KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Zack Birge is one of the younger anglers on the Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour, but during Shotgun Round 1 of Stage One, he handled the Kissimmee Chain like a 20-year veteran.

“My day started off tough,” Birge admitted. “I got up to fifth (place) about an hour or so in, and then I fell to 20th. I had to fight and claw my way back up there later in the day.”

Birge had a slow start, but ended the day with an exclamation point. His final fish weighed in at 5 pounds, 3 ounces and pushed him into the top 5 with a total weight of 36-9. But that fish almost didn’t make it onto SCORETRACKER.

“By the time I got it in and got it weighed, we had 15 seconds left in the round,” Birge said. “It showed me there’s a lot of good, quality fish moving in the area that I was fishing late in the day.”

But the highlight of Birge’s day was also the highlight of the entire Shotgun Round. The Oklahoma native reeled in the big bass of the day, a 6-12 hog that took him by surprise.

“It was kind of random,” Birge said with a grin. “I picked up my spinning rod for a minute and made a long cast. I immediately knew it was a good one because it felt heavy when I set the hook. When I got it in my hands I said, ‘That’s how you do it right there.’”

Birge used a Favorite 7-3 Summit Series spinning rod, Daiwa reel, 15-pound Yo-Zuri braid and a small swimbait to top the big bass charts. The 27-year-old was excited to make some MLF history with that bass.

“For that to be the first big bass for the first-ever Bass Pro Tour event, that’s pretty cool,” Birge said. “At least I can say I’m first on something.”

Birge will relax on Wednesday while Group B competes in Shotgun Round 2, but he’ll take some lessons he learned on the water on Tuesday, and use them in his Elimination Round come Thursday.

“You have to keep an open mind, that’s the biggest thing here,” Birge explained. “Keep fishing hard, keep an open mind and do your best.”