CLEWISTON, Fla. — After practice for the Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Lake Okeechobee presented by Bass Pro Shops, Sam Hanggi was convinced he wasn’t going to catch a keeper bass come tournament time.

Not only did he catch a bass, but he also filled out most impressive limit of Day 1 at the legendary south Florida fishery.

“Every day I wake up and I do what I feel like I need to do to make the Elite Series,” Hanggi said. “That’s how I’ve spent the last four years. For it to come down to this event, on a place I’m so bad at (is crazy)”

Hanggi leads the field of 75 anglers with 23 pounds, 15 ounces, anchoring his bag with a 7-15 largemouth and a 6-pounder he landed during the afternoon hours. His advantage over second-place Austin Cranford is 4-14.

Call it a redemption tour for Hanggi, who finished 188th during the 2024 St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Okeechobee presented by SEVIIN.

“Today had nothing to do with my fishing ability, it was just a blessing from God,” the Auburn University alum said. “The way I’m fishing is something I’m not confident in doing. It isn’t something I’ve done in over a year and something that’s never worked for me in Florida. It was just meant to be.”

A cold front rushed through the country over the weekend, ushering in the coldest temperatures of the year to the Clewiston area during official practice. Those conditions made life tough for Hanggi, who only caught one keeper bass during warm-up period.

“I didn’t catch anything anywhere,” he said. “I caught one 7-pounder in the area I caught them today. It was super random.”

That bass, however, clued Hanggi into his best area, a prespawn and postspawn staging area in 4 feet of water outside of a major spawning pocket. The Tennessee native believes many of these bass are roaming in the area and will set up on reeds or other pieces of cover for short periods of time. A Texas-rigged Yamamoto Senko with a 3/16-ounce weight produced all of his best bites.

The area also harbors plenty of other life, including a plentiful population of shad and bluegill.

“It is a really healthy area,” Hanggi said.

Hanggi started the morning in an area he fished during his previous open, landing two 12-inchers before moving to a second area that produced just one bass.

“Moral was pretty low,” he said. “I didn’t expect to catch anything after that. I decided to go out to that area I got my one bite and caught a 5 and a 4 pretty quick.”

From there, Hanggi only caught two more bites, but they were his two biggest bites.

“(That 8-pounder) was unbelievable. It had been two hours since my last bite. I flipped to a patch of reeds, picked up on my Senko and felt it barely moving off to the right,” he explained. “It was like setting a hook into the moose. It was ripping drag on my locked down drag.

“I thought it was biggest bass I’d ever seen. I tried to grab and threw it 7 feet in the air and it fell back in the water before I got my hands on it.”

While it may not be the biggest bass he’d ever seen, it may be the most important bass he’s ever caught. Hanggi is now sitting in second in the points race, with the Top 10 anglers earning a Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series berth at the end of Saturday’s weigh-in.

Despite his Day 1 success, Hanggi isn’t convinced he can come close to repeating that performance the rest of the tournament. There are promising signs though. Of the four bass he landed in his best area, three of them were prespawn and only one was postspawn.

“It is an expansive area. I went hours between bites,” he explained. “I don’t know if I’ll catch a bass tomorrow.”

Cranford, meanwhile, caught a limit weighing 19-1 to vault himself into the Top 10 in EQ points. Coming into this tournament in 11th, the Norman, Okla., pro wanted to find an area he could consistently catch 15 pounds of largemouth. So far, he has exceeded those expectations.

“I knew we had that cold front coming, and I didn’t want to mess around with that too much,” Cranford said. “I’m doing something completely different than I did in (2024). I didn’t expect this to happen, but it did.”

When he arrived at his starting spot, Cranford discovered giant schools of tilapia had invaded the area, which made it difficult to pick up the largemouth on his forward-facing sonar.

After an hour of fishing, Cranford fished his way to a spot without tilapia, and landed a 5-pounder.

“That keyed me in to what they were doing,” he explained. “They had changed from practice. I don’t know if it is this warmer weather, but they weren’t nearly as lethargic as they were. They grouped up a little bit more too. The key is being around life. If you have bird chirping, shad flickering and alligators, you are around bass.”

The bigger largemouth he is finding on FFS are usually alone, while the groups of fish seem to produce 3 and 4-pounders. One bait produced all his bites, although Cranford adjusted his weight size throughout the day.

West Monroe, La.,’s Colby Dark finished Day 1 in third with 18-12 while Tennessean’s Hayden Gaddis and Tristan McCormick rounded out the Top 5 with 15-14 and 15-7 respectively.

Eva, Ala.,’s Fisher Anaya landed the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Day, a 8-13 largemouth.

Anaya leads the Nitro Boats Elite Qualifier presented by Bass Pro Shops standings with 259 points followed by Hanggi in second with 249 points and Alabama’s Russ Lane in third with 248 points. Cranford is fourth with 241 points while Alabama’s Matt Adams is fifth with 237 points. McCormick is sixth with 229 points; Virginia’s Jack Dice is seventh with 228 points; Texas’s Pake South is eight with 225 points; Brock Reinkemeyer is ninth with 225 points; and Dark is 10th with 223 points.

Jace Lindsay, Grae Buck, Aaron Jagdfeld, Bo Thomas and Matt Messer are the first five outside of the Top 10 cut.

The full field will launch from Roland Martin’s Marina at 7 a.m. ET and return for weigh-in at 3 p.m. ET. The Top 10 anglers after tomorrow’s weigh-in will advance to Championship Saturday and the winner will clinch a berth in the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.

Bassmaster LIVE will be providing coverage of all three days of the 2025 Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Lake Okeechobee presented by Bass Pro Shops on Bassmaster.com and Roku from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Visit Hendry County and Roland and Mary Ann Martin’s Marina and Resort are hosting the tournament.

2025 Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series Title Sponsor: Nitro Boats

2025 Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series Presenting Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops

2025 Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series Platinum Sponsors: Progressive, Toyota
2025 Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2025 Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew’s, Lowrance, Triton Boats, VMC, Yokohama

 

About B.A.S.S.

B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series presented by SEVIIN, Nitro Boats Elite Qualifiers Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier Series presented by Lowrance, Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Strike King Bassmaster High School Series, Bassmaster Junior Series, TNT Fireworks Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, Bassmaster College Kayak Series, Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.