The 2014 Walmart Bass Fishing League (BFL) got started Saturday on Lake Okeechobee. Mike Keyso, Jr. of North Port, Fla. topped a field of 201 boaters with what he thought was a lackluster limit – 24 pounds, 14 ounces.

Indeed, anglers including Keyso had been busting 30-to-35-pound sacks in practice but high winds on Friday scattered the cover many fishermen had planned to visit. Add the plain old nasty effects of a cold front on Florida bass and the resulting low weights are understandable.

When action slowed, so did Keyso. He downsized his weight, from 2 ounces to 1.5, and switched from a Gambler Craw to a Gambler B.B. Cricket. He also yo-yoed his lure in likely spots for extended lengths of time. He said other boats in his area were moving far too fast.

Keyso identified the exact type of cover he needed to work – a major reason he was able slow down and concetrate his efforts in the right type of spots. Specifically, Keyso looked for seams between green hyacinths and dead, brown ones.

Luke Campbell of Fort Lauderdale bested all co-anglers with 21-3. He enjoyed a solid 1 pound margin over Orlando’s Derek Petruzelli and more than a 5-pound cushion over the rest of the big field.

In contrast to most angler, who flipped, Campbell enjoyed the most exciting type of action known to fishing – topwater bites. He used a Snag Proof, American-made, Frog. The Fitzgerald rod Campbell used is also built in America – in Ocala, Fla.

So strong was Campbell’s weight that only 3 boaters beat it – Keyso, Richard Held (22-5) and Timothy Feller (21-9).

Campbell also mixed-in a Gambler Big EZ and outscored Val Osinski who owns the Florida-based Gambler company and enjoyed a top 10 finish in the boater division with 18-12.