McCann Scores Victory At Harris Chain Wins $5,200

LEESBURG, Fla. – With many big bass hitting the scales, Benjamin W. McCann emerged as the Boater Division winner during the American Bass Anglers Open Series, Presented by Caymas Boats, Florida Central Division 6 regular season finale, held April 30, 2022, on the Harris Chain of Lakes northeast of Orlando.

Launching at Venetian Gardens in Leesburg, the Bradenton angler brought in an impressive 5-bass tournament limit to give him the winning weight of 25.47 pounds. McCann anchored that bag with an 8.20-pound mossback, one of two bass to break eight pounds. This gave him an average of 5.09 pounds. He pocketed $5,200 for the victory. 

“I didn’t pre-fish so I just went fishing,” McCann detailed. “I chunked a moving bait as far as I could to cover as much water as possible to find fish. I didn’t get a bite for the first 30 minutes. Then, everything just kicked off. I got into a stretch of about 400 yards of water and kept getting good bites. By 9 a.m., I already had 23 pounds and culled up. I had all my weight by 10 a.m. I caught a lot of fish, but only five good ones. Both of my better fish came off grass. I ran pretty far, about three lakes over.”

In second among the 75 boaters, Jonathan R. Semento of Okahumpka also landed his 5-bass limit for 24.60 pounds, less than a pound out of the winner’s circle. He walked off with $1,050 in his pocket.

“I went to Lake Griffin,” Semento revealed. “I threw a golden shiner ChatterBait all day around eelgrass. I lost one that probably weighed about six pounds. That would have given me about two more pounds and the win.”

Taking the third spot and $800, Jeremy D. Smith from Plant City found a good limit for 22.03 pounds. He flipped the grass in the system dominated by aquatic vegetation. 

“I lost some fish that felt pretty good, but I never saw them,” Smith explained. “I caught everything by flipped grass in Lake Harris. I caught all my bass on a Gambler Burner Worm. I had a limit within 20 minutes and caught fish all day.”

Landing in fourth place, Christopher A. Maxwell from Fort Meade put five keepers on the scales. He finished with 20.25 pounds, but took the tournament big bass title with an 8.22-pounder behemoth. Maxwell pocketed $550 for fourth place and a $730 bonus for the big bass to give him a $1,280 payday. 

“I stayed in Lake Harris all day,” Maxwell commented. “This is the time to flip the grass in the Harris Chain. I caught about 40 bass flipping the grass with a Senko and never lost anything that would have helped me. At 9:30 a.m., I caught the big bass.”
Calan Hawkins of Fruitland Park placed fifth among the boaters. He landed a 5-bass limit for 20.23 pounds. 

In the Co-Angler Division, Chris W. Miller from the hosting town of Leesburg landed a 3-bass division limit for 15.02 pounds. That gave him slightly greater than a 5-pound average. He collected $1,250 for the win.

“I threw a speed worm all day,” Miller remarked. “I couldn’t catch a fish on anything else. We fished three different lakes. We swam the worm through the edges of the grass, periodically killing it or running it slowly. I mixed it up all day. I caught about 20 fish.”

Placing second for the co-anglers, Brandon D. Blondeel from Orlando found three good keepers. His bag weighed 14.34 pounds, topped by a 6.21-pound bucketmouth. That gave him a payout of $625 for the effort.

“We fished Lake Harris,” Blondeel said. “I threw a ChatterBait all day. My boater caught a lot of fish. I caught some good quality fish.”

Right behind, Travis I. Cato from Saint Cloud brought in a 3-bass limit weighing 14.22 pounds. He anchored that sack with a 7.88-pound hawg to take the division lunker honors. He earned $450 for third place and an extra $255 big bass bonus for a total of $705.

“I flipped grass with a Senko,” Cato reported. “The fish were hitting funny. They were running at the bait. I caught a lot of fish. I might have lost one good one. I caught the big one about 8:30 a.m.”

Jim H. Topmiller from Orlando put three keepers on the scales for fourth place with 11.47 pounds. He anchored that sack with a 5.76-pound kicker. Rounding out the top five co-anglers, Brandon K. St. Pierre of Cape Coral caught three keepers going 11.24 pounds. He anchored the bag with a 6.80-pounder.

The division next heads to Lake Tohopekaliga in the Kissimmee Chain for the 2-day post-season shootout, slated for Sept. 17-18, 2022. For that tournament, the anglers will run out of Kissimmee Lakefront Park, located at 69 Lakeview Drive in the town of Kissimmee, Fla. Qualified Anglers can register for this event, Click Here .

American Bass Anglers is sponsored by Caymas Boats, Mercury Marine, T-H Marine, Garmin Electronics, Power Pole, Lucas Oil, RT Outdoors, Sportsman Card, Optima Batteries, Hotel Planner.com, and LurePartsOnline.com.

About American Bass Anglers: American Bass Anglers is committed to providing low-cost, close-to-home tournaments for the weekend angler and, at the same time, offering each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression. 

For more information about American Bass Anglers, the Open Series, the American Fishing Tour, the American Couples Series, the annual Military Team Bass Tournament, and the Top 150 Solo Tour, all presented by Caymas Boats, visit www.americanbassanglers.com or call (256) 232-0406

This story was written by ABA staff writer John N. Felsher. To submit articles of interest email info@americanbassanglers.com.