South Carolina's Lake Murray is a tremendous fishery – so good that it's often mentioned in the same breath as venues like Guntersville and Santee Cooper. And when the FLW Tour was last here, back in March 2003, it didn't disappoint.
It took 35 pounds to make the Top 10 cut, and Darrel Robertson led that cut with a smokin' 49-08. The 2003 winner, Chris Elliot, won with 30 pounds across the final 2 days.
The FLW Tour is back at Lake Murray this week for the Chevy Open, the second stop of the 2006 Tour season. But the news isn't all great. For one, a serious cold snap came through last Saturday which punched holes in more than a few patterns.
Two, the drawdown that produced a strong bite last week has ended and stable water levels have spread out the fish.
And three, a weed-spraying program in the late fall eradicated all the lake's hydrilla, which has pushed the field out onto the major points, where things are getting worked over pretty hard.
Before a more detailed look at the current conditions, here's more about the lake itself.
BassFan Lake Profile
> Lake name: Murray
> Type of water: A deep, old, Saluda river impoundment that's clearer than average
> Surface acres: 50,000-plus
> Primary structure/cover: Stumps, clay banks, ledges, brushpiles
> Primary forage: Shad and some blueback herring
> Average depth: Not available, but average fishing depth is 15 feet
> Species: Largemouths only
> Minimum length: 12 inches
> Reputation: An overlooked lake that's up there with the best in the Southeast. A heavy average with some 8-pound-plus brutes, but can be feast-or-famine
> Weather: Was temperate last week, but a cold front came on Saturday. Should be sunny the rest of the week, but morning temperatures expected to be below freezing
> Water temp: About 49 degrees and falling (compared to 54 degrees last week)
> Water visibility/color: From clearer (5 feet) in the bottom end to stained (1 to 2 feet) in the mid-section to discolored in the river
> Water level: 12 feet below full pool, stable
> Fish in: All depths – from the bank to suspended out over 100 feet
> Fish phase: Winter
> Primary patterns: Shallow crankbaits, spinnerbaits, Rat-L-Traps, Carolina rigs, jigs on the points and ledges
> Winning weight: 28 pounds
> Cut weight (Top 10): 32 pounds
> Check weight: 22 pounds (Top 50)
> Fishing quality (1=poor, 5=great): 3 for Murray
> Biggest factors: Weather, an incidental big bite
> Biggest decision: Deep or shallow
> Wildcard: Suspended fish
Drawdown Over
When the FLW Tour came here in 2003, it hit the lake during a drawdown, which was a big plus. Not this year. The drawdown's over, and that, combined with the cold snap, has pushed a lot of the bank-fish into deeper water.
The no-brainer pattern is main-lake points, and that's what most of the field's doing, but some guys are probing the ledges looking for something different. And since 75% of the 2003 field fished hydrilla, that means roughly 150 anglers had to start from scratch this year.
Anthony Gagliardi, from nearby Prosperity, calls the lake home. He's currently ranked No. 7 in the BassFan World Rankings and is an early favorite for a Top 10 here. He's had a pretty good practice.
"I know what I'm going to do, and I know where I'm going to fish," he said. "The fish have been biting real good. That warm weather (last week) really had them turned on. Tons of big fish were biting, but this cold weather has shut them down a bit.
"I don't know what to expect," he added. "(The cold weather) shouldn't affect what I'm doing. I feel as good as I think I could feel."
Larry Nixon's fish changed with the cold, and he hasn't reconnected yet.
Larry Nixon has a different feeling. Like Gagliardi, he was on 'em, but he's a little worried about the cold. And even though Nixon finished 6th here in 2003, he feels he's facing a new lake.
"Murray's changed about 100%," he said. "The fishing was really good about a week ago, but all this cold weather has really shut them down. I'm sure there's a way to catch them. Hopefully I can figure that out before I start fishing."
He noted that usually with the cold, fish will back off from the bank and move into the brush or creek channels. But he hasn't reconnected with his fish. "Either they shut down or left, one or the other."
He made the cut with 35 1/2 pounds last time, and thinks he'll need the same this year, even with the cold snap.
Decent Bags Expected
A cold front in February is always the rule, never the exception, which puts the premium on a versatile pattern. It also puts a premium on across-the-board quality. A 6-pound bite is nice at Murray, and there will be some, but you'd better back that up with 3s and 4s if you want to make the cut.
In other words, a 3-pound average probably won't do it.
Wesley Strader, who finished 10th here in 2003, is on quality fish again. "I'm not catching a lot of fish, but when I catch one, it's decent – a 3- to 4-pounder," he said. "But it's a lot of time between bites. They were biting real good before they stopped drawing the water down. Now that it's stabilizing, you can still catch some, but it's not as easy."
He noted the good fish are getting hit hard. "Without hydrilla, everybody's fishing the same thing – points and stuff like that. They're getting pounded on pretty good. I think the weights will still be high, like last time, but not as many people will catch them. I think 33 to 34 pounds will be the cut."
He added that the big-bite potential means everything's wide-open right now. "These (local) guys have been catching big ones – 8s to 9s – so I think everybody's got a shot at this one. Everybody's catching fish, but the guys who get the bigger bites - who are in the right place at the right time – will move on."
Blade Factor
Four of the Top 5 finishers in 2003 slung spinnerbaits, including winner Elliot. It was a big deal then, and could be a factor this time. Then again it might not. With sun in the forecast, blade-chuckers will need wind to make their pattern work.
Elliot noted he started from scratch this year, but hopes the spinnerbait bite holds up again. "It's definitely a new lake and you're kind of limited on the things you can do," he said.
"The last time we were here it was a little warmer and the fish were a little farther along. But in the wind you can definitely throw big spinnerbaits on the points. They're eating the classic pre-spawn stuff pretty good right now."
About the fish that were shallow last week, he said: "The water clarity, overall, seems to be clearer than in 2003. It seems like the fish that are shallow (this year) aren't as comfortable being shallow. You have to work them a little harder to get them to bite."
Launch/Weigh-In Info
Anglers will take off at 7:00 a.m. each morning from Jake's Landing. The Wednesday and Thursday weigh-ins will be held at Jake's Landing beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday weigh-ins take place at the Wal-Mart store located at 2401 Augusta Rd. in Columbia beginning at 4:00 p.m.
Weather Forecast
Here's the Weather Channel's forecast for the tournament days.
> Wed., Feb. 8 – Sunny – 55/31°
- Wind: From the NNW at 8 mph
> Thurs., Feb. 9 – Partly Cloudy – 48°/25°
- Wind: From the W at 8 mph
> Fri., Feb. 10 – Sunny – 53°/34°
- Wind: From the SW at 11 mph
> Sat., Feb. 11 Partly Cloudy – 51°/30°
- Wind: From the W at 10 mph
Notable
> Strader said the weekend boat traffic was insignificant. But the lake was getting pummeled with 30 mph winds, so there could be an increase in local traffic this weekend.
> Murray was impounded in 1930 by what was, at that time, the largest earthen dam in the world.
> There was also an FLW Tour event here in 2000. Clark Wendlandt won, and Gary Klein finished 2nd. It was a sight-fishing tournament.
> Since this is an FLW Outdoors "Open," the total purse is $1.25 million and 1st-place payout is $200,000.
