Toho Day 2 Coverage

Toho is heating up on day two

QUICK LINKS

Live Leaderboard – click here

Lake Tour – click here

Tournament Details – click here

Toho By the Numbers – click here

Day 1 Leader Story – click here

Day 2 OTW Gallery – click here

Day 2 Marshal Gallery – click here

 

1:10 p.m. – Closing the blog

And at that, we’re going to shut down the blog for the day. The leaderboard will still be updated until 2 p.m. ET. In all, Toho was definitely a little trickier for many guys today, but we still know some true monsters are set to be weighed in at Big Toho Marina. There’s plenty of time for pros to sack ‘em up this afternoon, as John Cox did late in the day yesterday with his 10-plusser.

We appreciate everyone following along today! Stick around flwfishing.com for the live weigh-in at 3 p.m. ET.

 

12:55 p.m. –  Afternoon updates

We’ve seen five fish over 8 pounds today (including multiple 9-pluses) and eight fish over 6 pounds. The big ones have been spread out throughout the tournament field, though, with few anglers catching multiple kickers. They’ve been good enough to get some guys past the cut line today, but the John Coxes and Scott Martins of the world are still searching for a giant or two to put them over the top.

Aaron Britt remains in the lead, unofficially, with 25 pounds today and about 46 for the tournament. Cox, Josh Douglas and Martin are just behind him.

Chad Warren, who took 4th at Rayburn last month, is off in “gator country,” according to his marshal. He has about 10 pounds today and is flipping around in close proximity to a gator.

We’re still awaiting a new report on Buddy Gross. He has four fish for 12 pounds confirmed at the moment, but there’s a good chance he’s added to that since we last checked in with the Georgia stick. He’s sitting in 7th place, unofficially.

 

12:20 p.m. – “Just like that, we’re back in it.” – John Cox

According to John Cox’s marshal, Jonathan King, it’s shake-and-bake time for the Florida pro. Cox finally landed a solid fish that weighs about 4 pounds. He still has to run back to the fish he marked earlier. This could definitely be the start of a late-day push for Cox.

Josh Douglas has added a 6-pounder since our last update. He’s up to 3rd place, unofficially, with a 22-plus-pound bag today. Unfortunately, he also has some potential motor issues brewing, so he’s leaving the spot he caught the 6-pounder.

Casey Scanlon has joined the hawg party. He has a 5-pounder and a 9-pounder in the box. That gives him roughly 19 pounds for the day.

Aaron Britt is loving life right now. After beating up his juice and turning on some tunes, he decided to roll out and scout for tomorrow.

 

11:50 a.m. – Woolcott leaning on his giant, searching for another

Tyler Woolcott confirms he has a 9, a 2 1/2-pounder and a few small ones. He’s hunting for one more big one before running back to Toho. With his 15-plus-pound bag today, Woolcott unofficially moves into 6th place. Here’s a look at the five ahead of him:

1. Aaron Britt – 46.125 lbs. Total

2. Scott Martin – 40.25

3. John Cox – 35.57

4. Braxton Setzer – 38.94

5. Josh Douglas – 38.06

 

11:30 a.m. – Aaron Britt from way downtown

We just got word that Aaron Britt is working on a mega-bag. The California pro has roughly 25 pounds in the box at the moment. By pounds, his fish-by-fish breakdown goes: 8, 6, 5, 4 and 2. If Britt can get rid of the 2 and maybe the 4, we could see another Dirty Thirty this afternoon at weigh-in.

 

11:20 a.m. – Douglas

Minnesota pro Josh Douglas just went back-to-back with 7- and 5-pounders. Those fish culled out a few dinks to bump his weight to upwards of 18 pounds. Douglas says that he figured out something unique that is getting him the big bites. Along with Douglas, a bunch of other pros are starting to make culls too. This could be a sign that the better quality fish are starting to show themselves.

 

11:00 a.m. – Reports

Even though John Cox only has four dinks in the boat, he’s still in decent shape. Right now, he’s running around Toho looking to fill his limit of bucks before he goes to a few 5- and 6-pounders he has marked. He said he’s waiting until the big ones are set up correctly before he goes after them.

Florida pro Tim Frederick just caught his first keeper, a 5-pounder. After hooking the fish, he went to grab the net but was unable to separate it from his rods on deck. Luckily, Frederick was able to lip the bass from his driver’s seat.

Scott Martin continues to make some small culls and is back in the unofficial lead. Buddy Gross has about 12 pounds today and sits in 4th, while Brian Latimer and a 14-plus-pound bag has moved into 5th.

We’re hearing some rumblings about water drawdown that might be affecting some fish and their spawning patterns. Water levels on the chain are already a little low, and it might be forcing fish to back off a little bit until their spawning areas are back under a little more water.

 

10:20 a.m. – Some bigs are coming out to play

We have at least four fish of 6 pounds or more on the board so far this morning with a ton of time left to fish. Gainey has the near-10-pounder and Tyler Woolcott sent word that he has a 9-plus. Jeremy Lawyer already has a 6-pounder in the box. We’re also seeing numerous pros ditch the big-fish strategy in favor of putting five keepers in the boat, but sometimes filling a limit comes with stumbling across some big ones.

