Anglers in the Oakley Big Bass Tournament on Lake Murray next weekend will have two different patterns to win some money with, said veteran tournament angler Doug Lown of Newberry.
“I think you can win some money if you can find some suspended bass,” Lown said. “A 4-pounder is a good fish on suspended bass and a 4-pounder will get you a good check most hours.”

The problem with the suspended fish, Lown said, is that the areas holding those fish are very limited because the baitfish are located only in a few areas.

“The lake is fishing really small, but with it cooling off those areas may expand. The water has some color and the bait is really small,” he said. “It’s hard to find the fish and hard to get them to react, but once you spook the bait the fish will come up and feed.”

But, he added, the bigger fish – with a good shot at winning the overall first prize – will probably be caught shallow.

“If you look at what was going on when the FLW was here (the Forrest Wood Cup Aug. 14-17) a lot of those fish were caught shallow on buzzbaits and stuff like that. After the FLW the temperature started coming up and they pulled about a foot of water in the last month,” Lown said. “That slowed the bite, but the lake has now stabilized and the water has cooled off.”

With cooler weather forecast this weekend, Lown said the bait will begin to move from deeper water to the shallower areas as the water temperature cools even more.

“The bite has already picked up in the last week to 10 days with the cooler weather,” he said.

Entry fees for the tournament are $100 for one day or $150 for a two-day entry. Whoever catches the overall big bass for the weekend will win a $30,000 Nitro Z7 with a Mercury 150HP Pro XS.

Hourly prizes, based on 400 total entries, are: 1^st, $1,000; 2^nd, $500; 3^rd, $300; 4^th, $250; 5^th, $200; 6^th, $150; and 7^th, $100. Weigh-in times are” 8-9 a.m., 9-10 a.m., 10-11 a.m., 11 a.m.-12 noon, 12 noon-1 p.m., 1-2 p.m., and 2-3 p.m.

Only amateur anglers are eligible to compete. Fishing guides and major tournament anglers are not allowed.

 

Oakley Big Bass Tournament Trail

Sep 27-28, 2014

Lake Murray

Dreher Island State Park

Call Mark Jones 214-605-4600

www.oakleybigbass.com