It's been 4 years and a week since Dean Rojas shocked the bass fishing world with his record 45-02 limit, and 108-12 4-day total weight at the 2001 Florida Top 150 (now Bassmaster Tour) event. Since then, he's climbed to the top echelons of bass fishing, and is now ranked 6th in the State Farm-BassFan World Rankings.

Still, the talk always turns to his records whenever Lake Toho is mentioned. It's not surprising, then,

that Rojas finds himself in the spotlight as the Bassmaster Tour returns to that dream fishery.

The twist, of course, is that much of the lake is vastly different this time. Three hurricanes in a row after a major drawdown and dredging renovation project have given Toho a facelift – to say the least.

"I don't think we'll see weights anything like (the 2001 event)," Rojas said. A strong cold front hit the area just a few days ago. "The 30-degree nights have slowed the bite. It's beginning to warm up and the fishing will improve, but it'll probably be next week before it'll get good.

"There's debris from the hurricanes on the shoreline, and some in the water, but it doesn't make much difference," he added. "The grass is the big thing here. The alligator grass has really come on strong. You have to fish a lot of water to figure out where they are.

"The water in all four lakes is pretty good right now. Some areas have just a few inches visibility, but in some places it's 3 feet. Guys can pretty much catch them any way they want to. Flipping will always be big in Florida, but I think you can throw a Tiki Stick or a Carolina rig or just about anything and catch fish."

Michigan angler Art Ferguson III is more optimistic about some bigger weights being brought to the scales. "Early in practice I didn't get a bite," he said. "But as it's gotten warmer they're biting better. It's a lot like (in 2001), with a warming trend after a cold front. I think it'll be good."

Top 10 To Watch

Toho is home to some monster bass, but will they be found and caught in good numbers? And who will find them? After a little research and contemplation, here are BassFan's picks for the Top 10 to Watch at this event (in no particular order):

1) Shaw Grigsby – Back in action after heart surgery last year, he's a perennial favorite in Florida and if it comes to a sight-fishing deal, look out. Oh, and his experience on Toho includes a Bassmaster Tour win in 2000.

2) Kelly Jordon – Made a strong move from 10th to 5th in the world. He's coming off a win last week at the FLW Tour event on the Big O, and he's got to be pumped and ready to tackle another Florida lake.

3) Tim Horton – Has done well here in the past (won the 2002 Bassmaster Tour event), and for some reason Florida has been good to him. Will the karma continue?

4) Kevin VanDam – Number 2 in the world, and maybe the best at covering water to pin down where the concentrations are. Even if Toho's a new lake, he'll still have its number by the time blastoff rolls around.

5) Mark Davis – Now number 1 in the world and has a good record on Toho (2nd behind Rojas in 2001 with some monster limits). Has had some shoulder problems but feels like he's plenty strong enough to wrestle with the big ones at Toho.

6) Dean Rojas – How can we not pick him? After busting the big bag in 2001 to set the record, he's in the limelight for this event. He doesn't think the weights will be anything like 3 years ago, but he likes his chances. Momentum from his 3rd-place finish last week at the Okeechobee FLW tournament is on his side too. Now 6th in the world.

7) Greg Hackney – Arguably the hottest stick on the planet, the Hack Attack got a little bushwhacked at the Big O FLW event last week, but look for him to rebound with a vengeance. Once he gets on a pod of fish they don't stand a chance. He stands at 3rd in World.

8) Brent Chapman – At 7th in the world, he had a strong year in 2004 and a good start in 2005 – he just missed a Top 10 at the FLW on Okeechobee (he finished 11th). He's fishing with a lot of confidence, and in 2002 was 13th here at Toho.

9) Larry Nixon – Especially if the bite is slow, he's got the patience to stitch a worm along the bottom all day, and the finicky Florida bass like it that way. He was 2nd behind Horton at the 2002 Toho Bassmaster Tour event.

10) David Gliebe – A legend in the West, he's moved out East and will fish the Tour this year. He's no stranger to the long stick – he learned flipping from Dee Thomas – and he's qualified for the Bassmaster Classic three times through the Western Opens. It's been a long time since he won in Florida (1978 Kissimmee Florida Invitational), but guess what lake that event was on? Yep, Lake Toho.

Others To Watch

> Art Ferguson III – Coming off a decent finish in his first FLW Tour event last week, he feels like the bite is getting dramatically better through practice on Toho – even comparing the buildup to the monster tournament of 2001. Yikes!

> Alton Jones – Ranked 8th in the world, and if the bass do move toward the spawn, he'll find some. Look for a big fish every day in his livewell.

> David Walker – Nobody is more hungry for a win than Walker. Florida in January seems to suit him. Could this be the one?

> Roland Martin – He finished 3rd here in 2002, and has plenty of experience on Toho and with Florida bass in general. He knows where they sulk during a front, so he'll be waiting for them when they shake off their funk as the weather warms.

> Aaron Martens – Finished 3rd behind Rojas in the 2001 Toho toad-sling. If they make a move toward the beds, not many will escape his sights.

> Cliff Pace – A rookie on the Tour this year, he already has two Open wins under his belt. No intimidation factor for him.

> Scott Suggs – In his rookie year, he put on a show right from the start and led the BASS Angler of the Year race at times. Although he stumbled out of the gates last week in his first FLW Tour event, look for another strong start in his 2nd season on the Bassmaster Tour.

> Andre Moore – BASS calls him a rookie, but he's fished the FLW Tour with decent success for a few years. He finished 19th last week at the Big O FLW. Odds are one of his Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver lures will get the call on Toho for the flipping bite.

Notable

> Tohopekaliga is often translated from Seminole to mean "fort site." Most folks call it Toho for short.

> All five of the Bassmaster heaviest one-day catch records (5-fish limit) were set at Toho in the 2001 event. Rojas holds both the 1st and 5th spots.

> The FLW Tour will visit Toho this year for the first time, and depending on the weather it could be better than this week's Bassmaster event. The FLW event is Feb. 9-12.