Miles Burghoff is definitely around some quality fish. He has a 4-pounder and a 5-pounder chilling in his livewell at the moment. Scott Martin also boated a 5-pounder. Working moving baits seems to be the go-to for Burghoff and Martin this morning. As the weather continues to warm and the water temperature goes with it, we might just see the number of big fish balloon by the time weigh-in rolls around.

Braxton Setzer is on fire as well, having just culled up with a 5 1/2-pounder. He’s unofficially in the lead now with 19-plus pounds today and 38-plus for the tournament. He’ll be someone to watch the rest of the way.

 

9:40 a.m. – Kelley, Gainey

Cody Kelley is still on them. He has four in the boat for an estimated 15 pounds, including a near-7-pounder. He’s also lost some good fish at the boat, per his marshal. He’s tossing around a finesse worm.

Nick Gainey is another guy who’s coming out swinging today. He landed close to a 10-pounder and has some other nice fish in the box. His marshal estimates close to 17 pounds for the Charleston, S.C., pro.

 

9:15 a.m. – A few updates

Buddy Gross seems to be on them today. He has a pair of 4-pounders, a 3-pounder and a small one. He says he lost a big one, though. A “dadgum biggun.”

Day one leader John Cox is off to a slower start than he had yesterday. He has rustled up only one small keeper and is currently in full search mode on Toho. According to his Marshal, Cox said, “It’s been hard to figure out what they’re doing. Still doesn't seem like they’re moving up yet.” Despite the slow start, expect Cox to get back on fish. Toho is stacked with big fish, and he’s just too good not to bump into a few.

Scott Martin has managed four fish that’ll go for about 9 pounds. He is fishing around a bunch of other anglers in Kissimmee. Once Martin gets No. 5, expect him to go on a headhunting mission for a few big girls.

 

 

8:35 a.m. – Not much happening, yet

Well, folks, today has been somewhat slow so far across the field. We have seen a few small limits come in, but nothing in comparison to yesterday at this time. It will be interesting to see how much yesterday’s pressure will affect the fish as the day goes on.

You have to wonder if this is the calm before the storm given the steady warming trend the Kissimmee area has been experiencing this week. If these fish are going to move up, there’s a decent chance it happens as the water continues to warm today.

In the meantime, take a peek at how John Cox caught his monster bag from yesterday.

 

7:50 a.m. – Kelley with the first big one of the morning

Cody Kelley has the first tank of the day. His marshal reports a 7-pounder for the Conway, Ark., pro. Joseph Webster is still whacking them. He has a limit of roughly 12 pounds already.

With a bunch of anglers still trying to lock through, there’s a good chance we’ll get updates en masse sooner than later. It’s just a matter of time before Kissimmee starts pumping out fish.

 

7:38 a.m. – Lock logjam

Updates are sparse to start the morning, thanks in large part to the mass of boats trying to lock through to Kissimmee. As Randy Despino’s marshal put it, “It’s like a line for a Black Friday sale, Toho Edition.” A few small catches have been reported so far, but nothing to write home about yet. 

Joseph Webster seems to be the only angler really on them at this point in the morning. He has four fish for about nine pounds so far. A solid start to be sure.

 

7:00 a.m. – It’s hawg hunting time

Day one of the second stop of the FLW Tour at Lake Toho, presented by Ranger Boats, saw a slew of massive fish toted to the weigh-in stage. In all, pros weighed in 11 fish over 8 pounds for Big Bass, three of which were more than 9 pounds. The one bigger than 10 — the one that left everyone in awe of what the Kissimmee Chain can produce — was weighed in by John Cox, whose 31-9 bag leads the tournament and represents the largest bag ever turned in at Toho in FLW Tour competition.

Cox looks to pad his 6-10 lead over John Voyles (24-15 on day one), while local stick and Tour superstar Scott Martin (24-12) stalks just behind both. Martin knows these lakes as well as anyone, and it’s a good bet he’s not going to take his foot off the accelerator today.

But big questions still remain. Will it be Toho or Kissimmee that really shows out when it counts? Are there enough big bedding fish to sustain more 20-plus-pound bags? When will the giants this chain holds make their way to spawning grounds in earnest? 

Stick around, and hopefully we’ll find out the answers to those questions today.

 

CONDITIONS

Temperature at takeoff: 58 degrees

Forecast high: 82 degrees

Sky: Mostly sunny

Precipitation: 0 percent chance of rain

Wind: NNE at 5 to 10 mph

 

TOURNAMENT DETAILS

Presented by Ranger Boats

Hosted by Experience Kissimmee / Kissimmee Sports Commission

Takeoff: 7:00 a.m. ET at Big Toho Marina, 69 Lakeview Drive, Kissimmee, Fla.

Weigh-in: Day 2 at 3 p.m. ET; Days 3 and 4 at 4 p.m. ET at Big Toho Marina

FLW Expo: 2 p.m. ET through the end of weigh-in at Big Toho Marina

FLW Live: Day 2 from 2:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET weigh-in