Crunch time at Toho
Sun shines, wind drops for FLW finals
KISSIMMEE, Fla. – This is fixing to be a good one.
The sun was a welcome sight for the 10 pros who took off for Saturday’s final round of Wal-Mart FLW Tour competition at Lake Toho, as well as the fans. While it was still chilly, the important thing for the fishermen was the wind – or lack of it. Calmer conditions today could mean cleaner water for everybody. That means pros like J.T. Kenney, Tom Mann Jr. and Bobby Lane – who made it this far by catching some impressive Toho toads in the opening round – have a fighting chance to bring in some more Florida monsters when it counts the most.
Mann – with 8 pounds, 2 ounces – has the best shot to take the title from Lane, who leads with 10-14. Buoyed by his co-angler’s winning stringer caught under tougher conditions Friday, Mann knows that the fishing area where he caught two 8-pounders in the opening round still has some good bass left in it just waiting to bite his Senko.
“I had everybody thinking I was throwing that Horny Toad yesterday, so that could work in my favor,” he said, referring to co-angler Kenneth Chapman’s winning bait. “If I can get two or three fish, look out.”
Most of these pros got here by targeting bigger bass that are staging for the spawn around thick grass. A majority, if not all, of them also likely started the day fishing south on Lake Kissimmee, where the leading catches have been caught throughout the week.
Yesterday’s cold front shut down the bass bite, but today’s warmth could spur them back into action, especially under the prespawn and spawning conditions.
With everybody’s catch weights relatively low in the first half of the finals, a bigger bite in the second half could really stir things up on the leaderboard. All 10 pros are, at most, within about 10 pounds of each other. As proven by co-angler Richard Lowitzki’s 11-pounder on day two, we already know that this waterway holds many single bass bigger than that.
Top prize for the winner today is $100,000. With favorable conditions, there’s a better-than-average chance the fish that wins it will be worth the money.
Saturday’s final weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. Eastern time at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 1471 E. Osceola Parkway in Kissimmee, Fla. The free Family Fun Zone – which features interactive displays, product samples and games – opens to the public at 11 a.m.
Here at FLWOutdoors.com, weigh-in coverage on FLW Live begins at 3 p.m. Eastern time.
Saturday’s conditions:
Sunrise: 7:06 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 48 degrees
Expected high temperature: 69 degrees
Water temperature: 60-65 degrees
Wind: NW at 5 to 10 mph
Maximum humidity: 38 percent
Day’s outlook: sunny