When Toho played host to the Bassmaster Tour 2 weeks ago, conditions were tough. It was cold, windy and most said the bite was "weird." It dealt a difficult hand to most of the field and weights were much lower than what the lake had produced in the past.
The FLW Tour gears up for day 1 of its event on Wednesday and reports say things are pretty much the same. Before getting into more detail, here's a look at the tournament waters.
BassFan Lake Profile
> 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 not fishing great right now.
> Weather: Warming, but cold front and 20-degree drop expected Friday
> Water temp: 63 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, worms
> Winning weight: 22 pounds (final 2 days)
> Cut weight (Top 10): 22 pounds
> Check weight: 11 pounds (75th place)
> Fishing quality (1=poor, 5=great): 2.5 for Toho
> Biggest factors: Weather, stained water, beat-up fish
> Wildcard: A spawn movement
Getting Warmer
At the Okeechobee Bassmaster, lipless cranking, flipping and worming played the biggest roles for the Top 6 finishers. Takahiro Omori won the event with a lipless crank, but David Walker came in a close 2nd on the strength of his flipping bite.
Walker returned to Toho shortly after the Harris Chain Bassmaster, and he said not much has changed overall. "It's changed a little bit as far as conditions, but as far as the lake, it's still the same," he said.
"I'm still trying to put it together, so to speak, because I was at the Harris Chain last week. So I'm still trying to get into the groove here."
The key factor at the Toho FLW could be sight-fishing. There were no sight-fish to speak of at the Bassmaster event, but warmer weather could quickly change that.
"Everything's warmer," he said. "It seems like spawning fish will be much bigger deal than at the first tournament. The water temperature's 63 degrees, so it could be a great tournament. The Bassmaster one was just too cold."
But it's still Florida, which means a cold front will kill the bite. It also means the fish are where you find them. "There are lots of ways to catch them here," he said. "And it's still like 2 weeks ago – when they start biting, there's lots of fish around. And I'm getting some bites where I could not get a bite in the Bassmaster.
Walker fished the same area for most of the Bassmaster event, and he said the spot's no secret. "It seems like every time I go by, there's boats going through my spot. It would have been nice for something to hold up, but realistically, even if no boats had fished it, it might have changed.
"Just because I found a spot 2 weeks ago that could have won the tournament, that doesn't mean I can keep going back to it and expect the same thing.
"To win here, you need to change. There are big changes every couple of days. And you also need to catch a big fish. I never caught a big fish at Toho all week during the Bassmaster. I couldn't believe that. I wouldn't have done anything differently, but if I could have caught just one big fish, I think I would have beaten (Omori).
"At the Bassmaster, just catching any fish was a good deal," he said. "Now, with the weather getting nicer, it'll be about catching a big fish, or more than one."
He's leading the BASS points and said he wants to keep his momentum. "I would love to finish up high here again. I want to keep the roll going. It's great when you get on a roll, especially when you're moving from one tournament to the next."
Moore of the Same
Andre Moore, like Walker, is a two-tour angler who did well at the Toho Bassmaster. Moore finished 14th and missed the cut by 4 ounces. "I think it's pretty much about the same for me," he said. "It's still tough."
Andre Moore's take on Toho: It's still the same, and it's still tough.
He said he hasn't seen any fish on beds, and he's had the about the same amount of bites he did in the Bassmaster. "I haven't seen anything moving up. I figured they'd be moving up – trying to spawn. But they're not."
He also said FLW anglers have been practicing on a lot of the better areas from the Bassmaster event. "The spot where Tak (Omori) won, I've driven through and there's like 15 boats fishing right where he was. It's not like they'll leave it alone.
"I haven't really fished anything I have, because I don't want anyone to see me fishing it. And I don't know which locals put who on what, but I hope the weights are about the same. I hope they won't get better on me."
Like Walker, he noted that changes happen on Toho. "In the Bassmaster, I caught all my fish one day off isolated stuff, then the next day, they wouldn't bite and I had to go flip. This lake seems to change every day and you have to play it by ear."
Launch/Weigh-In Info
Anglers take off each morning at 7 a.m. from Kissimmee Lakefront Park. Wednesday's and Thursday's weigh-ins will be held there beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday's weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 1471 E. Osceola Pkwy. in Kissimmee, beginning at 5 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.
FLW's Family Fun Zone is open Friday and Saturday outside the weigh-in tent in the Wal-Mart parking lot. It opens Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 11 a.m.
Notable
> Takahiro Omori was reluctant to reveal his winning-pattern details from the Toho Bassmaster. To read what he would reveal, click here. For the 2nd- to 5th-place patterns, click here.
> Anglers can fish Lake Toho itself, or connect to Kissimmee, Hatchineha or Cypress. Omori caught most of his winning fish on Kissimmee.
Weather Forecast
Here's the Weather Channel's extended forecast for the tournament.
> Wed, Feb 9 – Mostly Sunny – 79°/56°
- Wind: From the W/NW at 12 mph
> Thur, Feb 10 – Few Showers – 70°/41°
- Wind: From the W/NW at 12 mph
> Fri, Feb 11 – Mostly Sunny – 60°/40°
- Wind: From the N/NW at 12 mph
> Sat, Feb 12 – Partly Cloudy – 66°/49°
- Wind: From the N at 10 mph
