FLW Tour preview: Not a fish in sight

Cold front threatens to worsen already tough bite

There are two sides to Florida fishing. The glamorous side includes warm sunshine, temperatures in the low 80s and giant largemouths that weigh up to 10 pounds. The other, lesser known side is the dreaded cold front – complete with fierce winds that turn Florida’s shallow water to chocolate milk and give the bass lockjaw. Expect both scenarios to unfold at the season-opening Wal-Mart FLW Tour event on Lake Toho. As of now, the forecast calls for a brutal cold front to arrive on Wednesday. The expected temperature for the day-one takeoff is a frigid 42 degrees, which could put a world of hurt on the shallow fish. Warmer weather is expected to return Friday and arrive in earnest on Saturday, but by that time only the top 10 pros and the top 10 co-anglers will still be competing. Lake history, facts Lake Tohopekaliga, commonly called Toho for short, is the sixth-largest natural lake in Florida, spanning over 22,000 acres with an average depth of only 5 feet. Although the tournament is officially listed at Toho, FLW Tour anglers are allowed to connect to Kissimmee, Hatchineha or Cypress. Despite considerable fishing pressure, Lake Toho remains a legendary body of water with trophy largemouth bass potential. In addition to largemouth bass, Toho is home to healthy populations of black crappie, bluegill, sunfish, channel catfish, chain pickerel, warmouth and bullhead catfish. The last time the FLW Tour visited Lake Toho was in 2005, when Tom Mann Jr. of Buford, Ga., captured first place by bringing in a four-day total of over 53 pounds. But of those 53 pounds, only 16 were caught during a grueling two-day final round, yet it was still enough to take home $100,000. What the anglers are saying New for 2008 is an official four-day practice period for all FLW Tour events. Practice for Lake Toho began Feb. 23 and ends Feb. 26. Near the end of practice, veteran pro Mark Rose was kind enough to share his thoughts on the upcoming tournament and how the lake has been fishing. Rose is perhaps the hottest angler associated with FLW Outdoors at the moment. At the recent FLW Series East-West Fish-Off on Lake Amistad, he took sixth overall and punched his ticket to the 2008 Forrest Wood Cup. Prior to that, he took fifth at the season-opening FLW Series Eastern Division event on Lake Okeechobee. And before that, he won $125,000 at the 2007 FLW Series Eastern Division finale on Pickwick Lake. “All that momentum could come to a halt right here – it just seems like it’s lost,” said the Marion, Ark., pro. “It can get a lot better for me. Sometimes you’ve just got to survive, and I think this is one that I’ve got to survive.” Rose said he spent the first two days of practice looking for spawning bass on Lake Toho. Put kindly, the search was fruitless. “What I saw was a lot of empty beds. They’ve already spawned. I spent two days looking for them when I should have been fishing. You can catch a 6- or 7-pound limit of males from the bank, but I’m not going to do that.” Rose expects two distinct patterns to emerge, and with each, he visualizes a particular fisherman flourishing. “I think it is going to be a worm deal – slowly working a big worm on the edge of stuff. And when I think about that type of fishing, I think Larry Nixon. Just simple Texas rigging and slowly, methodically working that worm. “I also think the mats are going to be good, especially if we get the colder weather. When I think about flipping mats, I think J.T. Kenney. He’s coming off a big win on Lake Okeechobee, and this is going to suit him well. If I had to guess, I’ll bet J.T. will flip mats in Kissimmee and Larry will be fishing slow in Toho.” Rose said he tried to get a Rat-L-Trap bite going, but there was too much grass. “There’s more hydrilla on Toho than I’ve ever seen. It’s almost as though you have to hunt and peck for little pockets of open water.” Despite his unproductive practice, Rose acknowledges that this is Florida, and if you fish hard for two straight days, you’ll likely get a big bite here and there. “I think there’s going to be a few guys catching them real well, and then it will taper off. I’m going to say you will need 27 pounds over the first two days to make the cut.” For some perspective, the 2006 Bassmasters Classic was held on Lake Toho Feb. 24-26. At that event, Chevy pro Luke Clausen took first place with 56 pounds, 2 ounces over three days of competition. PTSI pro Ron Shuffield took third with 47-14. Shuffield said although the dates are similar, the conditions are not. “The biggest difference between now and then is that the water is 10 degrees warmer,” Shuffield said. “We’re really in a true postspawn deal. Each day the fish are getting smaller and the bites are getting fewer. I just don’t think you can run the bank shallow.” At the 2006 Classic, the Bismarck, Ark., pro threw a topwater frog over beds. This time around, he hasn’t been able to make that work. “I’m struggling to catch five little keepers. I really think 9 or 10 pounds a day is going to be a real good, consistent catch.” Fantasy reminder FLW Fantasy Fishing players need to have their tournament roster of 10 pro anglers set by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, Feb. 27. For more information visit FantasyFishing.com. Competition officially begins Thursday at 7 a.m. Eastern time as the field of 200 boats departs from Kissimmee Lakefront Park.