Gill Takes the Pro Circuit Championship on the Kissimmee Chain; Water Shortage Order Back Before the Board

Drew Gill erased a five-pound deficit with a 31-13 limit to win the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Championship on the Kissimmee Chain on Sept. 20, and Orlando's Bobby Bakewell finished third

Drew Gill won Major League Fishing's Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Championship on the Kissimmee Chain on Sept. 20, erasing a five-pound deficit with a 31-13 limit on the final day. Orlando's Bobby Bakewell finished third.

Results

Gill, of Olney, Illinois, sat sixth after Day 1 and moved to second on Day 2 with 22-12 before the Sunday bag put him at 75-3 for the three days and $100,000. Levi Kohl of Edinburg, Illinois took second with 64-15 and $25,000. Bakewell rallied for third with 61-12 and $20,000. The final 10 pros weighed 50 bass for 175-10 on Sunday, and every one of them brought a five-bass limit to the scale.

Through two days, five of the top six had caught most of their fish out of the same community hole in Lake Toho, scanning it with forward-facing sonar. Gill won on a second area he had found nearby — a little deeper, with clean bottom in columns of peppergrass. "The community hole was sketching me out," Gill said. The event brought the top 40 anglers from the 2026 Pro Circuit season to Kissimmee for a share of a $453,000 prize pool.

Coming Up

Xtreme Bass Series runs Stop #9 in two Central Florida divisions on Saturday, Sept. 26, 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. — Lake Toho out of Southport Park in Kissimmee, and the Harris Chain out of Buzzard Beach in Tavares. The Citrus division fishes Lake Panasoffkee out of the Lake Panasoffkee Lodge on Sunday, Sept. 27. Entry is $120.

Worth Knowing

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board is expected to consider extending its Modified Phase III water shortage order at its board meeting Tuesday in Tampa. The one-day-per-week restrictions, which cover all of Polk and Sumter counties and parts of Lake County, currently run through Oct. 1. The district's average 12-month rainfall total through August 2026 carried a 15.4-inch deficit, up from 15.2 inches in July, and the summer rainy season ends Sept. 30.

DOH-Seminole issued a blue-green algae health alert for Lake Howell on Sept. 11 in response to a water sample taken Sept. 9. Lake Howell has been on the state's notification list all summer, with alerts dated 06-05-26, 06-19-26, 07-13-26, 07-24-26, 08-10-26 and 08-24-26 ahead of this one.

Brevard County closed the boat ramp and dock at Fox Lake Park in Titusville on Monday, Sept. 21 to demolish and replace the dock. The canoe and kayak launch stays open, and the project is expected to be finished by the end of December.

Sources

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Gill Takes the Pro Circuit Championship on the Kissimmee Chain; Water Shortage Order Back Before the Board

Results

Coming Up

Worth Knowing

Algae Alert in Apopka; Burn Bans and Watering Restrictions Hold

Williams Team Wins at Panasoffkee; Driest Year on Record Drops Lake Levels Across Central Florida

ICAST Cup on Big Toho This Week; Water Shortage Extended Through October

Drought Orders Hold Lawn Irrigation to One Day a Week

Planning waterfront work in Kissimmee?