Open: Day 1 behind the scenes

Day 1 on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes is over for the first flight of anglers as they head back into Big Toho Marina to weigh-in.

Ish Monroe is one of the first anglers to arrive and before he weighs his fish he cleans up his boat and stows his rods in his rod boxes. Monroe weighed over 16 pounds and it included an 8-pounder. He is in a good position to compete for a shot at the Top 10.

Mark Rose shows up and heads to the tanks to get his fish checked and weighed.

Backstage the first flight of anglers wait for the National Anthem and then they will be ready to roll and weigh their fish.

Bassmaster Opens Pro Stetson Blaylock bags up his Day 1 catch and receives help from his three-year old son.

Jason Williamson shows off a good one from Day 1 on the Kissimmee Chain. Williamson weighed over 18 pounds and is in fifth place after Thursdayâs competition.

Boats begin to fill up the launch ramp and everyone finds a spot of grass that they can park their boats. The weather during weigh-in went from cloudy and rainy to sunny and then back to rainy in a matter of moments for about three hours.

Destin Demarion finished off the 2015 season with a solid Top 10 on Lake Erie and he started off his 2016 season with a big bass late in the day. He sits in 21st with 14-8.

Former college angler William Shipes bags up one of his fish from Day 1. The amount of two-pounders weighed-in today was surprising to me. The bite was stingy according to anglers and the difference between being mired around 100 and being in the Top 20 was one big bite.

Gerald Swindle waits at his boat while his co-angler grabs a bag from the line. Swindle tinkers with some tackle while he waits. Anglers will do just about anything to get ahead of the game and get a little more rest on tournament days.

Jordan Lee arrives at the boat ramp and gets some assistance so his boat stays anchored against the shore.

Patrick Pierce has similar thoughts as Swindle and adjusts some tackle and his rods before putting the boat on the trailer.

Check out the view from the computer that helps stream the Bassmaster weigh-in. Tournament Director Chris Bowes is just through the mini window speaking with anglers as they come across the stage.

B.A.S.S. tournament official Alan Pierce checks out Lionel Bothaâs fish and makes sure they are all the legal size requirement.

Just outside of the holding tank area, anglers wait for more weigh-in bags. With the driving rain today isnât one of the most pleasurable days to wait for a bag outside.

Skylar Hamilton dodges as many puddles as possible as he makes his way backstage to get his fish checked and weighed-in.

Another couple inches of rain and a Florida bass may position itself along this grass line. With every drop of rain that falls in the area, Lake Toho and the Kissimmee Chain will continue to rise, which will effect those anglers trying to visibly fish for bedding bass.

Tournament Director Chris Bowes welcomes another angler to the stage on Day 1 of the event. There are 200 boats in this event, which means there are 400 anglers that potentially could weigh fish. Thatâs a lot of conversations over the course of the week.