The DEE ZEE KBF TENvitational is an annual ritual. To participate, qualified KBF anglers migrate to Florida, their vehicles loaded with kayaks and gear, to cast a line and a prayer. Their goal: to win the event and a spot as the final qualifier for DEE ZEE KBF THE TEN. The one angler who qualifies for the TEN House will have had his prayer answered.
The 2022 DEE ZEE KBF TENvitational took place over two days on the Harris Chain Lakes in Kissimmee, Florida. Day 1 on Saturday was characterized by difficult conditions that required anglers to make adjustments. On Day 2, the story wasn’t about anglers fighting conditions but about qualifiers, as a qualified angler for DEE ZEE KBF THE TEN stepped up to play defense and prevent another angler from crashing the TEN House.
Spoiler: an angler crashed it anyway.
Day 1: Saturday, January 29, 2022
Virginia angler Robert Brown caught his personal best while pre-fishing for the 2021 KBF National Championship at Shreveport-Bossier City, LA this past October. It was a monstrous Largemouth Bass, a double digit tank and the fish of a lifetime.
But Robert Brown is no stranger to big bass, and he proved it again on the first day of TENvitational competition. During the early going, he posted a 20.75” toad, the kind of plump pre-spawn bass that TENvitational anglers travel from all over the country to catch. While other anglers added smaller fish to growing limits, Brown already had his anchor fish and the top spot on the Big Bass leaderboard. But he wouldn’t finish there.
At mid-morning, Garrett Wade moved ahead of John DiCenzo into first place on the Ledlenser TENvitational leaderboard with a limit of 84.25”, and at the half-way mark of competition, the top 5 were Wade, DiCenzo, Jon Richardson, 2021 KBF FARWIDE AOY Milton and Jason Broach. Those standings would soon implode, as Matt Vogt climbed into view, then Richardson overtook Wade. Later still, Kristine Fischer posted a 87.25” limit as Robert Brown took over the top spot with 91.5”.
But then Adam Petrone showed up, courtesy of a late flurry that brought him with .5” of Brown’s lead. What was the difference? It was Brown’s second monster catch of the day, a 20.5” slob that solidified his limit and kept him in 1st place heading into Day 2.
In Brown’s words:
I went into day 1 with only 1-2 areas that I got a bite in pre-fishing so my hopes were to just get a limit. I decided to abandon those two spots due to being blown out [by wind] and just went fishing. I missed fish in the pads on a swim jig and minutes later a landed fish in the pads that clued me in to my pattern. I glued the swim jig to my hands and targeted pads for the buck bass. The big females moved in on the outside reeds on the down wind side. Got the 20.75 then the 21 about fifteen minutes apart. As for the wind I ran an xi3 on my SS127 with the OneObjective bow mount plate and Enduro power battery. I’d position my boat down wind of my target hit spot lock and cast into wind past my target and work the bait to the target.
Day 2: Sunday January 30
Sunday began with calmer conditions, but by mid-morning Saturday’s leader Robert Brown had only posted one bass, leaving the door open for Petrone to make a run, which he promptly did, climbing to third place overall. As we saw Saturday, the bite changed and angler adjustments made a difference later in the day.
At mid-morning, Yak Rods pro Cody Henley made those adjustments, landing his fifth fish to fill a limit for the day, and a good one at that, for 91”. In doing so, he assumed the top spot with 170”. Other anglers soon began to stack bass, as Matt Vogt, Alex Miller and John Dicenzo posted limits. Adam Petrone, who was in 2nd place at the start of the day, was in fifth place at mid-morning, with 3 fish. Like Brown, Petrone had also found fish later in the day, and he would have to recover 30” to catch Henley, the morning leader.
In an added twist, because the TENVitational champion qualifies for the last spot in DEE ZEE KBF THE TEN, and Henley was already qualified for the latter event. By winning, he would play defense and refuse another competitor a spot in the TEN House.
Tight races developed across the three Ledlenser leaderboards, as TENvitational, Pro Series and Trail Series competitors stacked fish heading into the final three hours of fishing. At mid-day, Adam Petrone had claimed 1st place overall on the TENvitational, posting a narrow .25” lead over Cody Henley. Never to be counted out, Kristine Fischer worked her way back into the conversation in the third place spot there as well.
An epic battle ensued, during which Henley reclaimed the lead with a 10 fish limit of 177”. And then as competition time came to an end, South Carolina KBF veteran Jason Broach struck.
South Carolina pro Jason Broach finished in 6th place at the KBF TRAIL on Saturday, and had been hanging at the edge of the upper standings all weekend long. A talented, experienced angler, Broach has had signature wins on the KBF circuit, including a victory at the Challenge Series Championship at Toledo Bend in 2017. In sum, Broach is an angler who knows how to grind out tournaments. But he was tested on Sunday, having landed only one scoreable fish in the early going.
Broach described the adjustment that gave him the victory: “The bite changed at around noon. I switched to a Senko, and then a Lucky Craft SP 78 Jerkbait. I landed a 16”, then a 21” and a 17 plus, and a 19”. I caught a lot in between those but they weren’t upgrades. I only had one fish at 11 am, and I didn’t think it was gonna happen, but then it did.”
In the final hours of the day he filled a limit and took the overall lead with 10 fish bass that measured 178.25” , only 1” ahead of Henley. By winning, Broach landed a coveted spot at the TEN House, and extended his stay in Florida for a few more days to fish kayak fishing world’s most exclusive event- DEE ZEE KBF THE TEN.
In Jason’s words:
“I qualified for the first 3 years, and my last time at the TEN was in 2018, when Cody [Milton] won. It feels good to get back into the TEN house, especially the prize packages and how well KBF treats you. I enjoy the camaraderie with the other anglers, too.”
Additional Info
Complete Standings: https://app.fishingchaos.com/tournament/kbf-kissimmee
For more information about Kissimmee, Florida, visit https://www.experiencekissimmee.com/
For the 2022 KBF events schedule: https://www.kayakbassfishing.com/schedule/
Questions regarding event details (i.e. eligible water, schedule, etc..) email Jason@kayakbassfising.com
Realtree Fishing KBF TRAIL Series Tournaments are presented by Dee Zee Truck Accessories
Additional Sponsors
Dakota Lithium Batteries Shimano YakAttack FishUSA Torqeedo Yeti
Power Pole Rogue Fishing NRS Nines FarWide
* Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article did not include the quote from Robert Brown. It was added 1/31/22.
© KBF 2022
Follow/Search #KBFTRAIL posts on Social Media!
Twitter: @kayakbassfish
Facebook: @KayakBassFishing
Instagram: @kayakbassfishing