Landstrom Storms to Victory in the Dee Zee KBF TENvitational

The Dee Zee KBF TENvitational is a unique event: once you are qualified, you are forever invited. What that means is that any qualified KBF angler can register for the event in any year. And the event is held every year immediately prior to Dee Zee KBF the TEN.

What that also means is that any qualified angler has one last chance to crash the TEN House.

It isn’t easy – in the TENvitational, you are competing against a long list of experienced kayak bass tournament anglers. The TENvitational is not only unique – it is uniquely difficult.

This past weekend in Florida, it was also uniquely fun, courtesy of an amazing big bass bite on the Polk County lakes…..

Day 1: Saturday, January 28, 2023

Joshua Sharp (TN) stormed to victory two years ago in a crowded field of anglers to win the 2021 Dee Zee KBF TENvitational. It was an impressive performance by Sharp, who succeeded in punching a prized ticket to the TEN house, and extended his Florida stay. As the 2023 TENvitational reached mid-morning on Saturday, Sharp had again stormed out to the lead, posting 92.5” to let everyone know he was back and in the hunt for a spot in the TEN house.

But if the history of the TENvitational has taught us anything, it is that when the field consists only of top KBF competitors, anything can happen. Sharp had the lead at mid-morning, but as it turned out, another champ had plans of his own.

Adam Petrone (90”) and Garrett Wade (91”) kept the heat on Sharp all morning long. And while the KBF TRAIL I leaderboard had dozens of anglers switching in and out of the top 10 spots, the TENvitational leaderboard did not move much. At noon, Wade had surpassed Petrone for second place, and Glen Landstrom posted a big 94.5” bag to pass Sharp. With the stakes a spot in the TEN House, there was less movement on the TENvitational leaderboard, but the tension was much higher.

That’s when reigning KBF National Champion Rus Snyders landed a 24.50”. Suddenly, the entire leaderboard woke up. Snyders passed Glenn Landstrom, who led with 96”. Caleb Cunningham made his move into third with 92.75”, knocking Sharp to fourth place in the standings. It was a wild turn of events and it all happened during the final quarter of competition time.

Adam Petrone had been hanging around at the top of the standings all morning. He hit a lull and had not culled since shortly after noon. But minutes before lines out, he hooked a big bass. In his words:

“I made a lucky last minute run to a random bank, and boat flipped that fish into a bear hug like I knew what I was doing!!!! I scrambled to get a picture. Thought I only had a few seconds but 2:57 was the time on my graph when I video released it!”

Petrone’s fish was uploaded at 2:59, locking him into second place.

Day 2: Sunday January 29, 2023

Glenn Landstrom had a good day on Saturday. He finished fifth overall in the Trail I event, cashing a good check. More importantly, he finished third on the Dee Zee TENvitational Day 1 leaderboard, a position that set him up to make a run on Day 2.

While other anglers had found giant bites, Landstrom’s biggest fish on Saturday was a 21.25”. In any other tournament, that was an anchor fish. But with 23” and 24” fish posted on the Dakota Lithium Big Bass leaderboard, he would need to find bigger bites. So that’s what he did on Sunday morning.

Landstrom’s early 24” giant moved him into first place overall in the TENvitational standings. He held that spot through mid-morning, but other anglers were gaining ground. He did it by literally holding the same spot, saying later during the wards ceremony that he circled one area all day. It delivered his personal best: his 24” bass weighed over 10 lbs.

Lloyd Hardy soon crept to within .25” of Landstrom, and then Adam Petrone began posting fish, moving him into third place overall. But in the end, it came down to three anglers: Joshua Sharp, Rus Snyders and Glenn Landstrom.

Snyders ultimately took third place. In addition, Snyders won $500 for the Day One Dakota Lithium Big Bass.

Sharp came close to repeating his TENvitational victory, finishing second.

Glenn Landstrom finished his weekend with two top 10 KBF Trail finishes, and he won 1st place in Double Up powered by Dakota Lithium, making him the 2 day weekend champ.

Most important of all, Landstrom earned the TENvitational victory, giving him a spot in the TEN House.

“What an honor,” he said “to be standing up here with these names like Mike and Rus….It’s gonna be a lot of pressure. With any luck I will catch another 10 pounder. I know these other guys have something on the back burner, and I don’t have that.” As he noted earlier, “I’m just gonna go out and have fun.”

Landstrom’s big weekend vaulted him into the early conversation for the Farwide Kayak Bass Fishing Angler of the Year race, too, as his weekend as him in second place overall. For now, however, all eyes are on Dee Zee KBF the TEN. Click here for a full event preview of Dee Zee KBF The TEN, with exclusive angler quotes, and follow the event live on Fishing Chaos on January 31-February 1!!!!

Additional Info

Click here to watch the complete awards ceremony from Camp Mack Guy Harvey.

Complete Standings: https://app.fishingchaos.com/tournament/kbf-trail-series-or-polk-county-fl

Custom Trophies manufactured by Ketch Products, USA.

For the 2023 KBF events schedule: https://www.kayakbassfishing.com/schedule/

Glenn Landstrom is sponsored by: Motorguide, MillerTech Lithium Batteries, K9 Fishing Products, Picasso Lures, YOLOTek and Bizz Baits.

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