KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Southern Division event on the Kissimmee Chain was a master class in modern angling. Most of the top pros mixed very strong sonar sessions with Florida standards, and with the nice weather, bass got caught every which way.
Here’s what worked best for the top pros.
1. Morrison rides excellent ‘Scope sessions
Alec Morrison won handily and broke records along the way – he now owns basically every MLF weight record for the Kissimmee Chain, and his 90-pound, 14-ounce three-day total is also third all-time, and the only catch greater than 90 pounds that came from a fishery other than Falcon Lake.
Using several baits, one of his keys was a Megabass Vision 110 SR, which he tossed on a 6-foot, 11-inch Megabass Destroyer P5 Oneten Special.
2. Campbell keeps rolling
Making his third Top 10 of the season, Brody Campbell blasted over 30 pounds on Day 2 and would have won almost any other tournament on the Kissimmee Chain.
“I was running some brush piles first thing in the morning that had a shad spawn on them, I believe, and it was lights out every morning,” Campbell said. “I would hopefully catch a few giants – the second day when I had the mega bag, I had them all quickly in an hour.”
Then, Campbell continued to fish brush, and mixed in pads as well. For the brush, Campbell used a dice-style bait and a Scottsboro Tackle Co. Glide Bait. For shallower brush and pads, he mixed in a 5-inch Yamamoto Senko in black with a blue tip. On Day 2, Campbell actually caught a 4- and 6-pound double on the glide when his LiveScope was off – a testament to how good his bite was at times. Of course, he fished everything on Bird Dog Rods.
3. Offshore bite on Toho powers Jones
Anderson Jones definitely won the Toho tournament, putting up a lot of weight every day before his competitors had even made it through the lock.
“We pretty much had that upper section of Lake Toho to ourselves – there wasn’t anybody around us the first two days,” Jones said. “I knew there were a lot of fish in that area, so I pretty much stuck to it in practice. I found these little areas, grass clumps – super green – it was only a couple of inches high, but the greenest hydrilla I had ever seen. The fish would sit on it, and they would be firing on them every morning. I put the numbers in the boat the first two days.
“The third day, I targeted fish that were suspended,” he added. “I utilized the three-hour ‘Scope period for the first period in the morning and caught about a 20-pound limit in the morning.”
Jones used a variety of baits, including a Zoom Magnum Fluke, an umbrella rig, a 1/2-ounce BOOYAH One Knocker and a Lucky Craft LV RTO 170.
4. Brush also carries Mrazek
Fishing similarly to Campbell, Chad Mrazek started his days fishing roughly around brush.
“I was starting on offshore shad spawns with the always reliable 7-inch 6th Sense Shindo Shad,” he said. “I was catching most of mine on the minnow – my brush had hard spots around it, and the fish were roaming around that.”
When his sonar period was over, Mrazek locked a frog in his hand, and on Day 1, he caught an 8-13 off a bed on a 6th Sense Prawn in green pumpkin juice. He used 6th Sense rods across the board, and he used a 1/8-ounce head for his minnow.
5. Bakewell mixes lakes and tactics
Fishing both Kissimmee and Toho, Bobby Bakewell put together another excellent event in Florida, as he typically does.
His best baits included a Clutch Boss, a Bruiser Baits Big Stick with a 5/0 Gamakatsu G-Power hook and a 3/8-ounce Flat Out Tungsten weight, and a midrange Yo-Zuri Pro Series Jerkbait. He used a 7-10, heavy Fitzgerald Stunner HD V2 for the swimbait, with 25-pound Yo-Zuri T-7 fluoro. For the worm, he went with a 7-6, heavy Fitzgerald Stunner HD V2 and 65-pound Yo-Zuri SuperBraid 9, and he rolled with a 6-8, medium model and 12-pound Yo-Zuri T-7 for the jerkbait.
On Day 1, Bakewell went straight to Kissimmee and caught fish on the worm and casting, saving his forward-facing sonar time for the afternoon in Toho. On Day 2, he swapped game plans and put together a good morning with ‘Scope in Toho, fishing around grass clumps. On Day 3, the morning went well again, and he never left Toho, even catching a couple fish on the glide in the afternoon without the benefit of modern sonar.
6. Rocamora banks on transitioning fish
Fishing essentially the same forward-facing sonar pattern as Morrison, Garrett Rocamora put up a big bag on Day 1, stumbled on Day 2, and bounced back with 20 pounds on the final day.
“I started off each day running down to Kissimmee and using my ‘Scope period as soon as I got down to Kissimmee, on transitional prespawn and postspawn fish,” said Rocamora, who lives a few minutes from Camp Mack. “I basically ‘Scoped around shell bars near spawning areas, and used an 86 Baits Sentinel on fish that were roaming or set up on brush.”
