Winter games begin

Despite freezing temps, more big bass expected as Lake Murray opens up for final round

COLUMBIA, S.C. – There were no illusions about what season it was as the top 10 pros and 10 co-anglers took off onto Lake Murray Friday morning to begin the final round of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour Chevy Open. Frosty boat decks and frozen fingers were in abundance as morning temperatures below 30 degrees greeted anglers and fans alike at Jakes Landing.

But the wintry conditions dampened no one’s spirit. If anything, the top 10 pros are psyched up about the opportunity to fish plentiful Lake Murray without 190 other tournament boats around. The bass bite has been impressive the first two days, to say the least, even with the cold weather, and there’s just no substitute for the feeling of catching 7-pound largemouths in the hunt for $200,000.

“These fish are healthy, and they’re powerful,” seventh-place pro qualifier Clifford Pirch said. “When you get one on and it fights you back up in the junk, it’s something else. I love them. When you get a chance to go for the big ones like this, you just pick up the big gear and go for it.”

To get an idea of the size of fish the finalists have been catching, when opening-round pro leader Tim Carroll – who caught a 9-pound, 10-ounce kicker yesterday – was scouting locations on his fish graph in practice, he mistook the bass he would eventually catch for something else.

“I thought they were stripers,” he said.

Logistics

Weights from days one and two were cleared for the final rounds, and co-angler competition will conclude Friday afternoon. The top 10 pros continue competition Saturday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four. The winning co-angler will take home a top award of $40,000 cash, while the winning pros are in the hunt for a cash prize of $200,000.

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. Eastern time.

The community is invited to attend the free Family Fun Zone Friday and Saturday outside the weigh-in tent in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The Family Fun Zone, which opens at 2 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday, features interactive displays, product samples and games for the entire family to enjoy.

Friday’s conditions:

Sunrise: 7:14 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 29 degrees

Expected high temperature: 57 degrees

Water temperature: 47-51 degrees

Wind: S at 7 mph

Maximum humidity: 48 percent

Day’s outlook: mostly sunny