Leader Anthony Gagliardi finally broke out of a nearly two-hour SCORETRACKER lull with a 1-4, but the angler to watch as the final two hours unfold on the Kissimmee Chain is Jacob Powroznik.
J-Proz made a second-period surge that started with a 3-6 and pushed the Virginia pro into second place with 29-4.
“These Florida fish will find the gnarliest stuff to get up under when it gets cold, and all you can do is fish real slow,” Powroznik said. “I haven’t been lucky enough to find a 8-, 9-, 10-pounder, but I like that (slow) kind of fishing.”
-Joel Shangle
LIVE BLOG: Gagliardi rides jerkbait bite to big Period 2 cushion
Current daily leader Anthony Gagliardi is stretching his legs in his very first MLF Bass Pro Tour event with over 40 pounds before Period 3. The South Carolina native went on a 27-minute run early in the period where he hung 10 fish for over 20 pounds on his official’s SCORETRACKER scale.
Garliardi has stuck to one area on the upper end of Toho, doing most of his damage with a jerkbait.
-Joel Shangle
LIVE BLOG: Where are you watching MLF NOW! today?
I just snapped a photo of “MLF fan Tim” double-dipping for his Bass Pro Tour fix: he’s on the water, following Shaw Grigsby around Lake Toho, simultaneously watching the action on the MLF NOW! live stream.
So far so good, according to Tim: “This is amazing! So much better than watching golf!”
-Josh Gassmann
LIVE BLOG: Offshore fishing proving successful
With the temperatures in the 50s, some of the round’s top anglers have taken to some offshore fishing, which has produced some large fish.
Anthony Gagliardi, Greg Hackney, Brandon Palaniuk, and Kevin VanDam have all spent most of their morning away from the shoreline, flipping through lily pads and hydrilla with some success.
Gagliardi continues to roll through the Shotgun Round with a total weight of 40 pounds, 10 ounces. He is currently ahead of second place Greg Hackney by more than 15 pounds.
-Mason Prince
LIVE BLOG: Gagliardi has numbers, Hackney has size
Early into the second period. today’s SCORETRACKER results are the perfect example of the strategy challenge of “numbers vs. size”.
Current leader Anthony Gagliardi has 16 fish for 31 pounds, 2 ounces (an average of 1-15 per fish). Second-place angler Greg Hackney’s average size is notably bigger: he’s at 21-2, an average of 2-10 per fish (highlighted by a 6-6, the current biggest fish of the morning).
After a Period 1 flurry of 4-plus-pounders, the bite has been tougher up and down the Kissimmee Chain. Hackney seems fine with that: “It’s Florida. I’m still happy to start the season in Florida,” he just said.
-Joel Shangle
LIVE BLOG: Big Fish Chewing This Morning on Kissimmee Chain
A 10-miles-per-hour wind greeted the 40 anglers competing this morning in Shotgun Round 2 of the MLF Bass Pro Tour B & W Trailer Hitches Stage One presented By Power-Pole on the Kissimmee Chain. The result: Lake Toho and Lake Kissimmee’s largemouth are on the chew.
The first hour of competition has produced several big fish: Greg Hackney jacked a 6-pound, 6-ouncer, Jason Christie boated a 6-3, Terry Scroggins put a 5-1 on SCORETRACKER, and both John Murray and Gerald Swindle are on the board with 4-plus-pounders.
-Joel Shangle