On a windy Florida day that left much of the 40-angler field scratching their heads, Brett Hite found a perfect spot on the Harris Chain where he could fish offshore grass and put his signature baits to work. He put 83 pounds, 5 ounces on SCORETRACKER® during the first day of competition in the Favorite Fishing Stage Three Presented by Bass Cat Boats.

Hite will return to the Harris Chain with the rest of Group A on Sunday, and if he’s able to stay on top of SCORETRACKER®, he’ll skip the Knockout Round and advance straight to the Stage Three Championship Round. Luckily for Hite, he currently has more than a 40-pound lead over the second-place angler.