KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Southern Division continues the season at the Kissimmee Chain on March 4-6. The second event of the season for the Southern Division, this one is presented by Suzuki Marine and should offer a welcome change from the opener at Lake Okeechobee.
At the Big O, the weather was terribly cold for Florida, and the fishing was equally brutal. In this one, highs every day are in the 80s, and the fishing should be quite good.
Shallow bite expected to be strong
With Banks Shaw doing much of his damage in the three-hour forward-facing sonar windows at Okeechobee and the same being the case when Drew Gill won at the Harris Chain, modern sonar has defined the early going in Florida. That’s not likely to be the name of the game this time, especially for the bulk of the field, as the warm weather should have the shallow bite popping.
“I think the lakes are fishing really good,” said Kane Weekley, a native Floridian who is coming off a win up at Guntersville. “I think the two main lakes are going to be Toho and Kissimmee. Toho is a great offshore grass, postspawn and prespawn area. Kissimmee is a great spawning lake, but it’s a matter of being on the right stuff. You could fish Kissimmee and catch nothing or fish Kissimmee and catch 30 pounds.
“It’s going to be a little bit hit or miss, but if you’re in the good areas of Kissimmee, they should be pulling up like crazy,” he said. “I think a lot of fish are up shallow right now. I’ve fished Toho two days already and I really haven’t caught much offshore – 2- to 4-pounders, but nothing crazy.”
Charlie Hartley, who winters in Florida, suspects that a lot of fish are shallow and thinks the prespawn or winter period is about wrapped up.
“We just had a cold front, but it’s going to be in the 80s,” Hartley said. “Last week, I fished a Wednesday morning tournament, we fished 8 to noon – I came in second with four fish for almost 16 pounds, and the winner had 19 pounds with a 9-1. The big ones I had last Wednesday were postspawn – we had a pretty good spawn already. With this warm-up, there’s no way there won’t be fish on beds. I’d say 50% of the fish have spawned – but they spawn here for six months.”
Between Hartley and Weekley, there’s no clear agreement on which part of the Kissimmee Chain to be in, which is part of the challenge for competitors.
“I’m afraid that Toho is going to be the player mainly, because it still has grass,” Hartley said. “But Kissimmee is always a player; my biggest Florida bass came out of Kissimmee. Usually, my goal, if I’m going to lock, is to get in the lock with a limit. It’s so hit or miss down there, but there are giant fish down there.”
That potential is not lost on Weekley.
“I’m almost positive it’ll be won on spawning fish, or shallow fish in general – ones that are looking for beds or postspawn,” the young pro said. “It’s going to be a little bit hit or miss, but if you’re in the good areas of Kissimmee, they should be pulling up like crazy.”
Regardless of which lake it goes down in, there should be some pretty fun fishing on tap. With warm nights, it’s all on the table.
“My favorite time of the year is when it is warm enough all day long to throw topwater,” Hartley said. “When you wake up in the morning and the water is already 70 degrees – I’ve caught some of my biggest postspawners on topwater.”
The points picture
With one event in the books, this one should really define the race to win 7 Brew Angler of the Year and make the Top 25 and the Toyota Series Championship. Tops after the first event, Shaw will not be fishing this one – he’s in Texas for the Bass Pro Tour’s Champion Teamwear Stage 3 Presented by MillerTech. However, Kyle Cortiana will be there. He finished second in the Southern Division last year and would probably love to bump that up by one this year.
Top 10 pros in the standings
1. Banks Shaw – 260
2. Kyle Cortiana – 259
3. Val Osinski – 258
4. Tim Wilson – 257
5. Parker Knudsen – 256
6. Doug Wooldridge – 255
7. Adriano Theriot – 254
8. Brian Holder – 253
9. Connor MacDougall – 252
10. Tyler Nekolny – 251
Follow along
Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public daily at the Big Toho Marina at 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. CT. This event is hosted by Experience Kissimmee. You can follow along with all the coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.