Lake Tohopekaliga revealed a secret earlier this month -- there are numerous big bass in its waters. Now, it has made a state list of top lakes to fish for those trophy-sized bass.

"Florida has taken a major step toward re-establishing itself as the Bass Capital of the World," said Ed Moyer, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's director of freshwater fisheries.

The state agency issued its list of top 10 bass fishing sites in the state last week. Lakes Toho and Kissimmee are mentioned along with Lake Okeechobee, the state's largest, and Lake George, the second largest.

The honor for Lake Toho comes after a professional bass tournament earlier this month where anglers shattered records for the number of big fish caught.

The tournament's organizers, the Bass Anglers Sportsmen Society, joined in hailing the return of Lake Toho as a bass fisherman's paradise.'

"We proved that Toho is not only one of the better lakes in the state but one of the better ones in the country,"?said Dewey Kendrick, the National Tournament Director for BASS, which is based in Montgomery, Ala.

For Toho, the resurrection has been dramatic. In the 1960s it was one of the best-known bass fisheries in the world. Then, state and federal authorities stepped in and began manipulating water levels, dams and canals to cater to the demands of growing a growing population. Muck began to collect in many of the lakes, and once transparent waters grew murky.

The result? Lake Toho lost its lure.

This year, everything came together for anglers. Nature behaved perfectly, fishing experts agreed. The moon was fully visible. The water warmed up with perfect timing. Skies were clear. The lake glistened, and bass forayed into shallow areas to spawn.

"The fishing was so-so in the previous two years but it wasn't great," said Kendrick. This year, "we just hit the lake at the perfect time."

The benefits of environmental management also bore fruit. Efforts to clear the lake of nuisance vegetation and algae helped to bring the fish to where they could be caught. And a cleanup, or drawdown, of the lake in the 1980s demonstrated its lasting benefits.

Easy pickings for the pros. Some say too easy.

Dean Rojas brought in a record 108 pounds, 12 ounces of bass over the four days of the tournament.

For Grigsby Shaw of Gainesville, one of the top five finishers at the tournament, it was as if he had been transported back in time.

"Isn't this a tremendous lake? This is like Florida in the old days.
This whole chain of lakes has really come back," he said.

State environmental officials plan to conduct a second drawdown of Lake Toho next year. Because the cleanup involves lowering the level of the water, there will be no Bassmaster tournament here. But officials realize the drawdown will make it easy to catch the lake's big fish.

Bruce Shupp, the fisheries conservation director for BASS, said the tournament "was just the tip of the iceberg."

Pamela Mercer can be reached at pmercer@orlandosentinel.com or 407-931-5932.