Pickwick pariah

South Carolina pro holding his own among Shoals locals

FLORENCE, Ala. – The top-10 pros gathered at the dock for the fourth and final day takeoff of the Stren Series event on Pickwick Lake this morning and it looked like a who’s who of the Shoal’s best bass anglers.

Local pro Randy Haynes proudly pointed out a host of his bassing buds from Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi that he competes against regularly.

In fact, all of the top 10 pros reside in the tri-state area surrounding Pickwick Lake except for one: Michael Murphy of Gilbertsville, S.C.

Murphy’s “S.C.” address on the standings print out sticks out amid all the AL, TN, and MS designations.

Murphy brought in one of the biggest stringers on day three – 19-4 – to qualify in the fifth position for today’s final round.

So how does a South Carolinian come to Pickwick Lake and muscle his way into the top 10 among some of the best locals on the lake?

“Ron Lappin taught me everything I know about ledge fishing,” Murphy laughed, referring to the Stren Series Tournament Director.

There is, however, some truth to that statement. Murphy, originally from Indiana, used fish Kentucky Lake as child and their guide was none other than Ron Lappin.

“My family used to vacation at Kentucky Lake in the summers when I was a kid,” Murphy explained. “Ron was a guide there and he would take us out and show us how to fish Kentucky Lake’s ledges. So I basically cut my teeth fishing a Carolina rig on TVA ledges.”

Now, many years later, Murphy is still applying those same ledge basics as a professional angler on Pickwick Lake.

“Ledges in the summer time: that’s my comfort zone,” Murphy said. “I love fishing this way.”

The only other time Murphy has visited Pickwick was for the FLW Series last October where he had a disappointing finish.

“I got a little too spread out at that event,” he said. “We could fish Wheeler Lake and Tennessee water in that tournament and I just got overwhelmed trying to fish everything. At this tournament, Wheeler and Tennessee were off limits and that really forced me to focus on Pickwick. I picked out a 5-mile stretch of water and spent several days scouring those ledges with my electronics until I found about 11 key spots and that’s what I’ve been fishing.”

Murphy’s big string yesterday came from a lure change.

“Yesterday, I quit getting bites on the big worms and jigs, but I could still see fish on my depth-finder so I got finessey on them. I pulled out a drop-shot with 6-pound test Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon line, nose-hooked a Tabu Tackle Tiny Tim Swimbait on it and caught two big smallmouth. So I’m pretty stoked about getting back to that spot this morning.”

Murphy’s three-day total of 47 pounds, 12 ounces puts him nearly 6 pounds off leader William Davis of Russellville, Ala.

Davis is working offshore ledges as well, throwing a LB Lure’s ¾-ounce football head jig with a Zoom chunk and a variety of DD-22 crankbaits.

“I feel pretty good,” Davis commented before takeoff. “But this is still anyone’s game. This kind of fishing is all about timing. I might catch another 20 pounds today or I might just catch a couple of keepers – pulling up on the right spot at the right time is what it’s all about here.”

The day four weigh-in of the Stren Series Southeastern on Pickwick Lake will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Wal-Mart in Florence, Ala.

Saturday’s conditions

Sunrise: 5:37 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 76 degrees

Expected high temperature: 95 degrees

Water temperature: 83 degrees

Wind: SSW 5 to 10

Day’s outlook: Hot