PREVIEW: 2018 Challenge Select Summoned to South Carolina

As the Major League Fishing caravan pulled into the Lake Murray Dam Public Park to kick off day one of the Challenge Select in Columbia, S.C., the mystery of where the anglers might be fishing for the first day of the Elimination Round suddenly evaporated with the early morning mist.

The scenic view of Lake Murray from the dam is a familiar sight to most professional bass anglers. Numerous BASS and FLW events have been held on the popular tournament lake over the years and the dam’s public park is a launching hot spot.

Wesley Strader of Tennessee, the Summit Select winner from Lake Ouachita, was one of the first out of the truck to survey the situation.

“Wow, not only do we get to fish Lake Murray at the end of June, but our zone is down here at the dam,” Strader grinned with a hint of sarcasm. “Awesome!”

Strader’s sentiments were echoed by the grumbles from some of the other pros spilling out of the trucks; they instantly knew that day one of the Challenge Select in Columbia, S.C., was going to be, well, a challenge.

Fishing during the hot summer months on highland impoundments in the Southeast is a tough proposition alone. But add to that the fact that the day-one zone is limited to Murray’s lower end near the dam and the “adverse factor” goes up a click or two.

With no recent practice to bank on or previous waypoints to sample, the lower end of Murray can be a laborious labyrinth of offshore confusion.  

“I was really hoping we would go to some other lakes around here,” Strader said. “And if we were coming to Murray, I was hoping we would be up in the midlake or river portion where there is some color in the water or at least plenty of shallow pockets to weave in and out of.”

“But down here, I’ve got nothing,” he continued. “I’ve fished two Forrest Wood Cups here and never fished this section of the lake.”

Strader said the only time he had fished the dam section of Murray was in springtime tournaments when fish move shallow to bed.

“Don’t get me wrong,” he offered. “Big ones live down here on this end. This is the place I’d be in March and April. The sight-fishing down here is awesome that time of year. But right now, with it being summer and this being a blueback herring lake and I have no practice or history to go on – I’d rather be up the river.”

Strader also noted that Murray’s lower end used to be legendary back when the lake had a lot of grass in it. The long points, shoals and humps on the lower end would mat up with deep grass growing out to 15 feet of water.

“Last year, I heard there was some grass back in the lake, but I don’t know that for a fact,” Strader added. “If we get out here and find some healthy grass growing on some of this offshore stuff, it might turn out to be pretty good. But if there is no grass out there, I’m afraid we could all be in for a long day.”

South Carolina native Marty Robinson, who lives about a 100 miles from Murray in Lyman, S.C., appeared rather neutral about his assigned zone for the day.

“I’m a little bit surprised,” Robinson said. “I know how many lakes are in this area: Greenwood, Wateree, Monticello – heck even Santee Cooper for that matter, you never know when MLF is going to throw a real kink in things. With so many choices, I’m surprised we ended up here: the dam at Lake Murray, it just seems too obvious to me.”

Due to his touring schedule on the Elite Series, Robinson has lost touch with Murray over the last decade.

“I used to fish it quite a bit, but I don’t get over here much anymore,” he offered. “This end of the lake is great in the springtime when they come up to spawn, but it wouldn’t be my first choice this time of year.

“But the good news is we got a mild morning with some cloud cover, which might help prolong that topwater bite another hour or so. The key to surviving this Elimination round will be to catch a few early, get a jump on the leaderboard and hold on. I think topwater will be good this morning, but the afternoon bite is going to be pretty stingy.”

The goal for the seven anglers competing in today’s Elimination round is to be in one of the top four spots before lines out to move on to Sudden Death. The three left hanging at the bottom of the Scoretracker will be cut for the week and sent home.