We knew the lake held 10-pound bass, and then some, but most wondered wheather any of the pros fishing the Bassmaster Southern Open would catch any of the big bass for which the Kissimmee Chain is known.

On a day when many anglers didn’t weigh-in 10 pounds total, Van Soles of Haines City, Fla. laid one on the scale that went 10 pounds, 7 ounces. The big fish anchored his 17-4 limit that put him in the top 12 cut. Without it he might not have gotten a paycheck at all out of this event. That’s the difference a big fish makes.

Then again, there’s a lot to be said for consistency. And Jeff Cloud of Lubbock, Tex. was consistent with an 18-6 limit that, combined with his day 1 weight of 16-6, ran his total to 34-12, good enough for the lead as we head into Saturday’s final round.

For those planning to attend, the final weigh in will take place 3 P.M. at Bass Pro Shop in Orlando.

Jacksonville’s Phil Curry sits in 2nd with a total weight of 32-4.

Veteran Florida angler John Brazzell is 3rd with 31-6, while professional rookie Garrett Rocamora hung in the top 12, currently 4th, with a total weight of 30-3.

David Williams is 5th with 29-13.

The afforementioned Soles is 6th. He caught the big bass by flipping a beaver into heavy vegetation.

Joe Ventrello holds the 12th spot with 27-10 and will fish tomorrow along with the 11 guys ahead of him.

Several among the Top 12 were back in the pack on the first day but strong, if unspectacular, follow up efforts catapulted them into the cut on a day that saw no bags weighed that exceeded 20 pounds.

Day 1 leader Todd Auten was among the 42 pros (21% of the field) who did not weigh a fish today. He slid to 28th place where he will, at least, collect a paycheck on the strength of his 22 pound, 10 ounce first day sack that was 1 fish shy of the 5-fish limit but still stands as the heaviest of the tournament after 200 pros pounded the lakes for 2 days.

Auten caught his fish yesterday on an Xcalibur Xr 75 lipless crankbait. According to the words of some contestants, the rattlebait bite, and the offshore bite in general, died off today. Flippin’ continued to produce but bass also continued to simply peck at the lures and not give anglers much opportunity for a solid hook set.

Hank Cherry was last in line to cut a check with 20-3. That’s what it took to place 40th over two dissapointing days on an outstanding bass fishery. Cold fronts. Florida bass. Need we say more?