The Marathon Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray was one of the most compelling Elite events in recent memory. There were no Century Belts handed out on Championship Sunday, but don’t be confused – this was a slugfest.
The weights from top to bottom were stout, and every angler that made the final day averaged over 20 pounds per day. Anglers had the choice of fishing to their strengths at Lake Murray as the bass, blueback herring and shad were all spawning.
Let’s get into the best and worst Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing picks from the Marathon Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray.
The overall winner of the Marathon Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray was (“gobucks012”), who selected three of the five picks that would have made up the perfect roster. Overall Rank: No. 1, Total Points 1,363.
BUCKET A: John Cox
BUCKET B: Drew Benton
BUCKET C: Hunter Shryock
BUCKET D: Seth Feider
BUCKET E: Todd Auten
The perfect Fantasy Fishing roster for the 2023 Marathon Bassmaster Elite would have been:
BUCKET A: John Cox
BUCKET B: Drew Benton
BUCKET C: Hunter Shryock
BUCKET D: Jason Williamson
BUCKET E: Masayuki Matsushita
Total: 1,422
BUCKET A: COX
John Cox fished his strengths by sight fishing and roaming the shallows to the lead the way in Bucket A. The Florida pro scored 280 points and was selected by 11.4% of players.
Second best selection: Brandon Cobb lived up to the high player percentage with a sixth-place finish at Lake Murray. The South Carolina native scored 276 points while being selected by 43.7% of players.
Lowest scoring angler: Coming off of his first Bassmaster Elite Series win at Seminole, Joey Cifuentes had a tough event at Lake Murray. Cifuentes scored just 92 points and was selected by 1.3% of players.
BUCKET B: BENTON
Drew Benton’s path to the winner’s circle was certainly not a straight line. The Florida pro led the event after Day 2 and stumbled badly on Day 3, barley making the final day in 10th place. Bringing in the biggest bag of the event on the final day resulted in his second Elite Series win. Benton scored a whopping 350 points for the 9.5% of players in Bucket B.
Second best selection: Kyoya Fujita looked to have his first Elite Series win at his fingertips, but a slow Day 4 resulted in a third-place finish. The Elite Series rookie scored 295 points for the 1.3% of players who selected him.
Lowest scoring angler: Brad Whatley wasn’t able to establish a solid pattern at Lake Murray. The Texan scored just 93 points for the 0.1% of players who selected him.
BUCKET C: SHRYOCK
Despite a solid final day, Hunter Shryock fell just short of his first Elite Series title at Lake Murray. The Tennessee pro finished second, scoring 295 points for the 1.1% of players who selected him.
Second best selection: Kenta Kimura was the second highest scoring angler in Bucket C. Kimura scored 260 points while being selected by 1.3% of anglers.
Lowest scoring angler: Ed Loughran never got it going at Lake Murray. The Virginia pro was selected by 0.1% of players and scored just 83 points.
BUCKET D: WILLIAMSON
Jason Williamson showed out on one of his home lakes with a Top 10 finish. The South Carolina native scored 264 points while being selected by 6.3% of players.
Second best selection: Bucket D was a difficult one to choose from as the second highest scoring angler was Seth Feider who finished 24th. The Minnesota pro scored 227 points for the 5.6% of anglers who selected him.
Lowest scoring angler: Rick Clunn wasn’t able to get a pattern established and only scored 71 points. The legendary angler was selected by 0.3% of players.
BUCKET E: MATSUSHITA
Bucket E also ended up being a difficult one to choose from. Masayuki Matsushita was the highest scoring angler in the Bucket with a 21st-place finish. Matsushita scored 233 points for the 0.9% of anglers who selected him.
Second best selection: At an 8.6% player percentage, Todd Auten was the second-best pick in Bucket E. The South Carolina native scored 211 points.
Lowest scoring angler: Of the anglers that fished the event, David Williams was the lowest scoring angler in Bucket E. The North Carolina pro scored just 69 points for the 2.3% of players who selected him.
