"During the big hurricane years of 2003-04," Alley explained, "this area took some major hits. Three of the four big hurricanes had eye walls coming right over Kissimmee, and you got 120-mile-per-hour winds that just whipped the water to a frenzy.

"That destroyed a lot of the vegetation, both shoreline and offshore hydrilla. In 2005 and '06, we started to get a lot of that back, and the lake was really looking up. Hatchineha was full of hydrilla, and so was the North Cove in Kissimmee. There was also a lot of hydrilla poking up on offshore bars and humps in Kissimmee, along with shallow water peppergrass.

"A lot of that is now gone. The state did some serious spraying, and the vegetation has changed considerably from last year."

As far as hydrilla goes in Kissimmee, Alley has not found any in the deeper open waters. It's gone! What hydrilla was present in the summer of 2007 was in shallow water. Anglers could find it on the southern end of the lake near the dam and in the creek channel near markers 5 and 6. There is also some very shallow hydrilla in the 27 Palms area, but that's about it.

Along the shoreline, however, there are still large stands of lily pads that are locally called "lotus pads," newly emerging areas of peppergrass, and extensive stands of maidencane in four to five feet of water.

The situation is different in Hatchineha and Cypress.

"In these two lakes," said Alley, "the only real cover is pencil reeds along the shoreline in about two feet of water, and offshore hydrilla. Most everything else has been killed off by spraying. But there is a lot of hydrilla in the open mid-lake waters in each lake. In both lakes, you find the hydrilla in four to six feet of water. It wasn't topped out this summer, but it's growing in scattered patches and coming up to within a couple of feet of the surface. The larger patches, coming up higher off the bottom, are excellent fish-holding areas."

The lack of diverse vegetation may disappoint some, but the bass don't seem to mind. In fact, these lakes have been some of the hottest in the region for the last two years.

More than a few local tournaments have required a six-fish limit in the 30-pound range to win! That's not likely to change this month. But the tactics needed to score might. It all depends upon how much water we get this hurricane season.

"Water is the key," Alley stated. "And the patterns and areas that will be the best bets this month depend upon how much we got this summer. You could wind up with two completely different scenarios, and two different effective patterns."

Under normal Chain conditions, the November-to-December period sees plenty of bass gravitating to open areas of moving water to feed on shad.

Water would normally move because we are at the tail end of the rainy season, and the Chain is being drawn down to its winter-pool level. This creates a feeding bonanza for bass.

If the area received even normal late-summer rainfall, there will be moving water this month. If this year's hurricane season sees a couple of storms crossing the southern part of the state, that water movement will be pronounced. Regardless of how much rain we get, if water is moving through the Chain, the bass respond.

For Alley, that means that specific areas or cover conditions can become quick limit-producing hotspots!

"Cypress is the first lake downstream of the Southport Canal coming from Lake Tohopekaliga," he said, "and there are three key areas that invariably produce well on moving water. One is the northern end of the lake where the canal comes in. We call it 'the Goal Posts.' There is hydrilla in that area, and the bass hold on that when they are not out actively chasing shad.

"The same situation also exists at the Goal Posts on the southern end, where the water moves into the Hatchineha Canal," the guide continued. "The third key spot is Canoe Creek, just south of the fish-camp boat ramp on the east shore.