The Bassmaster Tour season kicks off tomorrow at Florida's Lake Toho. Florida fisheries were hit hard by the latest round of hurricanes and Toho's no exception. In fact, all indications suggest Toho will serve up conditions similar to those the Big O delivered at last week's FLW Event.

BassFan Lake Profile

Before getting into more detail, here's a look at the tournament waters:


> Lake Name: Lake Tohopekaliga (Toho)
> Type of Water: Shallow Florida natural lake
> Surface Acres: 22,700 acres (but can connect through to other lakes)
> Primary structure/cover: Vegetation (many types)
> Average depth: 5 feet
> Species: Largemouths only
> Length limit: 12 inches
> Reputation: Record-setting fishery with legendary potential, but questions remain after drawdown and dredging project.
> Weather: Cold front giving way to warming trend, then developing rain
> Water temp: 59 to 60 degrees and climbing
> Water visibility/color: Stained with 1 1/2 feet average visibility
> Water level: A few feet above normal (significant)
> Fish in: 3 to 5 feet of water
> Fish phase: Pre-spawn/spawn/post-spawn
> Primary patterns: Flipping, Rat-L-Traps, spinnerbaits
> Winning weight: 60 pounds
> Cut weight (Top 12): 28 pounds
> Check weight: 13 pounds (75th place)
> Fishing quality (1=poor, 5=great): 2 for Toho
> Biggest factors: Weather, stained water
> Wildcard: Finding a Carolina-rig hole

A Changed Place

At the Okeechobee FLW, anglers faced a severely limited fishery – only an estimated 10% of Okeechobee was fishable. That kept the number of big sacks to a minimum and forced the field to fish in excessively cramped conditions.

Toho has a similar clarity problem – it's muddier than in 2001, the last time BASS visited – but there are more fishable areas than on Okeechobee, so the field should be able to spread out. Anglers can fish Toho itself, or connect to Kissimmee, Hatchineha or Cypress.

However, the stained water, along with the brutal cold front that swept through in practice, should prevent any significant sight-fishing bite from developing. In short, don't expect the record-setting bags – like Dean Rojas' 108-12 that came to the scales in 2001. A more educated guess says, given the current conditions, 14 pounds a day should be enough to make the Top 12 cut.

Another factor plays into the current conditions at Toho. For the past several years, the lake had been subject to an improvement project that drew the lake down. Workers then dredged up muck and deposited it as islands around the lake. The lake is now "improved," but overall numbers and size of fish still remain a mystery.

Rojas Returns

Dean Rojas set new Bassmaster records at Toho in 2001. Those records – heaviest 1-day (45-02) and 4-day (108-12) weights – still stand today. In retrospect, those were special conditions. The lake had seen a steady warming trend and the tournament fell right on top of a major spawning wave. In fact, the Top 5 heaviest Bassmaster 1-day weight records are all from that same tournament.

Rojas said it's not the same story this year. "It's a lot different. There's a lot more clearings in the water – places where stuff was pushed away by the big dozers. There's a lot of mounds and hills and mountains of dirt in the lake itself."

Rojas recently took 3rd at the Okeechobee FLW, where water clarity was a major issue. "The water clarity (on Toho) is pretty good," he said. "It's not as bad as I thought it would be. But with high winds, that all could change.

"You can see some beds in the water, but some overnight temps have been down around 32 degrees. The fish aren't up there right now, so I think they're in transition. The water temp has ranged from 52 to 59 degrees."

He noted a warming trend is predicted. "It's supposed to warm up a little bit toward Thursday and Friday. It's supposed to get a little cloudy, which could probably hold some of the heat in. It could be a flipping bite, but you can probably catch them any way you want – a Texas rig, spinnerbait, whatever you want to do."

He predicted the Top 12 cut weight to be "around 26 pounds," but said that could climb if the water warms.

More For Martens

Aaron Martens caught a 34-10 sack at the 2001 Toho event –the 4th largest 1-day weight ever caught in Bassmaster competition. Despite the memory of that day, he said he likes the way the lake is fishing now. "It's better than I've seen it. Fishing wise, I think it'll be a little better tournament. There will be more fish biting, and even though the weights won't be as big, the fishing in general is better.

"The water's dirty and high – they've done a lot to the lake since I've been here. It seems like it's fishing a little easier, and it seems like there's a lot more fish."

He said the tournament will probably be a flipping bite, but worms and Rat-L-Traps will be important too. "They're close to the beds – I'm sure there's already been a few major spawns. They're getting ready for another big one right now.

"Most of the water is a tannic color – very little of it's actually clear. But for a small lake it fishes big. Finding the spot to win it will be the major factor. You have to find the one little area that holds big ones. And the key is to find something where you can fish by yourself."

Horton Scratches Head

Some reported a tougher-than-average practice. "It's been really slow for me," Tim Horton said, who's done well on Florida fisheries in the past. He finished 7th at the 2001 event and most recently won the Okeechobee Open last November.

"There's a whole lot less cover, but I know they're in here. It's the least amount of cover I've seen in the four or five times I've been here.

"It's a lot muddier too – the same story as Okeechobee. I still expect it to be a pretty good tournament. But it's hard to judge how things will develop because we got such a strong cold front in practice."

He said he's had some decent bites though. "The bites I;ve gotten haven't been bad, but I don't expect it to be a big-weight tournament like in years past. There won't be any sight-fishing – the lake's too dirty – but if the fish move up guys will get them flipping."

He said he spent the first day of practice checking out all the available water. "There are four interconnected lakes here – Toho, Hatchineha, Kissimmee and Cypress. Traditionally, the tournaments are won on Toho. But they dredged Toho, so it has the least amount of cover of all of them.

"It's not a bad run to the other lakes. Hatchineha seems to have the best water clarity. Otherwise, it's similar conditions on all of them."

Launch/Weigh-In Info

Anglers launch at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday and Friday and at 7:15 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday from Kissimmee Lakefront Park.

Daily weigh-ins will take place at Kissimmee Lakefront Park on Thursday and Friday at 3:25 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday at 4:00 p.m.

Weather Forecast

Here's the Weather Channel's extended forecast for the tournament.

> Thu, Jan 27 – Partly Cloudy – 77°/55°
- Wind: From the NW at 9 mph

> Fri, Jan 28 – Few Showers – 73°/55°
- Wind: From the NE at 12 mph

> Sat, Jan 29 – Thundershowers – 77°/55°
- Wind: From the S/SE at 10 mph

>Sun, Jan 30 – Partly Cloudy – 79°/53°
- Wind: From the S/SW at 9 mph