KISSIMMEE, Fla. — When you know, you know; and Cody Stahl knew his spot had the potential to deliver a big bag, like the 28-pound, 9-ounce limit that leads Day 1 of the Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Kissimmee Chain presented by Battery Tender.
Georgia's Cody Stahl has taken the lead on Day 1 of the Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Kissimmee Chain of Lakes presented by Battery Tender with a total of 28 pounds, 9 ounces. Photo by Andy Crawford/B.A.S.S
“All week, I was paying attention to the conditions and what the weather was calling for,” said the pro from Barnsville, Ga. “In practice, I caught three little fish where I caught those fish today. But looking at the conditions, I said, ‘This is where it’s gonna go down and gosh, it went down!’
“Obviously, tomorrow’s a different day and I might have to make some adjustments, but overall, today was a phenomenal day.”
Following a cold front that sent Central Florida temperatures into the mid-30s, Day 1 began in the low 40s, with the afternoon warming by about 20 degrees. Despite the shivering start, Stahl enjoyed an early day-maker, with another kicker about five hours later.
“I caught my biggest one, a 9-6, first thing in the morning and I caught another big one late in the day,” Stahl said. “It was a mental grind today; I only caught eight fish.
“With the full moon (Feb. 1) and the cold front, these fish want to be up (near the spawning zone). I looked at my spot and said, ‘This is textbook.’ I just trusted my gut and it went down.”
Stahl said he’s fishing a grass-oriented scenario on Lake Toho. He kept the particulars guarded, but noted that his spot presented a mix of prespawn and spawning habitat.
“It’s a place where I’ve caught them before, so I know what lives there,” Stahl said. “It’s kind of a catch-all place, but it was kinda overlooked by a lot of boats.”
Stahl said he caught his fish on two baits. Casting accuracy always matters in bass fishing, but Stahl said confidence also impacted his success.
“One thing I’ve learned out of all my trips to Florida is confidence in your cast,” he said. “I only caught eight fish today and having confidence in every single cast and every decision I made really played a key role in catching those fish today.”
Stahl, who won the 2024 St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Mississippi River presented by SEVIIN, said he’s delighted with his opening performance on the Kissimmee Chain, a fishery that gave him trouble during his previous visit in 2022.
“The last time I was here, I zeroed on Day 1 and caught the biggest bag of Day 2,” said Stahl, who placed 48th in that 2022 event. “Hopefully, this is gonna be a good week and we can finish it out tomorrow and make it to Championship Saturday.”
Cliff Prince of Palatka, Fla., is in second place with 26-2. He also fished in Toho and found his fish in offshore grass. Targeting mostly prespawn staging fish, Prince alternated between lipless baits and jerkbaits.
“I was fishing medium to fast retrieves; I was trying to make them react,” Prince said.
Anchoring his bag with a 6 1/2-pounder, Prince said he found good fish in practice, but he knew the week’s cold front would stall any spawning movement.
“Where I got my bites the first day of practice, which was the warmest day of the week is where I caught them today,” Prince said. “Why the big ones showed up, I don’t know. I caught some good ones in practice, but I didn’t expect to catch ’em like I caught ’em.
“I didn’t figure they were going in. If anything, they were going to stay put or push out. I stayed on the outside of everything, fished as deep as I could and stayed close to the edge of the grass.”
Terry Scroggins of San Mateo, Fla., is in third place with 20-11. He did all of his work on shellbars in 6 to11 feet, but that success came after Plan A. fell flat.
“All practice, long, I tried to make a flipping bite happen, but it didn’t happen, so I started looking offshore to some deeper stuff,” Scroggins said. “I found one shellbar that had a lot of fish on it and I caught 20 pounds before 11 o’clock.
“I caught a little more and just tried to protect the spot because I had some other boats around. When they left, I left and just kinda went practicing the rest of the day.”
Scroggins caught his offshore fish on lipless baits, a flutter spoon, a hair jig and a jighead minnow. After securing his bag, he tested the flipping potential in various areas of matted vegetation. That bite did materialize on Day 1, but Scroggins remains optimistic that the seasonal pattern will eventually ignite.
“That should be the deal here, and it’s not the deal, but anytime it could be,” Scroggins said. “We have the high sun, the high (atmospheric) pressure and everything is setting up for that.
“If I can get a couple big flipping bites, it’ll make a difference. In Florida, you catch three or four good ones and a big one goes a long way. That’s what I’m looking for — that big bite. I don’t think I can get it offshore, so that’s why I keep looking for that flipping bite.”
Jonathan Kelley of Old Forge, Pa., is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 10-7.
Friday’s takeoff is scheduled for 7 a.m. ET at Kissimmee Lake Front Park. The weigh-in will be held at the park at 3 p.m.
Follow along with all of the action from the Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Kissimmee Chain of Lakes presented by Battery Tender on Bassmaster.com.
Visit Kissimmee is hosting this event.
