Cold start in Carolina

Can Murray top Big O for big bass?

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Air temperatures hovered near freezing as 200 boats took off onto Lake Murray Wednesday morning to begin the Chevy Open, which is the second Wal-Mart FLW Tour stop of the season.

On top of frigid temps, the water level on the Lake Murray impoundment is extremely low, drawn down some 10 to 15 feet below normal pool to accommodate repair work being done at Saluda Dam.

Despite these seeming obstacles, the anglers are optimistic about what could be an auspicious week of fishing. This lake holds some seriously large fish, and if any tournament venue is going to push Lake Okeechobee for the Snickers big-bass-of-the-year award, it will be Lake Murray. The last time the FLW Tour visited Lake Murray, a handful of bass over 9 pounds vied for the week’s big-bass award, and co-angler Greg Scott’s 9-10 largemouth won the contest.

So far, a pair of fish – each weighing 9 pounds, 2 ounces, caught by pro Clifford Pirch and co-angler Jake Deeds at Okeechobee – hold the mark for biggest fish of the year. Historically, an Okeechobee fish wins that award, but of the rest of the tournament lakes on the schedule, Murray is the only one that realistically has a shot to break that mark. In practice, pro Jody Cordell reportedly caught a 12-pounder, and numerous others have landed 7-, 8- and 9-pounders.

“I caught two 8s in practice,” pro Jonathan Newton said Wednesday morning. “I think we’ll be able to put something together today.”

And with the lake drawn down, that could, paradoxically, make it easier to catch them. Look for anglers to throw a lot of reaction baits as bass bunch up on main-lake and secondary points looking for cover.

Logistics

The full field competes in the two-day opening round for one of 10 slots in Friday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Friday’s weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Saturday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.

Hosted by Capital City/Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism Board, the tournament features 400 anglers from 37 states, Japan and Canada, with 200 of the world’s best bass pros fishing for a top award of $200,000 cash. Two hundred co-anglers will compete for a top award of $40,000 cash.

Anglers will take off at 7 Eastern time each morning from Jake’s Landing, located at 220 Jakes Landing Road in Lexington, S.C. Wednesday and Thursday’s weigh-ins will also be held at Jake’s Landing beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 2401 Augusta Road in Columbia beginning at 4 p.m.

Wednesday’s conditions:

Sunrise: 7:16 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 31 degrees

Expected high temperature: 56 degrees

Water temperature: 46-50 degrees

Wind: NNW 6 mph

Maximum humidity: 39 percent

Day’s outlook: mostly sunny