It had been years since the Elite Series visited Lake Murray in South Carolina, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I assumed some fish would still be spawning, while others would be schooling. The lake has innumerable shallow points that attract shad and herring, and post-spawn bass are programmed to intercept them there.
Prior to the event, I met Ed Walker, a retired South Carolina State Trooper. He visited the Mercury Marine booth during the Bassmaster Classic Expo and we struck up a conversation. That eventually led to an invitation to stay with him and his wife, a few coves over from our official take-off site at Dreher Island State Park.
Talk about convenient! In less than 15 minutes, I could be on the water scouting Lake Murray’s more than 50,000 surface acres.
Practice Begins
On day 1, I started on a series of points that had produced for me in years past. On several, the bass were feeding on schools of shad and herring. Fooling them with an artificial lure was another story, however. The few I caught fell for a white Yamamoto D-Shad when they were on the surface and a Shimano Macbeth 75F crankbait when they went down.
Once the sun rose above the trees, I started searching for bedding bass.
In numerous coves, I marked males guarding nests or freshly hatched fry. In a few cases, I found them paired with nice females. Three days ahead of the competition, however, I didn’t put a lot of stock in those females sticking around.
On day 2, I repeated the same search pattern but in a different part of the lake. And, again, I found fish.
On one particular bank of deeper riprap, I got bit twice using a large, soft-body swimbait. Both were big fish, so I filed that away as a potential starting spot for the competition.
Most of the final day of practice I spent trying to expand on my preferred areas. Once I established a game plan, I returned to the Walker’s home to prepare my tackle.
Competition Time
When I received the official text from B.A.S.S. advising us of our take-off order, I learned I was boat no. 1. Stunned and excited by that news, I knew I would get to my best schooling spot first. And when my number was called, that’s exactly where I went.
When I arrived, the fish were busting on the surface. But as it was in practice, fooling them was nearly impossible. They were so keyed on the baitfish, hardly anything else would tempt them. Eventually I scored a 2½ pounder, but the process proved so frustrating, I decided to pull the trolling motor and start bed fishing early.
When I got to my best pocket, I Power-Poled down on a nice 3½-pound male. And after 15 minutes of coaxing, I finally got it to bite a 4-inch Senko. Unfortunately, the fish jumped and threw the hook. Twenty minutes later, I realized there would be no second chance … that fish was done for the day.
On the next bed over, I coaxed another 3½-pounder into biting. This time, it made it into the boat. Minutes later, I scored a 2½. Then I ran into a spawning pair. The male was well over three pounds, and the female twice that size. It took some time, but I eventually got one of them to bite. I thought it was the female, but it turned out to be the male and I was concerned removing him might run her off. To the contrary, she locked down and I caught her in just a few casts.
After filling out a solid limit, I decided to save what was left and look exclusively for big bedding females.
Unable to locate any by weigh-in time, I carried 18 pounds, 10 ounces of bass to the scales and found myself narrowly inside the cut.
On day 2, I decided to start on the spot where I got the big swimbait bites in practice. Unfortunately, when I arrived I could see the wind was no longer blowing in on that bank. Consequently, there were no shad to draw the bass. So, once again, I opted to start bed fishing early.
By midafternoon, I managed to piece together a 12-pound limit. Looking at a 4:30pm check-in time, I knew I would be short of the cut. I had to have more weight.
With time running out, I gambled and raced to a schooling spot near check-in and fired the Macbeth 75F across the point. In a matter of minutes, I culled two fish and raised my weight to 16 pounds. But would it be enough?
Fishing on the Weekend
As it turned out, my combined, two-day total of 34 pounds, 10 ounces barely made the Top-50 cut. Fishing was that good!
Having secured a check, I decided to gamble big on day 3. Thick clouds were moving in and the barometer was dropping. I was confident the bigger bass would bite.
Realizing the added change in wind direction, I decided to try the swimbait spot once more. When I arrived, I immediately scored a 6-pounder. Minutes later, I caught another weighing more than four. From there I moved to a nearby bridge to try a Whopper Plopper along the riprap. In minutes, I caught two fish weighing 3½ pounds apiece. The bites were so vicious; I decided to keep throwing the Plopper a few more hours … a decision that proved critical to the outcome.
By noon, the Plopper scored two more 6-pounders off shallow, rocky banks. Then another weighing four struck from a submerged stump. I knew I was gaining on the leaders and I wanted to secure my spot in the Top 10.
At the scales, I registered a weight of 26 pounds, 1 ounce and easily made it in.
Championship Sunday
Fishing free and with nothing to lose, I decided to repeat the same stretches of bank on day 4. By then, the front had passed and the skies were blue, but I was still optimistic the Whopper Plopper would work.
After trying the first spot with no luck, I moved to the bridge, where, on arrival, the bass were pushing schools of shad against the rocks.
I fired the Plopper repeatedly into the melee without reaction, so I switched to the swimbait and they refused it as well. Then I tried the Macbeth 65F and immediately scored my first keeper. Thirty minutes later, I had a solid limit to start the day.
From there, I moved to the rocky shorelines that had produced some of the Plopper action on day 3. Several times, quality fish struck at the lure without connecting. Disappointed with that, I decided to switch tactics and try a nearby bedding area … to see if any females had moved in.
When I arrived, all I found was a lone 6-pounder. But she was so frantic, I couldn’t get her to settle down.
Trolling to the next pocket over, I fired the Whopper Plopper across a shallow sandy flat and began a slow, steady retrieve. Halfway back to the boat, I could make out the shadowy figures of numerous bass in pursuit. Realizing none were going to commit, I paused the Plopper twenty feet away and told my cameraman to freeze … I didn’t want to spook them.
Predictably, the school sank to the bottom and spread out, then regrouped and headed back to their original holding spot.
Creeping forward at ultra-low speed, I was able to relocate them on a flat boulder lying in a slight depression. There appeared to be seven of them milling around the boulder. One by one, I plucked five of the seven, raising my total weight to 20 pounds.
It was like sight fishing for bones in the Florida Keys. Every one of them fell for a Texas-rigged, 4-inch Senko in green pumpkin, watermelon laminate. The key was dragging it in the sand – not hopping or shaking it.
Back at the scales, I ended up in 8th place. It was hard to believe I lost two spots after weighing 20 pounds of bass, but that’s how good Lake Murray can be.
Many thanks to Ed and Sharon Walker and their neighbors for their fine hospitality. It’s not often we get that type of treatment on the road. Ours is typically a life of cheap hotels and franchise food.
Next is Santee Cooper — another great South Carolina fishery. Stay tuned!
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