COLUMBIA, S.C. – Prior to practice for the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American at Lake Murray, things were pretty stable. Hot weather was pushing fish out to summer patterns, and the water was a little low and clear. Of course, in the last week, the lake has come up nearly 2 feet, practice has alternated between slick, sunny, and raining buckets, and the fishing has been anything but easy for many.
Maybe it’s fitting that the going isn’t easy for the biggest grassroots tournament, but the situation has even hardened locals scratching their heads. Still, even a tricky Lake Murray could be pretty impressive, and weights could be high, even if the bite percentages are low. By Day 3, when the cameras of MLFNOW! fire up, the Top 10 boaters should be pretty dialed in, which ought to make for some exciting viewing.
Offshore bite isn’t easy, but it is probably the best thing
Barring surprises – which, really, shouldn’t be entirely counted out – the main focus of this event is likely to be on offshore bass. Feeding on herring, a lot of the fish are set up around points, cane or some other sweet spot – sitting high enough in the water column to eat a topwater, but not always willing to do so.
“As far as Murray goes, there are fish in all stages, and they’re moving out to the summertime places right now,” said Caz Anderson. “There are still a lot of fish up shallow on the herring spawn spots; they’re tough to catch, but that would be the ideal no ‘Scope strategy if you could make them bite. Then, there’s the fish on the traditional points and humps – the summertime strategy, trying to make them come up.”
That strategy could be good, or it could be really hard.
“They’re definitely pretty smart,” said Anderson. “But, I’ve got a lot of places to run for my ‘Scope period. If I can somehow hit the right places at the right time, I think I’ll be okay. But, it’s been tough, I can’t get them to eat a Fluke; I’ve tried all kinds of retrieves. I’ve been catching them on an old school bait.”
Of course, Michael Murphy, who has as much time in on Murray as anyone, is very ready to tell you that the fishing isn’t easy.
“It’s almost like they’re going from middle school to high school,” said Murphy. “It’s that weird phase. They’re finding themselves. You don’t know what you’re going to get – some days it’s good, and sometimes it could be better. What’s going to be difficult is that somebody is going to catch them on Day 1 and think they’re on something, and they’re going to commit to it. Then, they won’t realize how fortunate they were on the first day.
“I can see the fish. The other day, I was chasing wind, doing all that stuff down the lake,” he said. “You see the fish, and they won’t commit. Their mood is not good. They’re engaging, but I don’t know how to catch them. Other than to find wads with more fish so they’re more vulnerable, but I’m not seeing them.”
Even if they are hard to get to bite, don’t be surprised if anglers are running and gunning hard – sometimes, it’s a numbers game with herring. Whoever can make the most good presentations to fresh fish could come out on top.
“My plan is to run as many places as humanly possible in 3 hours. I’m going to play the vibe with the weather,” said Anderson. “I would love clouds and wind; everybody would catch them if it was cloudy and windy, for sure. It seems to make the fish float and hover better, and I think I would be able to capitalize better.”
What else is there?
When it is time to turn off modern electronics and pros need to go back to fishing with much less precision, things will get interesting. As of now, there’s no sure-fire alternative to fishing for semi-suspended herring eaters.
“I’m trying to find a way to be productive in my no-‘Scope period – right now, I’m cooked,” said Anderson. “It’s such a tough deal, and they’re so smart, you have to make calculated movements with your bait. If I don’t ‘Scope early in the morning, I’m going to fish some lights on docks early morning. Not ‘Scoping on the bank, on this lake, you know you’re not fishing for the winning fish. The winning fish are out there (offshore). Schooling fish are a factor; they do it sometimes, but it’s against my religion to sit there and wait on them.”
Murphy is maybe one of the best suited in the field for making the most out of his time without forward-farcing sonar, and that’s not going as swimmingly as he’d like.
“I had some fish up in the river, and it went from 3-foot clarity and beautiful to deer tracks,” he said. “I’m checking it, I’m keeping a pulse on it, because this is the time of year the river is a sleeper, and if it’s a sleeper, I want to know about it. But I’m not getting a warm fuzzy feeling – it’s 10 o’clock, and I’ve had three bites.”
But that doesn’t mean nobody has found fish that can be easily caught without ‘Scope. Jesse Hickman reported a jig bite, and years of history tell us that dock fish have a place on Murray. Plus, this time of year, there are still bluegill spawning and stragglers centered on spawning herring. So, though plenty of the high-level herring anglers are singing the blues about the lack of screen time, it doesn’t mean fish won’t be caught.
What does it take?
As for the winning weight, Murphy isn’t optimistic – practice has not gone well for him.
“I think it’s going to be low – I think 15 to 18 pounds a day,” he said. “I think it’s possible somebody wins this who doesn’t have a limit one day. They’re fussy. Wow, they’re fussy.”
Meanwhile, Anderson pegged 68 pounds to win – a very strong three-day average.
And he knows that if things go well, they could go really well.
“If I can hit a few good places at the right time,” said Anderson, “I could wreck them.”
Follow along
Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public daily at Dreher Island State Park at 6:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. ET. This event is hosted by Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism and presented by T-H Marine. You can follow along with daily coverage and watch MLFNOW! on MajorLeagueFishing.com on the final day.