How Southern Open #1 was won

Though almost 200 boats launched for competition on Jan. 28, by the third and final day of Kissimmee competition the field had been culled down to 12 pro anglers. The final group, that included more than a few familiar faces, found success through tried and traditional techniques and added in a few surprises as well.

Captions: Ronnie Moore

Brad Knight stormed out to take the Day 1 lead with more than 22 pounds on Thursday. His big day helped propel him to the final day due to the tough bite and changing conditions that the Kissimmee Chain experienced throughout the week.

Knight said his big day on Thursday couldâve been an even bigger day because he went 1-for-3 on landing fish over 9 pounds. He brought one to the scales, but somehow lost the other two giants in the thick cover. A frog was key for his Day 1.

He also mixed in a vibrating jig to catch his fish on Day 2 and 3. Flipping was also a technique in his arsenal. Knight finished in 12th place in the first Southern Open of the season.

After Day 1 Terry Scroggins found himself in check range with just under 14 pounds, but on Day 2 he rebounded with a big bag. It propelled him up the leaderboard and into the final day of competition.

Trailing by 5 pounds, Scroggins said he tried to catch a 25-pound bag to give him a shot to win, but that didnât pan out and he fell a few spots to finish in 11th place.

Jason Williamson relied on two areas to make the final day of competition. After Day 1 he was in fifth place and remained in the fifth spot heading into the final day. He flipped heavy cover with a big tungsten weight for most of the event.

After bouncing from his starting spot in Lake Toho everyday, Williamson would head through the lock system and into Lake Kissimmee. He spent at least two hours in Toho for both Days 1 and 2, but the final morning with less traffic at the lock Williamson only stayed for an hour.

Williamson placed 10th with a three-day total of 36 pounds even. Unlike Days 1 and 2, he didnât catch a fish in Lake Toho on the final day. Normally he would lock through with a couple bass in his livewell, but the final morning he went to Kissimmee in search of his first bass.

Itâs no surprise that Ish Monroe made the final day on a fishery that is notorious for a great flipping bite with ample cover to pick apart.

I found Monroe on Lake Toho on the final day, but word has it that he was around this area for a good portion of the tournament. The fantastic flipper broke down his setup that he uses to flip heavy vegetation in an article with Craig Lamb â read here.

Monroe only managed a Day 3 limit weighing 7-9, but it was good enough for ninth place. His three-day total was 39 pounds even.

Kazuki Kitajima is originally from Japan, but he now calls Florida home. This week he put some Japanese baits to the test, and they proved fruitful to fool some Kissimmee Chain largemouth bass.

He was flipping 1 1/2 to 2 ounces of tungsten with a punch skirt with a Daiwa Pu Paddle Hog (right) and a Geecrack Gyro Star Shad Tail Minnow (left). He said the bass never see a little swimbait getting punched through the cover so he has been trying it and it slides through the cover with ease.

Kitajima fished in Lake Kissimmee near Cody Detweiler, but he wanted to maintain a respectable distance and not fish too close. Genuine sportsmanship was shown by both Kitajima and Detweiler. Kitajima took home eighth place.

Another expected Top 12 angler was Floridaâs Bobby Lane. Last year Lane finished second in this very event to Chad Morgenthaler. This year Lane started with only 11 pounds on Day 1, but with almost 18 pounds on Day 2 he bolstered his position into the Top 12.

A final day limit of 13-13 was the third biggest of the day and it moved him up to seventh for the event.

Stetson Blaylock started the event strong with a 17-pound bag on Thursday. After following it up with almost 16 pounds of Lake Kissimmee bass, he was in contention going into the final frame.

Blaylock finished the event in sixth place with a three-day total of 43 pounds, 1 ounce.

The Kissimmee Chain Southern Open defending champion Chad Morgenthaler had another strong showing last week. Like last year, he spent the majority of his time in Lake Toho while occasionally making a run to Kissimmee to finish off his limit.

He was flipping heavy cover and vegetation and hauled out 19 pounds, 10 ounces to get his tournament started.

When all was said and done, Morgenthaler tallied a fifth place finish after notching 45 pounds, 4 ounces over the three days of competition. His next scheduled tournament is the GEICO Bassmaster Classic in Tulsa, Okla., and he is fishing in it via his 2015 victory on this chain of lakes.

Eric Panzironi stood tall as the lone Floridian in the Top 20 after Day 1 of competition. Panzironi is from just down the road and used his knowledge of the fishery to bolster a consistent two days, which had him sitting in second place going into Saturdayâs final day.

Panzironi threw a swim jig with a Zoom Speed Worm as a trailer to catch some of his fish while his other main technique was flipping a heavy tungsten weight with a punch skirt and a beaver style plastic on its business end.

He took home fourth place after catching more than 13 pounds on the tough final day. Panzironi stayed in Toho for every minute of competition. He may have been the only final day angler to do so.

Mark Rose hauled in the biggest bag of the final day to jump from eighth place and into third by the slimmest of margins.

He threw a lipless crankbait in Cypress Lake for the majority of the tournament. He said he had a couple groups of fish that he would target in the thick hydrilla by pulling a lipless crankbait through the abundant vegetation.

Rose finished third by just 4 ounces and was only 2 ounces from second place. The top three anglers were neck-and-neck in the standings.

Local stick Cody Detweiler made a hard charge up the leaderboard after only catching 14 pounds on Day 1 of the event. The Orlando angler has lived in this area his entire life and his parents own Big Toho Marina, which is where the launch is every time the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens visit the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes.

Detweiler relied on numerous baits based on the changing weather condtions that the event handed to the anglers. He punched a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver, threw a Z-Manâs Original Chatterbait and also swam a Humdinger jig. All of those baits contributed to Detweilerâs second place finish.

Detweiler fished in Lake Kissimmee, which may sound normal, but for him is very different. He said he prefers Toho almost all the time and that he spent time a few weeks before the tournament fishing in Kissimmee just to gain some confidence. After catching a 30-pound bag in Kissimmee a week before the tournament, Detweiler found all the confidence he needed.

He pushed Wesley Strader to the very edge, but eventually lost by just 2 ounces. The local stick weighed 15 bass for 50 pounds, 3 ounces over the three-day tournament.

Wesley Stader narrowly missed an Elite Series invite via the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Northern division in 2015, but there was no missing for Strader on the Kissimmee Chain this past week. The Tennessee native boated key keepers on a variety of baits throughout the tournament.

After having a very tough practice, Strader went to the bank to catch two small bed fish he saw in practice. After doing so he stumbled upon a 5-pounder on the bed; he caught it. After his co-angler caught a good fish along some deep hydrilla Strader wanted to check it out. He then caught a couple of good fish that had him sitting in contention on Day 1 with 21 pounds, 9 ounces.

Word is he caught fish on a twin spin topwater bait, a vibrating jig, and also the few aforementioned bedding fish. Strader weighed 13-1 to take the title on the final day.

His three-day total of 50 pounds, 5 ounces gave him a slim 2-ounce margin of victory. The champ fished in Lake Kissimmee throughout the tournament.

As long as Strader competes in the final two Southern Opens of the Bassmaster Opens season then he will fish in his second Bassmaster Classic. His first was way back when Mike Iaconelli won the Classic in Louisiana. Strader said he was overwhelmed with the Classic as a whole, but wonât get distracted in 2017.