It All Begins Today

Day one of practice for the @Walmart FLW Tour event on Toho is underway! Good luck to all! #FLWFishing pic.twitter.com/ivhGLkxivg
— FLW (@FLWFishing) March 1, 2015

Things have started! FLW Tour Pros have launched or are launching all over the Kissimmee Lakes chain in central Florida to practice for the tour opener, which begins on Thursday. Despite patches of snow that linger outside my window at home, the start of the FLW Tour season suggests that spring really is coming fairly soon.

I haven't looked at Kissimmee weather, but I suspect the pros will be targeting pre-spawn and even spawning fish. And as the tour itself moves north, so will warmer conditions. The excitement isn't just about spring and warmer weather, though. If you read this blog from time to time you know that I don't really mind cold and even go north instead of south through the winter so I can ice-fish. I just look forward to beginning of each new season, as a fishing writer and as a fan of the sport. I'm eager to see which pros figure things out at each tournament and how the fish behave, and to watch the many story lines that unfold through the season.

Even though the Bassmaster Classic was last weekend, that's a season cap for last year, not a fresh start, so it doesn't satisfy my desire to get things started anew.

I don't know which events I'll attend in person this week, but I'm always tracking them from wherever I am, both through the official tour feeds and through social media from various anglers. I suspect that in all the new excitement, a lot of cool Toho photos and notes will get posted today -- even more than normal for practice -- so I'll definitely have my eyes open!