploaded and published Cook had 24 pounds, 4 ounces in second place, and Benton had 25-15 for third place.
Stay tuned.