Open: Day 2 on Kissimmee

Unlike Day 1, the second day of competition in the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open on the Kissimmee Chain featured a beautiful sunrise as anglers took of towards their first fishing spots of the day.

Anglers race to their first spots and for some, the lock at the south end of Lake Toho. Either way, the cavalry is headed this way.

Bassmaster Elite Series Pro Ott DeFoe speeds by as he has his Nitro trimmed up and screaming down Lake Toho.

I know any sunshine activity is welcomed for anglers as it has been chilly, windy and wet for most of the week.

We see Eric Panzironi heading towards us and we decide to follow. Panzironi was the lone Floridian in the Top 20 after Day 1 of competition, which I thought was odd so I double checked myself and that was indeed true.

Panzironi had 17 pounds, 15 ounces on Thursday and was in 6th place heading into Fridayâs competition day. Soon after he arrived on his first spot, he hooked up.

This was not the right variety as he hooked a chain pickerel and released it back to Lake Toho. It is a sign of activity on a cold morning in Florida.

Moments later, Panzironi was hooked up once again. This time, it was the kind he needed to start his day.

He stays low to keep the fish from jumping. In Florida, landing a fish is trickier than it may seem. You want to get the fish out of the submerged vegetation, but you donât want it to jump either. Itâs a lose-lose situation it seems, but Panzironi makes due.

He bends down on the front deck to insure the fish gets in the boat without coming off.

His first bass bite of the day yields a good one for Panzironi. With it being a tough bite, a solid limit may give him a shot at the Top 12 cut.

Off in the distance I spot Jason Williamson who had a stellar Day 1 as well. He sits in 5th place with 18 pounds, 8 ounces and was just four pounds out of first place.

Williamson makes a quick move from one side of Panzironi to the other.

Just as Williamson roars by, Panzironi hooks up and swings a small keeper in the boat. Thatâs two quick fish to start his day.

He puts that in the livewell, but he will surely want to cull that later in the day.

Williamson sets up in his new area and goes to workâ¦

So we head over to see whatâs going on with J-Will.

He was flipping a big weight in some thick lily pads clumps.

He breaks his silence with a jarring hookset. The problem in Florida is that you can set the hook perfectly and itâs still not guaranteed to land the fish.

The fish wraps Williamson up and now he goes into search mode and tries to free the fish and land it.

He grabs his line and follows it to the base of the lily padsâ¦

But the fish is already gone. A lost fish in a tough tournament could hurt an anglerâs confidence big time.

Not Williamson though because he has seen it all throughout his time on the Bassmaster Elite Series. Shaking off a lost fish is a major key when the pressure is on.

This one wraps him up in the junk too, but he keeps pressure and leverage on the fish to make sure there is no wiggle room for another escape.

He tracks his line through the cover and goes in to grab his first keeper of the day.

A bald eagle soars above Williamson as he fishes along. Those are some majestic birds.

Williamson takes the time to re-rig his bait and get back to putting fish in the boat.

He hooks up with another keeper and quickly swings it aboard.

But not after it tries its hardest to escape his grasp. A big weight, big hook and thick cover is the name of the game for Williamson this week.

Keeper number two in the box. Day 2 brings a different set of conditions for the anglers to figure out. Day 1 was cloudy, rainy and foggy all day, where as today was bright, sunny skies and a blustery north wind of about 15 miles per hour.

Williamson goes back to âdobbingâ his big weight. Dobbing is in reference to how he raises and drops his weight inside of a canopy of cover. He mentioned heading out and locking south once he finished this stretch, so we leave him and head back to Panzironi.

A pelican soars above Williamson as he fishes along.

As we pull back up on Florida angler he hooks up and quickly gets his fifth keeper in the boat.

We hear Williamson fire up his outboard and head south like he promised. He heads to the lock with two keepers in the livewell.

The nature and numerous species of animals are amazing.

Panzironi bows up on a fish. This one looks stout and could cull for him.

But it pulls off in the thick cover and he can only shake his head and get back to casting.

He pulls in what is left of an apparent strike. The fish left him with a clump of grass on his big hook.

He takes a couple moments and then he goes back to work. He hooks up with his sixth fish of the day. This could cull for him.

Not a bad fish at all. He alternated between numerous baits, but once the sun was high in the sky he flipped a big weight.

Him and his co-angler talk about it as he eyes up if the fish will cull.

It does. If he can get a big bite he will make a considerable cull.

Off in the distance the soaring eagle touches down and grabs a quick meal. The bald eagle grabs a chain pickerel that was hovering in shallow water.

Panzironi takes a moment to regroup and gameplan. He hydrates and gets back to work.

We leave Panzironi and he had about 16 pounds in his estimation. With 17-15 on Day 1 and close to 16 at mid-day on Day 2, he could be fishing tomorrow. One more good fish will secure that.