Hi, I am John Cook, a 19-year-old tournament bass fisherman from Horsham, Pennsylvania.

My fishing experience started a good while back.  I started fishing a small farm pond in Buckingham, Pennsylvania when I was about 2 or 3 years old.  In this pond, not only did I spend hours catching tons of fish and developing the love for fishing I have now, but I also learned tons of important fishing techniques like casting.

During the summer of 2004, a new program was being offered for youth anglers.  It was called Youth Bass Anglers Conservation School (YBACS).  2004 was the first ever YBACS, and only twenty-six students were being accepted.  You had to write an essay, as well as get a recommendation letter from a teacher.  Out of over two hundred, I was selected as one of the twenty-six students.  YBACS went over many things extremely helpful to an angler, including structure building, stream and river habitat and conservation, the effects humans have on bass and fishing, fishing techniques, and many other fishing and conservation tools and tips.  This was also the summer before my first tournament.  

Since then, I have been fishing in FLW’s Bass Fishing League (BFL), as well as a few Strens here and there.  I have been in a total of fifteen tournaments, with four top tens to this date.   

My goal in fishing is not to win millions of dollars, be the best fisherman in the world, be more famous then any other fisherman, and live happily ever after in the fishing hall of fame (although that would be nice).  Most important to me is the success of the sport of fishing.  And no matter how we look at it, that cannot happen without introducing more people, more specifically the youth and people in more urban areas.  Without fisherman and fisherwomen, there will be no fishing.  Fishing is not a popular sport for the kids I grew up around. This is not because they think fishing is not fun, or because they just do not want to go fishing.  It is because most of my peers and the kids younger then me have not been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to go fishing.  No one ever took them.  I have taken many friends fishing who never had the opportunity before, and they had a great time. 

Tackle Boxes 2 Go is more than a sponsor of mine.  This is a company I am truly passionate about.  Any fisherman or women, both beginner and expert, can buy a box from Tackle Boxes 2 Go, get a rod and reel, tie on one of the lures in the box, cast out, and catch fish.  The people at Tackle Boxes 2 Go do not put lures in their boxes because a company tells them to, or because they want to promote that lure.  They put the lures in the box because these lures catch fish.  They know from their experience, as well as the input from other anglers, not people that sit behind a desk and promote products without ever using these products.  If you are new to fishing, new to a more specific kind of fishing (Canadian, northern woods, stream fishing, and bass fishing, and many more boxes coming soon), or just want to get the newest and hottest lures on the market, Tackle Boxes 2 Go is the best way to start, no question.

John Cook’s Tournament Stats:

Career earnings: $ 3,559
Number of Top-10 tournament finishes: 4
Weight of largest day's catch: 15 lbs, 9 oz, (2005, Stren Series, Northern , Lake Champlain, NY)
Number of times on the money: 6

6th in points as a co-angler in the 2006 BFL Empire Division season.

2006 BFL regional qualifier on Smith Mountain Lake, VA.

Top ten tournaments:
3rd BFL Northeast Division on the Chesapeake Bay, MD, 2007
6th Stren Northern Division on Lake Champlain, NY, 2005
8th BFL Empire Division Super Tournament on Lake Champlain, NY, 2006
9th BFL Northeast Division on the Potomac River, MD, 2007

See full tournament stats at: http://flw.flwoutdoors.com/ap/bio.cfm?mid=187182

More Tournament Pictures from John Coming Soon