Action-packed day on Harris

Britt Myers rolls back to make a cast on Day Two of the first Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open of the year on Harris Chain.

Cecil Douberly prepares to make a pitch to the pad-lined waters of the Harris Chain on Friday.

Warming weather saw the spawning flats become more and more crowded with tournament boats.

Fishermen weren’t the only anglers scanning the water for bass as this bald eagle lets out a keening screech.

This egret successfully rustled up a shad, though it was finding the fish a tough meal to swallow.

The egret shows off the remarkable capabilities of its long neck as the shad nearly disappears from sight.

Scott Ashmore makes a cast as his boat is framed by the beauty of the Florida landscape.

Lee Sisson pulls back as he sets the hook on a fish in the early hours of Day Two on the Harris Chain.

Marcus Parker and his partner Steve Selfridge work both sides of the boat as they try to unlock the early spring bite.

Parker hauls back to make a cast as his rod loads up.

2011 Elite Series Rookie of the Year Ott DeFoe changes fishing locations on Friday.

Not long after arriving, DeFoe picks up another rod, keeping up a blistering pace for the day.

DeFoe pulls up the trolling motor as he prepares to move again.

Ray Sanford fishes patiently along a wild stretch of shoreline on the Harris Chain of Lakes.

Scott Ashmore makes another cast early on Day Two of the first Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open of 2012.

Stu Martel fights a fish next to the boat as his partner looks on.

Martel was making long casts to patiently coax the bass into biting.

Martel winds up to fire another cast out onto the waters of the Harris Chain on Friday.

The cartoon above depicts Host City Tavares, Fla., as an angler that has hooked a "keeper" -- this week's 2012 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open event. The cartoon ran in today's edition of The Daily Commercial, a Leesburg, Fla. based paper and website.