I flew home to Idaho recently after fishing two consecutive Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series tournaments in South Carolina. I love back-to-back events like these. They eliminate a trip home between tournaments, the expense of airfare and the hassle of leaving my boat and truck somewhere.
The first event at Lake Murray went well. Santee Cooper Lakes was a disaster. The contrary outcomes underline just how unforgiving and unpredictable this sport is.
Lake Murray
I fished tournaments at Murray three or four times over my career before becoming an Elite Series angler. All those events took place during the dog days of summer. I was unfamiliar with the spring herring spawn, which was taking place this time.
These baitfish spawn on rock, gravel and sand points in 5 to 15 feet of water. Murray has countless points that fit this description, and most don’t hold bass. Many anglers fished as many points as they could in practice to locate the bass.
I opted for a different approach. Instead of fishing the points, I eased over them with my electric motor and looked for the bass with my eyes. Murray is gin clear, and I had no trouble seeing the fish in 2 to 5 feet of water.
It was more like hunting than fishing. Sometimes I’d go for two to three hours without any luck and then see bass on three points in a row. I dropped a waypoint wherever I saw the bass so I could cast precisely to the fish during the tournament. By the end of practice, I had found maybe 20 points the bass were living on.
Finding the bass didn’t guarantee I would catch them. When you get bright sun and no wind on a clear fishery like Murray, those suckers just don’t bite. Calm, sunny conditions prevailed in practice, which is why I decided to look for the bass rather than fish for them.
The first tournament day ushered in high winds and tons of rain. I pulled up to the first point and caught a 5-pounder on my second cast. I caught a 4-pounder from the next point. Two points later, I had a limit. By 10 o’clock I had 24-10. I laid off the fish after that and ended in fourth place.
I caught most of my fish that day on a pink ChatterBait Evergreen JackHammer dressed with a white trailer. I’m so color blind I thought the Jackhammer was also white. Apparently, Murray’s bass like pink.
I fished the JackHammer with an 8:1 gear ratio casting reel filled with 25-pound line. I learned years ago that it’s impossible to reel fast enough to take a bait away from herring feeders. They are the fastest bass on planet earth.
The weather on Day 2 was just like in practice, high sun and no wind. I struggled terribly, weighed in a little over 14 pounds and dropped to 31st place. The mistake I made in that tournament was not having a backup plan.
The conditions improved on Day 3. I sacked 19-12 and moved up to 27th place. If it had been overcast on the second day, I believe I would have made the Top 10. Murray notched my fifth Top 50 finish of the season. I was batting a 1.000 and drove to Santee Cooper Lakes brimming with confidence.
Santee Cooper Lakes
After the practice days, I still felt confident. I had caught a few big ones, shaken off several and seen a lot of them with my eyes. I believed I was set to do well.
During the tournament, I learned I was fishing the same docks that produced first- and fourth-place finishes for Chris and Cory Johnston. I also fished the same trees that gave up second- and seventh-place finishes for Brandon Palaniuk and Kyle Welcher.
They were sacking 5-pounders while I was catching 2-pounders. I finished 82nd — my worst showing in six years. I left with my head down and truly have no idea what went wrong. The bass fishing roller coaster is a real thing.
After Murray, I was in the top 10 in the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. My performance at Santee Cooper dropped me to 25th. The AOY points are tight, and they’ll be tight to the end.
