Due to an unusually warm winter, Toho’s bass, which normally should be migrating to the shallow water spawning areas, seem to be caught in a state of limbo, unsure of where to take up residence. As a result, kicker fish were hard to come by for the majority of anglers searching the shallows or probing offshore haunts.

Longtime Florida pro and noted sight fisherman, Shaw Grigsby, stuck with his plan to target the remaining spawning bass that had not been pushed off the beds by the massive cold front and the decision paid off in a big way. Grigsby set the mark to beat early in the weigh in by bringing in a limit weighing 22.10 pounds anchored by a 13.4 pound giant – the biggest of his career.

Despite Grigsby’s heroics, the biggest sack of the day went to none other than Ben Matsubu, who is no stranger to the top of the leader board when it comes to tournaments in Florida.  In 2006, he claimed the Bassmaster Wildcard Qualifier on the Harris Chain and in 2007, he won an Elite Series Event on Toho. His tournament leading weight of over 23 pounds featured a five pound bass, two in the four pound range, and an 11 pound kicker.

North Carolina’s Chris Elliot will enter Friday in third, after bringing the day’s only other 20 pound limit to the scales with 20.81 pounds.

Jasper Engines and Transmissions pro, Chad Morgenthaler, scored an impressive limit of Florida bass tipping the scales at 18.68, while Elite Series pros Todd Faircloth and Mike McClelland picked up where they left off the 2008 season by bringing in over 17 pounds a piece.

Tomorrow’s forecast calls for more of the same as temperatures are expected to be in the low forties at takeoff.

Here’s what some of the leaders told The BZ about their day on the water:

Ben Matsubu (23+)
“The weather man was off as usual and yesterday’s weather was a little warmer than expected and I found an area that had a couple of small bass on beds and some cruising males but I never caught anything over two pounds there in practice.

“I decided to check it out today and I caught a limit really quick and culled out three fish. I found another area that had the same type of water and just about when I was about to give up on that area, my bait came over a piece of grass and a four pounder came up and ate it.

“Practice was really tough here, and I don’t know why, but I always seem to catch them when a cold front comes into Florida. I really don’t know, but it seems like something comes my way and things work out.

“I always catch them when it’s cold in Florida, so confidence is definitely a factor. I found a really good area that’s producing fish but I don’t know how many are there because I only spent about 45 minutes there today. I think there is more to be offered. It’s supposed to be really cold tomorrow morning, so things might change.

“In the past, when you get a warm day in Florida like yesterday and you have a full moon, these fish are ready to go spawn and I had a feeling about this spot and it just worked out really good. Again, you never know what these bass are doing but I knew there would be some females nearby.

“Tomorrow, if I catch 10 pounds out of that area, I think I will just leave it alone and go hunt around for the same type of water and hopefully find another spot just like it. I’m going to try and manage my fish but I think I have a shot.”

Shaw Grigsby (22.10 – Big Bass – 13.4)
“The big fish was just a blessing. I found a bunch of beds in practice but with this cold front, most of them were just gone. I only had three fish in the boat that went maybe five pounds and I got hung and when I went over to get my bait, I looked down and saw what I thought was about a seven pounder.

“I turned around and about 20 minutes later I set the hook on her. She opened her mouth and it was just stunning. I didn’t really see her until I set the hook and I was like, ‘wow.’ It was a big old fish, man – that’s a big ol’ pig. I believe that it’s the biggest bass I’ve ever caught.

“I was bed fishing throughout the day and just keeping it slow because of the cold weather. It’s a real slow bite, so am I going to catch anything tomorrow? I don’t have a clue. I have one bass that I can go to and I might catch it. Other than that, I’m probably going to start fishing open water and try to catch a limit of bass hanging on the hydrilla.

“If we had had warm weather like last week, we would have just had a slug fest but that isn’t in the cards for this week. Today was probably the best day to catch a big bag because it’s going to get cold tonight and blow tomorrow and that makes it extremely hard to catch them. This lake has the potential but the conditions have been tough so I would think that this was the day to catch them.”

Chad Morgenthaler (18.68)
“I was in the last flight today so I had a long day. I was planning on going south but I wanted the locks to clear out first so I started on one of the spots that I had on Toho and caught two 13 inch bass. About 9:30 I ran down to a place where I thought I could catch around 10 to 12 pounds. I caught a couple of limits and culled up to around 13 pounds but they were all cookie cutters.

“At 12:30 I decided to make a move and I had four bites and one of them was an 8 pounder – that was pretty much the day. I expected to catch somewhere between an eight and twelve pound limit today because I hadn’t had a big bite in practice.

“It’ll be a hit and miss deal tomorrow with the big bite, but the one person that does concern me right now is Ben Matsubu, because he had two giants and we know what he’s done here in the past. For the guys fishing shallow, the big bite is a hit and miss deal but it’s the guys fishing in the middle of the lake that you have to watch out for.”

Todd Faircloth (17.82)
“I didn’t have a great practice but I caught some fish everyday. I felt like I could maybe catch 12 to 13 pounds and if I got lucky and caught a big one I could have more. That’s what happened today, I caught one that was between seven and eight pounds and that’s what pushed me over the bubble.

“I probably had around 10 keeper bites today but the fish have changed some since the cold front came through. I have two patterns that are working for me and one of the patterns seemed like it got better and one got worse. When it gets cold in Florida you just have to slow down and fish really hard.

“There are some boats in my area but I feel like I have my stretches to myself and I didn’t see anyone else fish them. I also have a spot that I didn’t go to today, just kind of saving it. I think it will get a little tougher because today was really the first cold day we have had so tomorrow we will just be that much further along in the front. It could make my other pattern even better, that’s what I’m hoping for.”

Jason Williamson (16.64)
“It was just a great day in Florida for me because my history in Florida isn’t really good. It was a typical cold front day in Florida and I was able to get a few key bites and get them in the boat and that’s the main thing down here is not to lose any.

“I’m not getting many bites and I’m concentrating on off shore stuff. The wind blew hard today and it’s supposed to blow hard again tomorrow so I just have to hang in there and stay consistent.

“I practiced the way that I’m fishing because I saw the forecast. They sprayed Lake Toho so I tried to find the areas that they missed and luckily I found some areas that they missed so that is what I’m keying on. I don’t have any spots to myself so by the end of the week that may play a part in it. I think I’m doing something a little different than a lot of the guys around me so that’s making a difference.

“Tomorrow, my game plan will be the same as today. I’m going to stick with the off shore stuff because I’m not going to go shallow. I’m just going to stick in there and see what happens.”