KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Becky Robinson likes to fish methodically. As she watched fellow competitors zip past her Saturday at the Bassmaster Kayak Series at Kissimmee Chain, she couldn’t help but think they were doing the wrong thing. The Day 1 results prove her right. Robinson, a 68-year-old resident of Salisbury, Md., has the lead in this two-day derby in central Florida with a five-bass limit measuring 100.75 inches. The haul included a pair of 21-inch largemouth bass that were among the longest anyone in the field hooked Saturday.
True to form, Robinson took her time working patches of lily pads in anywhere from 1 to 2 feet of water. She shared a lake with about 30 other kayaks, she estimated, including her husband Ronnie, who’s in 11th place with 97.25 inches.
“I started the day fishing the reeds and had an early limit, but they were smaller fish,” she said. “When I moved to the lily pads the fish got bigger. I stayed in one small area all day. I had to put the motor up because there was a lot of grass.
“We’re from the Eastern Shore area of Maryland and we do a lot of pond fishing,” she added. “Today was like that — just pick the motor up, let the wind drift you and just take it slow and steady.”
Robinson said a gooseberry-colored worm was her go-to lure on Day 1. She anticipates going back to the same spot on Sunday and hopes her Day 1 fortune wasn’t a fluke.
“I’m still new to kayak fishing and I’m still learning,” she said. “So, sometimes you have that really good day and then you struggle the next day. I’m praying for two good days in a row.”
She said she did a lot of praying today, too.
“I checked the leaderboard with about five minutes to go and I was in ninth place,” she said. “I thought, ‘If I catch a 20-incher now, I can win this thing.’ And that’s when I caught my second 21-incher … That put me in the lead for now. I could hear my husband hollering from across the pond. It was a great way to end the day.”
A pair of Florida anglers are hot on Robinson’s heels — Sherman Bishop with 100.50 inches and Chris Mitchell with 100 inches. A total of 222 competitors from throughout the U.S. are competing in the second Kayak Series event of the 2025 season and there’s a cash purse of $44,800 to be split among the Top 22 (10% of competitors) in the tournament.
A college division is part of this tournament, as well, which is a first for the Bassmaster Kayak Series. A total of 15 anglers from two schools are competing — Carson-Newman (10 best bass totaling 164 inches) and Campbellsville University (10 bass, 158.75 inches). Ewing Minor of Carson-Newman leads the individual college standings with 80.50 inches on Day 1.
There will be college divisions in three Kayak Series events this year — at the Kissimmee Chain, as well as tournaments at Tennessee’s Dale Hollow in April and Toledo Bend on the Texas/Louisiana border in September. The winner of each event will earn a berth in the 2026 Bassmaster Kayak Series Championship.
The second and final day of the Bassmaster Kayak Series at Kissimmee Chain will begin Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET. Anglers can launch from any approved public access on the chain. Lines must be out of the water by 3:30 p.m. and winners will be announced at an awards ceremony scheduled for approximately 6 p.m.