Jason Broach wins KBF PRO SERIES at Kissimmee

The rebooted KBF Pro Series launched at Kissimmee Chain lakes in Florida on January 29-30th, 2022 for the start of a new season packed with enhanced prizes and qualifying opportunity for a stand-alone Pro Series championship in 2023. Qualified anglers from the elite layer of kayak fishing also launched at Kissimmee to battle for the early lead in the year’s points race.

On Day 1, Adam Petrone and Cody Henley exchanged time at the top of the leaderboard, and on Day 2 Jason Broach challenged them for the title. How they battled the elements, made adjustments and found fish was the story of an exciting weekend of Pro Series competition.

Day 1: Saturday, January 29

Saturday began with anglers posting immediately fish. First John DiCenzo, and then Cody Henley took over the top spot on the Ledlenser leaderboard with early limits. KBF veteran Jason Broach rose to third place with 70” – but only 4 bass. Both DiCenzo and Broach each posted a 20.25” bass to anchor their submissions, taking advantage of staging pre-spawn Florida bass.

As the day wore on, however, the story became that of Adam Petrone’s charge up the leaderboard. He made adjustments at mid-day that allowed him to find feeding bass. In his words:

“I abandoned my game plan due to wind late in the morning, and headed to my back up plan. I changed out my baits and started grinding until I figured out how the fish were setting up. After that it was full send on the Motorguide as I duplicated the pattern and upgraded.”

At the end of Day 1, Petrone had posted 91” and stood in first place. In the meantime, however, Jason Broach had positioned himself in the top 5, with an 87” limit. Cody Henley had fallen off the pace and finished with 79.5”. He would need a miracle finish, and nearly got one…..

Day 2: Sunday, January 30

Anglers faced calmer conditions when they launched on the Kissimmee chain. This morning, it was Kristine Fischer who found the early bite and jumped to the overall lead. Soon however, Henley and Petrone found fish, as did John DiCenzo and Alex Miller.

Petrone eventually rose to first place, and seemed to be ready to take a commanding lead, but Cody Henley then made a run, stacking upgrades. By late morning he had posted nearly 95”, and he wasn’t done yet. He would end the day with a giant limit of 97.75”, good enough for second place.

Jason Broach, the Saturday leader had only one fish scored at mid morning. But Broach was making adjustments that would bring him the trophy. As he noted in a previous article:

“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 end, 45 pro anglers had battled it out over two days on the Kissimmee Chain, and it was Broach who emerged the victor. Hi impressive day 2 limit of 91.25” gave him the win, as his combined totals put him 1.25” ahead of Henley’s late surge.

With February Pro Series events scheduled for Folsom Lake and Lake Murray, anything can happen, but Broach has taken first place overall on the Pro Series Lendlenser AOY leaderboard for the time being, and with Lake Murray being a lake in his home state, he figures to be the early favorite in the revamped 2022 KBF Pro Series.

KBF Pro Series (Kissimmee Chain)

Top 5

Jason Broach 178.50”

Cody Henley 177.25”

Adam Petrone 174.25”

David Fields 161.25”

John DiCenzo 160”

For Complete Kissimmee Standings: https://app.fishingchaos.com/tournament/kbf-kissimmee/leaderboard/pro-series

Additional Info:

For more about the KBF Pro Series, click here: https://www.kayakbassfishing.com/proseries/

For a list of Pro Series events, click here: https://app.fishingchaos.com/club/kbf/tournament-series/8XuckW7nI9oAa62fLyRq/tournaments