Emotions peak at the KBF Kick Off

The one constant in the competitive bass fishing world that drives all anglers towards success is passion. The adrenaline that shoots through our veins waiting for the launch, first cast and first bite is what makes anglers feel alive and coming back for more. This was on full display at the Kayak Bass Fishing Polk County event in Florida.

The field was stacked with anglers from across the country looking to start their year off with a bang in the unfamiliar to most waters of Florida that hold some of the biggest concentrations of giant bass in the country. From California to New England, anglers pulled into Florida with nothing but these giants on their minds along with a chance to get into to the KBF The Ten house.

sunrise over lily pads florida
An amazing sunrise in Polk County at the Kayak Bass Fishing kickoff for 2023. Photo by Justin Faircloth.

An Early Cold Front

The week of practice was showing some promise for many anglers that were putting together great practice days with 5 fish limits in the high 90’s while the weather was warm and the bass actively roaming and feeding. By Thursday night however the temps fell into the 40’s and slowed down the bites Friday. The weather was going to start the other direction on Trail I Saturday, and would warm back up gradually however the water temps had dropped nearly 10 degrees with 2 bitterly cold windy nights. Generally for anglers it always feels the opposite happens and the cold front seems to come in for the event, destroying the patterns found in practice.

The water still cold Saturday morning would see the bass hanging in the deeper edges tighter into the grass. As the sun came out for a little while while bass moved in shallower warming water. North winds still pushing fairly strong. By Sunday the warming trend was in full effect and if you made the right adjustments you were in for a battle. The bass seemed to move to more open areas on outside edges of grass verse deep in them in some areas.

Wilderness Sytems Pro Team angler Eric Nelson explained "The more active bass seemed to be deep in the grass in the morning, but as the sun came up and peaked out the big girls could be found in the dirt but getting them to bite was a little more challenging. The frog bite was on in the morning in thick hydrilla mats, which made for an exiting start to the event but the  bigger bite came shallow for me around midday. The fishing was amazing even though I fell a little short. The numbers of bass caught kept you on edge all day!"

Some anglers found themselves struggling on Saturday, to figuring them out on Sunday and vice versa. Adjusting to the weather is key in spring when the bass are wanting to spawn and feed more aggressively than normal.

Nelson found the bass were positioned differently on Sunday "They seemed to be more in the open as the water warmed than they were on Saturday. A lot of my bites came on the sunny side of isolated pads and on the outside edges of the grass."

kayak angler launching in the dark
North Carolina angler Jeremy Hicks launching at one of the most famous eateries in Polk County. Photo by Eric Nelson.

Polk County Trail I Results

Anglers pulled into Mack’s Fish Camp with kayaks on car tops, trailers and hanging out of pickup truck beds. You could see the varying emotions on each angler from disappointment in their performance to the excitement of knowing you fared well. Of course all of the anglers seemed pretty content and happy that they were in Florida, and Trail II was hours away.

Mike Lavoie pulled out the win with 98.75 inches of Florida bass with 2 giants anchoring his limit - a 23.75 inches and 22.25 inches. Right behind Mike with 96.75 inches was the 2022 National Champion, KBF The Ten qualifier and Wilderness Systems Pro Team member Rus Snyders who had a monster 24.5 inch beast on the board to also take the Dakota Lithium Big Bass. 3rd place went to Adam Patrone who had a more consistent limit of bass with 4 in the 20 inch range and one smaller 15.5 inch bass that he couldn’t cull in time.

Big Bass
Rus Snyder's monster 24.5 inch Trail I Dakota Lithium Big Bass

Polk County Trail II Results

Anglers seemed to have completely different results from Trail I where many shifted waters or adjusted tactics. As the water got back up into the high 60’s. Only 3 anglers - Joshua Sharp, Robert Weiker and Glenn Landstrom were in the top 10 on both days. Anglers again with mixed emotions loading into Mack’s Fish Camp some in better moods, some a little less excited than the previous day.

Mike Elsea and Chad Hoover had been worked up over a duplicate fish issue that them both a little riled up. Luckily video releases of the fish in question and subsequent follow up saved the day for Elsea.

An angler with a turnaround day was the aforementioned former KBF National Champion Mike Elsea found his way from 22nd in Trail I to top of the podium for Trail II with 96.25 inches. Josh Stewart also had a turnaround day with 95.75 inches to land him in 2nd with Bobby Dennison following in 3rd place with 93.75 inches with a giant 24.75 inch bass that would also take the Dakota Lithium Big Bass.

big bass
Bobby Dennison's 24.75 inch on Trail II to take the Dakota Lithium Big Bass

Tenvitational and Double-Up Winner Struggles to Hold Back Emotions

Overall winner for the Double Up - powered by Dakota Lithium Batteries and Tenvitational was Huntingburg, Indiana angler Glenn Landstrom that the achievement overwhelmed him in an as he had a well deserved emotional moment as his name was called. Landstrom had been one of the 3 that were able to top 10 both days with a solid 5th place finish with 96 inches for Trail I and a 9th place finish for Trail II with 91 inches to reach a total of 187” over both days. That consistency was the key to taking the win and getting into The Ten, showing once again the challenges of multi-day events. See Landstrom's video below where he goes over his experience. 

Joshua Sharp took second place overall with 92.5 inches for Trail I and 93 inches for Trail II for a total of 185.5 inches, followed closely by Snyders who after a solid Trail I performance was only able to put 87 inches on the board for Trail II for a 2 day total of 183.75 inches.

Next stop for Kayak Bass Fishing will at Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina.



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