KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The Sunshine State’s a little behind in seasonality, but Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series pro John Cox believes winter’s late arrival might be setting up an absolute smash fest for the Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Kissimmee Chain presented by Battery Tender.
Competition days will be January 29-31 with daily takeoffs from Lake Front Park – Big Toho Marina at 7 a.m. ET and weigh-ins each day at the same location at 3 p.m.
With prolonged warmth reaching well into December and significant cold fronts mostly waiting until after the New Year’s Eve confetti had long since disappeared, mid-January finally saw the kind of serious Southern cold that painted much of the state in weather map blue. The Florida Panhandle received a rare snowfall.
While such weather patterns make Central Florida strawberry farmers nervous, they do the opposite for anglers like Cox. The Elite pro from DeBary knows that, while Florida bass love their warm, stable water, the ecosystem actually needs a solid cold spell to crack the whip on spawning instincts.
“I think this tournament will be more prespawn and spawners,” Cox said. “We’ve had a few little (spawning) waves but they didn’t really go, because it hadn’t gotten cold enough. But this recent cold is gonna put them in the mood.
“With the cold fronts of mid-January, if it warms up, we could see some really big bags.”
With a note of measured optimism, Cox said he’s not counting out potential record-breaking catches. With no shortage of quality fish in the 5- to 7-pound range, the Kissimmee Chain (lakes Toho, Cypress, Hatchineha and Kissimmee) also holds many of those double-digit day-makers with game-changing potential.
Teasing a sniff at one of bass fishing’s most impressive records, Cox points to similarities in the Open’s timing and that of Dean Rojas’ astounding five-bass limit of a 45-pounds, 2-ounces. Caught Jan. 17, 2001, during a Bassmaster Top 150 event on Lake Toho, Rojas’ achievement was made possible by a sudden wave of spawning giants that rushed the Shingle Creek shallows.
“The tournament will only be a couple weeks off from when Dean Rojas caught that big stinger,” Cox said. “That year was similar to 2026. It had been very cold, then there was a sudden warm-up and the fish ran to the bank.”
Cox said the entire Kissimmee Chain holds healthy habitat with lots of options from hydrilla and Kissimmee grass to lily pads and hyacinth. As he explained, the middle two lakes often see the first hints of spawning action because their shallower depths tend to warm up the fastest.
“Really anything can happen in any of the lakes,” Cox said of the chain’s widespread potential. “Your flippers typically are going to Lake Kissimmee, the open-water grass fishermen are often in Toho and the middle two lakes could be a mix of both.”
Notably, the canals linking the four main lakes also hold fishable habitat, while their levees offer protective wind breaks during blustery conditions. On January 18, the Strike King Bassmaster High School event at the Kissimmee Chain saw winners Eli Scroggins and Drew Berlingof the Park Hills Athletic Club catch their biggest fish — a 6-13 — in the canal between Toho and Cypress while midday winds blasted main-lake waters.
When Opens competitors hit the Kissimmee Chain, a mix of wacky worms and Texas-rigged worms, craws and creature baits will handle any bed fishing opportunities that arise. Those looking for prespawners will be throwing lipless baits, bladed jigs, swimbait and Carolina rigs.
“Those prespawn fish will be right there on the verge of bedding,” Cox predicts. “I think we could see a guy sit in one little area and have fresh fish coming to him.”
A key factor that will undoubtedly impact the way many anglers fish is the no-forward-facing sonar rule. This season will see half of the Opens events allowing live sonar and half prohibiting its use. With forward-facing sonar left out of the picture, Kissimmee Chain competitors will have to rely on local experience and tried-and-true fishing techniques.
“I think without FFS, knowledge of the lakes will help more,” Cox said. “You might see some of the guys who’ve fished the lakes for many years do really well. This could be right in their wheelhouse.”
Taking an educated guess at the leaderboard, Cox said: “To make the Top 10, I would think it will take close to 20 pounds a day. I think we’re gonna see some really big bags, so the winning three-day weight will be about 65, but it might take 70.
“Somebody might catch 30 one day, then back it up with two more good days. This will be an exciting event.”
Follow along with all of the action from the Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Kissimmee Chain of Lakes presented by Battery Tender on Bassmaster.com.
Visit Kissimmee is hosting this event.
