Classic set Feb. 24-26 in central Florida

In winter 2001, Arizona pro Dean Rojas set records in bass fishing.
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Coming to central Florida's Lake Toho this winter after the Super Bowl but before March Madness ... the 2006 CITGO Bassmaster Classic.
The Super Bowl of bass fishing, with more than $1 million on the line, returns to Kissimmee from Feb. 24-26 for the first time since 1977, when Rick Clunn emerged the winner.
Usually held during the summer, the Classic was switched to winter to capitalize on the 22,750-acre lake's bountiful supply of big fish. It was here in the Florida Top 150 tournament in the winter of 2001 that Arizona pro Dean Rojas set BASS records of five fish totaling 45 pounds 2 ounces in one day and a four-day total of 108 pounds 12 ounces.
"We feel we have the best anglers in the world," BASS general manager Don Rucks said. 'We wanted to put them on a body of water that's known for a lot of fish and large fish. "[Rojas'] is a pretty big record to be broken, but if we had an opportunity for it to be broken, this would be it."
Fifty-one anglers will compete, having qualified in prior BASS events. All but seven have been chosen, pending the outcome of two events. Among the qualifiers: defending Classic champion and two-time winner Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich.; CITGO Bassmaster Angler of the Year Aaron Martens of Leeds, Ala.; Rick Clunn of Ava, Mo., voted greatest angler of all-time in an online BASS poll; previous Classic champions Mike Iaconelli of Runnemede, N.J.; Jay Yelas of Tyler, Texas; and Davy Hite of Prosperity, S.C.
Scroggins said he is confident about his chances because he won last month's season-ending Southern Open on Lake Toho, just before the lake closed to Classic competitors. But his winning total was 8 pounds 12 ounces.
"I feel pretty good," he said afterward. "How you win on Toho with 8 pounds, I don't know."
He's got a system
Scroggins caught most of his fish by flipping a black-and-blue Zoom Ultra-Vibe Speed Craw. The rules allowed him to fish in adjoining lakes, including Cypress, Hatchineha, Kissimmee and the Kissimmee River. He expects to use that same game plan in the Classic.
"I know that [lake] system better than anywhere else in the country," he said. 'In the Classic, if we get warm weather, it might be a sight-fishing tournament. There's 25 guys that do it good. I'm hoping it'll be cold-front conditions, nasty as it can be. I think it increases my advantage over the field. If it stays cold and the flippin' bite's on, I might be one of the favorites to do that."
Much of the flipping in the Classic will take place around islands of smart weed, dubbed "alligator grass" or "mean green" by bass pros. Big mats of the thick-rooted vegetation have cropped up in Lake Toho since its drawdown and restoration, completed in the summer of 2004.
"It's hard to get fish out of alligator grass, but the fish seem to like it," Aaron Martens said.
Added Kevin Wirth, a seven-time Classic qualifier: "I know you can find some key mats that have fish in 'em, and you can catch fish on the same ones in February if they don't get blown away."
Differences in lakes
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologists Marty Mann and Tim Coughlin said the bass fishing might be better on 35,000-acre Lake Kissimmee than on Lake Toho during the Classic. Lake Kissimmee, which underwent a partial restoration in 1996, experienced slower-than-normal fishing for a while but now is on the upswing, according to the biologists.
"This year, I'd expect people to run to Kissimmee," Coughlin said. "Over the past year, it's been a little more productive than Toho."
Where the bottom of Lake Toho was scraped to remove muck, biologists are looking for native vegetation to grow and for big bass to follow.