Take a look at John Murray's record this year and one thing immediately jumps out – back-to-back 3rds this summer in New York. The first was at the Erie/Niagara Bassmaster Elite Series, the second came the next week (and a few hours down the road) at the Memorial Major at Lake Oneida. Notable too is that he made five of 13 Top 12 cuts so far this season.
About his back-to-back 3rds, he said: "I think the biggest thing was, going into New York, I felt like I had to have good finishes to solidify myself for a good year, and to make sure I get into the (Bassmaster) Classic. I did plenty of research and got lots of background information on the lakes. And I had experience on Oneida from the year before.
"I just think it was the effort," he added. "I spent some hard time in practice on Erie particularly and really found a lot of spots. For me, it all just kind of came together. Sometimes you work hard and nothing happens. That time, I worked hard and it did."
