Lake Murray is a lake he's fished a bunch because he went to college at the U of SC, so he knows the lake – but more importantly he likes it. Here's how this win went down. Full deal is too long for here, but get all the juice in the post on the BB website.
Going in and practice
> "Going into the tournament I was thinking the fish were still doing a lot of things. Spawning fish, the herring deal was going to be the deal – I thought I'd be running points like normal.
> "I thought it would be better than it was in practice. Practice was really tough...the fish were really broken up and it was hard to find them. I couldn't find the [better] spots...the water was dirty and the fish were broken up. I could use FFS...but it wasn't really that good.
> "It completely changed by tournament time. They gave us a day off [weather-delayed day 1] which I think helped the fish get back into position."
Tournament
> Day 1: "I ended up catching 6 fish there [his starting point], only caught 1 good one. The bait wasn't there, it wasn't right. It wasn't as good as it should've been. I was willing to spend half my day there, but I only spent like an hour. ...you know what, I'm gonna run around. And you know what, that was the best decision I made.
> "We had good conditions – it was cloudy – and every move I made I just caught fish. I caught a good one on a squarebill, a Rapala Rocco. I caught a good one that day on the Darter [glide bait] just fishing down the bank.
> "I knew day 2 was gonna be the hardest day of the tournament. It was Saturday in the South, good weather conditions...sunny, no wind, slick. A local tournament was going on so it was hard to get on a lot of spots. On Saturdays those fish don't bite – they know the weekend schedule....
> "...if I got past that day I'd be fine. I started on a spot that was like my 4th or 5th spot from day 1, that had a lot of fish...fresh fish, it was kind of like a sneakier spot.... I knew I could catch a limit there pretty quick. I knew I only had an hour or so to catch 'em and then it was just gonna shut off.
> "...caught a limit in no time. Then I went to my next spot and caught some fish. That quick start made the day. I ended up with 19 lbs that day, my lowest bag. It was a very tough day."
> "Day 3...I started on some fish but they were all small. The group had left. So I went to another spot and they were just going bananas.
> "Every time I moved it was like I was moving at the right time.... I'd catch 1-2 or catch a limit, and they'd still be schooling. A lot of people would sit there and stay on 'em, but I was like, You know what it's time to move. I'm going to go to another spot. And I'd pull up to the next spot and I'd make a couple key culls. So I was leaving fish to go catch other stuff.
> "Day 4...I need to get to 17 or 20.... I pulled up to my main spot and it had good ones on it. The first one was a 5-lber. The 2nd one was a 4-lber. I was like, No way – it's gonna go down.
> "I went to another point and they come up schooling, but I didn't really like it – they were schooling too much. I know that sounds weird but I just didn't like how they set up.
> "...I knew the 3rd spot had the quality I wanted. If I got 3 of those fish, it was...game over. I pull up, catch a small one and it culls. Then they come back up and I catch a 4-lber, then two 3.75s – and I'm like, It's done. I left that spot with 21 lbs at 8:30...."
Baits
> "I varied the rotation.... Mostly the Fluke [also the] Rapala Jowler and the Clutch Darter. But the bread and butter was the Zoom Super Fluke.
> "I also caught a good one each day on a Carolina rig with a Brush Hog. I just ran that through there. I wouldn't leave a spot without chunking that rig in there one time."
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