By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
The past several years have represented the most frustrating stretch of John Murray's long pro career. He hasn't qualified for the Bassmaster Classic since 2010 and prior to his 5th-place showing at the Alabama River in June, he'd made just one Sunday appearance in an Elite Series event since 2008.
The Arizona veteran stands an excellent chance of ending his Classic drought this year. He'll be at Lake Guntersville in February for sure if he can hold his current position (No. 30) in the Toyota Tundra B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year (AOY) race through the final two events.
Those will take place on Northern smallmouth venues (the St. Lawrence River and Lake St. Clair). He's had success in the region in the past, with back-to-back 3rd-place finishes at Lake Erie/Niagara River and Oneida Lake in '07 and a 4th at Erie/Niagara the following year. He's had a much tougher time in more recent high-latitude derbies, though, logging a 75th at Lake Michigan and an 82nd at Oneida last year and a 92nd at Oneida in 2009.
"Traditionally, it's always been hit or miss for me up north," he said last week while wrapping up a 3-day pre-practice session at St. Clair. "You might go up there and catch all the fish in the world, but if they're not big enough, they don't do you any good. Normally, my strength is the tougher tournaments.
"If you catch 15 or 16 pounds a day in these last two tournaments, you're going to fall like a rock. You're going to need 17 to 20 to stay where you are (in the points) or move up. There's going to be some tremendous stringers of smallmouths caught."
Texas Turnaround
Murray's points finishes in 2 of the 3 seasons prior to this one were in the 80s, and the current campaign got off to a real shaky start as he zeroed on day 1 of the season opener at the ultra-tough Sabine River in Texas. He blew the lower unit on his boat when he hit a stump that morning and only got to fish for half the day. When the nightmarish day was over, he was part of a 13-way tie for 88th place.
He bounced back big-time on day 2, however, as he caught a relatively massive 14-10 stringer to climb all the way to 23rd. He zeroed again on day 3 to end up 39th, but he headed off to Falcon Lake with a $10,000 check and a decent-if-unspectacular foundation in the points race.
A disastrous showing at Bull Shoals has prevented him from being on even firmer footing going into the home stretch. He said he found a considerable number of high-quality fish in dirty water during practice for that one, but couldn't make that plan work once a spate of nasty weather arrived.
He missed a check by one place at West Point, and then followed that up with his Top-5 at the Alabama River and a 26th at the Mississippi River.
"I think what it comes down to is just really concentrating on catching fish," he said. "When they went to the win-and-you're-in thing (for Classic qualification), I started looking for patterns and ways to win tournaments, and that doesn't suit my style. I had to go back to just catching fish to be consistent."
Versatility a Must
Murray has a reputation in some circles as a deep-water specialist and the versatility he's exhibited over the years has been underappreciated at times. He said a deviation from that is one of the main reasons he compiled so many lackluster finishers over the past few years.
"I put myself in a box a couple of years ago and started only doing a couple different things," he said. "On this circuit you go to a lot of different fisheries with fish at a lot of different depths and some even have multiple species, and they don't always do what you want them to do.
"I've tried to go back to doing whatever will make the fish bite, no matter what that is. I need to fish the way the fish want me to instead of fishing the way I want to fish. At some places that were basically shallow fisheries, I've tried to make things happen out a little deeper and I couldn't do it. Instead of getting in there and grinding with everybody, I tried something that didn't quite work."
He's put in a lot of preparation time for the final two events with the hope that it'll pay off in a trip to Guntersville.
"After missing the Classic for several years, it makes you realize just how hard it is to get into. It's nice to have a shot at it because at this time last year, I had no shot.
"I don't want to have to rely on trying to win one, that's for sure."
