The Bassmaster Southern Open season is set to start hours from now on Florida’s Kissimmee Chain of Lakes.

Mark Lassagne of Bass Angler Magazine fame is competing in the pro division this week. Being from California, he didn’t really know what to expect. “I heard the water was high and that a lot of the grass was dead. Being a guy from out-of-town, I don’t have a lot of preconceived notions so, to me, it looks like there’s a lot of vegetation out there.”

Lassagne found a spot he liked early in the week and then left it alone in hopes that it will pay off when it counts. “I caught a 7 and a couple of 4’s. I started shaking them off and they all felt like good fish. I could have done 25 pounds there.”

If his ‘A’ plan doesn’t come together, Lassagne knows this tournament could become a grind. “Overall, the fishing is pretty tough. I think a lot of guys will struggle. You can throw a Senko and catch numbers, but big fish are hard to come by.”

J.P. Prouty has seen the Kissimmee Chain before. A lot. Prouty has been based in Vero Beach, Fla. for years but now gets his mail Jacksonville, Fla. He has spent most of the winter down on Lake Toho and her sister lakes. Like Lassagne, Prouty predicts a low weight tourney.

“54 pounds, 18 per day, that’s what I think it will take to win this. Probably 30 to make the cut.”

Those are low numbers for a Florida fishery in winter. “I’ve done everything you can do on Toho and it’s ‘no bueno’. Somebody might find a wad of fish offshore and whack them good, but otherwise, I think 18 pounds per day is going to be tough to beat.”

As for tactics, Prouty expects a junk fest. “Guys will catch a couple flippin’ a couple off beds, a couple on swimbaits like the Gambler Big EZ. I can catch a bunch of fish casting (as opposed to flipping or sight fishing) but they may weigh 10 pounds or they might weigh 25. I just don’t know.”

He said the water temp reached that magical 68-degree mark today. That’s generally the temperature needed to kick off a reliable spawn for Florida strain bass. “But I don’t think we’ll have much sun the next couple of days.” Lack of sunlight and an ‘off’ moon phase will likely prevent the type of major spawn that gives birth to record-setting weights.

Patrick Pierce, of Saint John, Fla. is a veteran Opens pro. He said practice has “not been great. It’s kind of random. I found a few little wads of fish but being around them at the right time is everything.

“I don’t feel as good about it as I usually do.

“We’ll know more about it tomorrow.”

Noting the diminished amount of cover in the lakes, Pierce said crowds will form in key areas. “I looked for some out-of-the-way stuff. I think it’s out of the way, but there could be 20 boats on it when I get there tomorrow.”

His weight prediction made Prouty’s look optimistic. “Fifty pounds. I think 15 or 16 a day will be really strong. It’s Toho, so somebody will catch an 8-or-9-pounder and I believe a 20-pound bag will be caught, but I would be very happy with 15 pounds a day.”

Again, the offshore bite was mentioned as the wild card that could change things. “I looked around out there and didn’t find anything I liked,” said Pierce. I think that’s how the American Bass Anglers tournament was won this past weekend, but I’m going to do what I do. For Pierce, that means flippin’.

Much of the field will flip.

And it looks as if much of the field will make the long run down to Lake Kissimmee where flippin’ cover is still fairly plentiful. This makes boat numbers more of a factor.

Normally, an angler would want a lower number. But with the afternoon bite often being the best in winter, Lassagne is happy with his high number. “I don’t have to weigh-in until 4 o’clock tomorrow.”  

Pierce will enjoy a similar advantage, “I’m boat #191 so I will just spend the first hour on Toho and let the crowds work their way through the locks. Then I’ll head down that way and fish the way I like to fish.”

Prouty is pleased with his draw. “Nobody will get to fish more than I will. I am boat #105 tomorrow, so the next day I will be something like ‘99’ or so.”

Extra minutes on the water, especially during the relative warmth of afternoon, could make a huge difference if the angling is as tough as most folks think it will be this week.