Stahl's lead swells to nearly 20 pounds at Kissimmee Chain

A second straight 28-pound stringer has Cody Stahl in command at the Kissimmee Chain Bassmaster Open entering the final day on Saturday.

Stahl followed up his 28-09 effort on day 1 with a 28-00 limit Friday, giving the Georgia angler a staggering 56-09 through two days. His lead over Cliff Prince is 19-07.

Only 11 bags caught through the first two days exceeded 19-07 and 113 anglers failed to tally 19-07 in the event.

Prince caught just 11-00 and clings to a one-ounce cushion over third-place Jonathon VanDam, who caught 19-11 to jump up seven spots with 37-01.

“This is just one of those events where you prep for it in practice, you mentally prepare for the conditions and where these fish are headed and it actually pans out,” Stahl said. “Not too many times do you find a place in practice where you catch 1-pounders and you have a feeling that this is where it’s gonna go down; this is where you think the fish are moving, and you put yourself in that spot.

“I’m fishing a stopping point for prespawn bass, but I know there probably are some fish spawning out there, just because of how shallow it is. The majority of these fish are feeding up before they go spawn.”

Stahl, who anchored his bag with an 8-14, stuck to his Day 1 script and fished one particular area at the lower end of Lake Toho. While his practice results were far from impressive, it was the site’s promising potential that prompted Stahl’s commitment.

Winter Storm Fern, which blasted much of the nation with extreme conditions, lowered air and water temperatures right before the event began. Stahl, however, was undeterred, as the event’s warming direction and the approaching full moon (Feb. 1) told him big things were coming.

“I caught better weight and way bigger fish up shallow on the bank, but based on history and experience, I knew what was gonna happen with the conditions that we’re having, the (rising) water temperature and how those fish were gonna react,” Stahl said. “I put myself in a position to find one of the places where the big fish go and in two and a half days of practice and I found one.

“That spot met all the requirements, it had all the ingredients for it to go down. It had the bucks (smaller male bass) there in practice and all I was waiting for was that weather to come in and push those females right there on the edge. That’s exactly what happened.”

Day 1 saw Stahl rotate between two baits, but a single presentation — a lipless crankbait — produced all of his Day 2 fish. Stahl also narrowed down key sections within his spot.

In The Hunt

2nd: Cliff Prince (10, 37-02)

Hailing from Palatka, Fla., Prince saw his productivity slip with a second-day limit of 11-0.

“In Florida, you catch ’em when they’re biting,” Prince said. “I did all I could yesterday and all I could today and I didn’t lay off of ‘em yesterday.”

Prince had been catching most of his fish on a bladed jig, but a tip from a fellow angler fishing nearby led him to catch a couple of good ones on a swim jig.

“I caught a couple that helped me, but if I had made that change earlier in the day, I probably would have been better off,” Prince said.

3rd: Jonathon VanDam (10, 37-01)

VanDam placed 10th on Day 1 with 17-6. He added a Day 2 limit of 19-11.

“It was just fishing a big flat where you kinda have to mill around a little bit, but there’s definitely little key zones where it seems the fish are concentrated,” VanDam said. “It definitely seems like there are some bite windows.”

Moving baits produced most of VanDam’s fish. He also caught one of his limit fish on a finesse presentation.

By the Numbers

Field: 181 boats

Limits: 106

Big Bass: 10-07 (Jonathan Kelley, Day 1)

Top 10

1. Cody Stahl: 10, 56-09

2. Cliff Prince: 10, 37-02

3. Jonathon VanDam: 10, 37-01

4. Stephen Browning: 10, 36-01

5. Jonthan Kelley: 8, 33-10

6. Freddy Palmer: 9, 33-03

7. Noah Winslow: 10, 32-12

8. Bo Thomas: 10, 32-08

9. Terry Scroggins: 10, 32-02

10. Niko Romero: 10, 31-15

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