A Florida native and very in tune with the fishery, Rocamora saw the strong offshore bite coming.
“I knew practice was going to be really good for spawning fish,” he said. “I planned ahead for the whole ‘Scoping thing. It’s not really my jam, but the stuff I figured out was the literal winning pattern. I had some areas for no ‘Scope where I caught spawning fish, so I ran isolated lily pads, reeds, or a grass and pad mix, and pretty much hoped I could run into them. But, my biggest thing was flipping the very outside edge of the Kissimmee grass, which, you’re not going to get many bites, but, if you do, it’s usually a big one.”
For baits, Rocamora used a crappie-colored 86 Baits Sentinel, a Black Sheep Custom Tackle G’s Swim Jig, a Rapala X-Rap Prop and a 6-inch Gambler Fat Ace in JB blue. He fished everything on 13 Fishing rods and reels.
7. Mixing and matching works for Ready
Fishing in Kissimmee the entire time, Andrew Ready mixed shallow fish and also ‘Scope fish.
“It was a mix of everything, I caught some fish on offshore hard spots, some throwing a ChatterBait shallow, some flipping shallow,” he said. “It was almost everything, basically junk fishing.”
Fishing slow, he used a custom stickworm and a black and blue flash Missile Baits D Bomb. To cover water, the Florida angler used a 3/8-ounce Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait JackHammer in black and blue or golden shiner, trailered with a matching Gambler Komodo.
8. Cortiana leans on shallow fish
Most of Kyle Cortiana’s weight came without the aid of Lowrance ActiveTarget, and he used some very standard baits to get the job done.
“I basically was fishing really shallow grass, less than 2 feet of water, hydrilla mixed in with eelgrass or coontail,” he said. “And then I was hitting all the isolated pads that had hydrilla around them. During the ‘Scope period, I would slip out and use forward-facing sonar baits to try to get a couple of kickers, but I probably weighed in 75 or 80% of my fish not using the ‘Scope.”
Shallow, he leaned on a 1/2-ounce Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait JackHammer in golden shiner, which he trailered with a YUM Sniper Shad. He also flipped a 6-inch YUM Dinger in Junebug chartreuse firetail on a 3/8-ounce Texas rig with a Trokar TK130. He fished the ChatterBait on a 7-2, medium-heavy Kistler Feel N Reel, and he used a 7-10, heavy Kistler Helium flipping stick for his worm.
9. Kissimmee and Toho mix plays for Quilatan
Roaring up into the Top 10 with a big bag on Day 3, Dylan Quilatan continued to be a sure thing in Florida. He mixed strong sonar sessions with some shallow fishing, and notably saved his LiveScope until the afternoon every day.
“Every morning I ran down to Kissimmee, and I’d get one or two big bites – the first two days I lost them,” he said. “Then, I’d run up to Toho at 11 or 12 and turn my ‘Scope on for three hours. I found an area with isolated grass clumps and brush piles, and the fish would be set up on top of them or roaming in between them, and I’d shake my Jerk ShadZ in front of as many as possible.”
In Kissimmee, he used a 1/2-ounce Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait JackHammer in golden shiner, which he trailered with a 5-inch Z-Man Jerk ShadZ in Tennessee shad. He also used a 1/8-ounce head and a 7-inch Z-Man Jerk ShadZ in mulletron. He used Viper Rods, which he makes, and stuck with a 7-foot, medium-light model for the minnow and a 7-3, medium-heavy model for the ChatterBait.
Fishing hydrilla mixed with pads in Kissimmee, Quilatan found a unique pattern.
“That was a cool bite – you had to sit there and wait for the fish to swim through,” he said. “If you found baitfish, you could pole down and wait for the fish to come to you. You’d hit a dry spell, and then for the next 30 minutes, you’d catch them every cast. But, you couldn’t move your boat, or you’d ruin the bait and the fish wouldn’t come through.”
10. Yavorsky keeps rolling
Fresh off a win in the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech event on Santee Cooper, Aaron Yavorsky slipped into the Top 10 at the Kissimmee Chain with a diverse game plan.
On Day 1, the young pro caught all his weight flipping in Kissimmee. Then, he leaned on Toho the rest of the way, minnowing fish in grass and on bait, as well as dragging a worm.
He used a 7-inch 6th Sense Shindo Shad, as well as a 9.5-inch 6th Sense Divine Shakey Worm with a 5/16-ounce weight. He used Fitzgerald rods for both, sticking with a 7-3, medium-heavy Stunner HD for the worm.