Today competition re-starts, as the pros are out on the water at the BASSMASTER Tour event on Florida's Lake Toho.

Because Dean Rojas caught 108 pounds, 12 ounces of bass over 4 days there this past January, Toho always will be a question mark among the pros. That said, most pros contacted by BassFan.com feel that this time around Toho will be back to its usual weights: meaning roughly 10 pounds a day.

Good Numbers

"I think it will be a good tournament," said Peter Thliveros. "I know it won't be what it was last time. The special set of circumstances that led to that won't come together this time. I'd be surprised to see many spawning fish at all."

Instead, Peter T. predicts BassFans will see "lots of numbers," particularly schooling bass. "A 10-pound stringer will be a little better than average," he said. "You'll see a lot of 7-8 pound stringers. Fifteen to 17 pounds will be exceptional."

Regarding his chances, Thliveros said, "I feel 50-50. If things go right and I get the right bite here and there, I'm optimistic about a Top 10 finish." He thinks a solid 10-11 pounds per day will land an angler in the Top 10.

No. 6-ranked angler Todd Faircloth said he "won't guess" what it will take to win this time. "I was way off last time," he said, though "before that if you averaged 10 pounds a day you were okay. But you might not be in the Top 10."

Faircloth hasn't finished in the money at Toho in two times trying, but feels good about his chances this time. "I've always caught fish there. Maybe I'll put it together."

Same As 2000?

Ten pounds a day sounds much like the lake fished in the last "normal" tournament held there -- the BASSMASTER Top 150 over Jan. 12-15, 2000. Shaw Grigsby won that tournament with 53-11, but 2nd place was 45-01 and 10th place was 27-05.

In fact, that tournament could have had much higher weights were it not for a cold front that rolled in on day 2. Bass react adversely to cold fronts everywhere, but Florida bass almost completely shut down.

Grigsby also caught a few large bedding bass to boost his first-day limit. And while pros this year don't expect to see bedding bass -- partly because this tournament is being held almost a month earlier than the last two events at Toho -- most of the field didn't fish for bedding bass in January until Rojas blew their minds the first day.

"Pre-practice was good, but it wasn't 45 pounds a day good," said Davy Hite, who won the last two BASSMASTER Tour events. "I think it will take 10-13 pounds a day to win -- it better, anyway.

"There could be some spawning fish caught, too," he said. "But if that doesn't happen, 10-12 pounds will be a really good stringer."

More Vegetation, More Pre-Fishing

Several pros remarked on the fact there's more hydrilla in Toho than the last few times they were there. Whether that helps them pattern the bass or spreads the fish out remains to be seen.

Hite also remarked that he was surprised by how many pros were there pre-fishing. "There were a lot more than usual," he said. That may reflect a few things:
> 1) No one wants to miss any spawning bass this time around
> 2) Several well-known pros badly want to win or get close in this tournament
> 3) With ESPN's involvement in the BASS Masters Classic, the pros want to make the Classic more than ever -- and without MegaBucks, there's one less tournament with which to do that this season.

Non-Practice Comments

For one reason or another many pros also didn't pre-practice, as is common. Here's what two of the best in the world said about how they're approaching Toho.

> Clark Wendlandt -- " I feel pretty good about Toho. I didn't pre-practice, but the lake isn't that big and the water isn't moving, from what I understand. When the water moves there it changes things quite a bit. I think there will be a lot of schooling fish -- I may be fishing a Rattlin Rap, jerkbait or spinnerbait over the grass. There might be some flipping. I've fished four tournaments there now. I made the money in two out of four, and was close in the other two."

> Mark Davis -- "I didn't pre-practice, but I feel like the fish will be schooled-up in a fall/winter pattern. They should be concentrated if I can find them. Of course, there's not much structure there other than grass. I might try to find fish offshore, but you never know down there. Those fish can do a lot of things."

Possible Patterns

Unless the conditions change markedly, almost anything goes in this tournament. Flipping, pitching, spinnerbaits, lipless and lipped crankbaits, soft jerkbaits, worms, tubes -- you name it -- could all work because it has all worked before.

Everyone will have an eye out for spawning bass, but expect more pros to be fishing grass lines or other edge areas, like grass adjacent to flats. Holes in grass also might be a good pattern.

Look Out For...

When the conditions are tough in Florida, often Florida pros come out on top. But as stated before, many pros want to do well this tournament. So here are a few to watch, in no particular order:

> Rick Clunn -- Clunn has already said he has "no choice" but to do well at Toho after two poor finishes this year. Who's more dangerous than an utterly focused Rick Clunn?

> Zell Rowland -- In a way, Rowland actually might be more dangerous. He's fished poorly for the last few years due to some family problems, from which he is now surfacing. According to Rowland, Clunn told him that when Rowland gets hungry, that's when he gets "dangerous."

> Shaw Grigsby -- Dangerous in Florida, and had a 5th and 1st in the last two Toho tournaments.

> Davy Hite -- Won the last two pro tournaments.

> Mark Davis -- Davis always fishes well, plus he finished 2nd in January at Toho and 18th in 2000.

> Dean Rojas -- Rojas obviously knows a thing or two about Toho, and probably wants to crush the competition to silence anyone who looks askance at him because of the Red River.

> Terry Baksay -- What business does a Connecticut angler have fishing well in Florida? Who knows, but Baksay finished 14th and 6th in the last two Toho tournaments.

> Kevin VanDam -- 'Nuff said.

> Denny Brauer -- Brauer's fishing and back strength continue to improve, and he wants to be back on top so badly he can taste it. He said, "Toho has treated me well -- I've had some Top 10s there. But I've had really lousy finishes too. It's one of those places where you don't know what you'll get. It's not one of my favorite places, but it's one I know I can win on."

> Also -- Bernie Schultz (Florida), Gary Klein (always), Aaron Martens (3rd last time), and anyone else in the Top 10 of the BassFan.com World Rankings.

Weather

According to the Weather Channel, the forecast for the Kissimmee area is stable, though late Tuesday night the wind was out of the East at 9 mph.

> Wed., 12/12, -- Partly Cloudy, high 82°F, low 63°F

> Thurs., 12/13 -- Partly Cloudy, high 83°F, low 63°F

> Fri., 12/14 -- Partly Cloudy, high 83°F, low 63°F

> Sat., 12/15 -- Partly Cloudy, high 82°F, low 65°F

Weigh-in Info

Daily weigh-ins and launches are at Kissimmee Lake Front Park. Launch begins at 6:50 am and weigh-ins begin at 2:00 pm.