KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Jacob Powroznik fished his first Major League Fishing event two days ago when he backed his Ranger into the water for the second Shotgun Round of the MLF Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One. It didn’t take him long to get the full MLF experience.

“The coolest part of the day was I got to catch my first MLF bass, and then I got my first penalty,” Powroznik laughed. “I got all of that knocked out of the way so I’m not a rookie anymore.”

Powroznik finished that day with 20 fish for 33 pounds, 8 ounces, and headed into today’s Elimination Round with a comfortable cushion between him and the elimination line. The weather will be a major story, just as it was in his first round, when cloud cover and temperatures below 60 degrees settled over the Kissimmee Chain the entire day.

Powroznik has experience with Florida bass and their cold-weather habits, so he knows what to expect.

“Florida bass are wussies,” Powroznik joked. “They run and hide when it gets cold because they’re used to it being 80 degrees the whole time. It’s one of those things that happens this time of year.”

The Virginia native didn’t put any larger fish on SCORETRACKER his first day (his biggest of the day was 3-6). However, going big-fish hunting wasn’t really part of his strategy.

“The big ones are hard to come by, but this is not about catching big ones,” Powroznik explains. “It’s about catching as many as you can and try to figure out what’s going on and what’s working best for you.”

Powroznik reeled in 20 fish on the day, which was tied for the second most behind Robinson’s 34. After his day was over, Powroznik was still thinking about the ones he didn’t score.

“I missed a lot (of fish),” Powroznik said. “They would get in there, slack my line, ease me down and before I could get them they were gone. Just kind of par for the course for cold weather in Florida. The good thing is I kind of figured it out towards the end of the day and I hope I can carry that into Friday.”