Fantasy Fishing: Focus on the shad spawn and baitfish buffet

Written by

Coy Greathouse

This is without a doubt my favorite time of year to be fishing, and the upcoming Bassmaster Elite Series event on Lake Murray should be a phenomenal way to showcase the reason why. Bass will be in every imaginable stage, from prespawn to postspawn, and everywhere in between.

Lake Murray is a herring lake located in the heart of South Carolina, and with the warm spring we’r having, this one should set up to be an absolute slugfest. Expect to see consistent weights in the high-teens to low-20s be the ticket to a victory. Bass that live in lakes where the primary forage is herring typically move around a ton, so unless someone finds some fish deep back in the jungle, the majority of the quality fish will be between 3 and 5 pounds and will likely be long and torpedo shaped.

Probably the most important thing to consider is who is most likely to, first, capitalize on the shad spawn and, secondly, move on to fill their limit with a few big, quality bites later in the day doing something slower. There should be a handful of anglers who set themselves up well in the first hour using things like walking topwater baits, crankbaits, swimbaits and the like, intentionally targeting bass that are gorging on shad.

There may be a small group that find some spawning fish, but don’t expect that to get someone past the first day or two.

Let’s jump into some picks.

BUCKET A: CARD

We’re kicking it off strong with a North Carolina angler who lives and breathes topwaters. Many of Brandon Card’s deep tournament runs came by way of a pencil popper, walking bait or wake bait. He lives just two hours from this fishery and will have certainly put in some time in preparation for this one. You would have thought that his recent bout of bad health would have slowed him down, but he is currently on a streak of finishes in the 20s or better going all the way back to August of last year. That momentum is not likely to stop any time soon.

Don’t forget about: Lee Livesay

During my research, I watched the 2008 Carolina Clash. Most guys were throwing swimbaits and other baitfish imitators while the eventual winner was back in the swamp throwing frogs around flooded vegetation. If there is one thing Lee Livesay likes to do, it’s catch ‘em on a frog. And he may be just brave enough to go find ‘em in the mud. Apparently, he also knows how to catch 43 pounds in a single day on a topwater too.

BUCKET B: AREY

Another local-ish fella is Matt Arey. Like Card, he lives within a couple hours of the lake and certainly has experience fishing here. What I like about Arey is he tends to be a relatively flexible angler. He can sight fish if he needs to, but he can also burn down the bank with a crankbait, sling a bladed swimjig or drag a shaky head. His experience fishing this lake should give him enough confidence to narrow it down and target the right fish.

Don’t forget about: Patrick Walters

I don’t anticipate this one being very “electronics-friendly,” but that shouldn’t slow down Patrick Walters. You’ll likely see him chasing the shad spawn, which if he can get the right bites doing that, should at the bare minimum see him fishing on Day 3.

BUCKET C: MARTIN

Scott Martin has a bone to pick with bass fishing. The Bassmaster Classic did not go as planned, mostly because he couldn’t wear board shorts and flip flops. This one, however, should suit him a little better. The weather should be warm and pleasant, so he’ll be able to thaw out and fish with a clean head. He is one of a handful of anglers with results in previous tournaments here. This will be his sixth professional tournament on this lake from what I can tell, and his results include a couple of single-digit finishes in late summer. This is a totally different time of year, but just having spent a fair bit of time on Lake Murray should shorten the learning curve.

Don’t forget about: Stephen Kennedy

Stephen Kennedy has some pretty impressive history here too including a second and a fifth alongside several other finishes in the 20s. He loves fishing this time of year because he can chunk a big swimbait. He may only get three to five bites a day, but I can almost guarantee they’ll be the right ones.

BUCKET D: PALANIUK

We’ve seen a pretty amazing change over the last few years with Brandon Palaniuk. There used to be certain lakes where he would dominate and other lakes where you could write him off. Now, you can’t count him out anywhere. He loves to throw big walking topwater baits, but he’s cashed a lot of great big checks throwing swimbaits, crankbaits and frogs. He’s also no slouch when it comes to sight fishing either. The 2022 Bassmaster Angler of the Year has had a less than ideal start to this season, but don’t expect it to last very long.

Don’t forget about: Jason Williamson

Jason Williamson has a tournament win on Clarks Hill Lake just up the road from Lake Murray. He also grew up close, currently lives in South Carolina and knows the habits of the roaming fish. He also has a knack for catching random big fish, so don’t be surprised if he scores that 40-point bonus.

BUCKET E: NEW

Dido’s “White Flag” is playing in my head when I think about Bucket E. It says, “I will go down with this ship,” and with Bryan New at nearly 70% ownership, it’s hard to pick anyone else. If he does poorly, the amount of Fantasy Fishing anglers that will have a point advantage in this bucket is so slim, it simply doesn’t make sense to try to get crafty. Now, keep in mind that I’m sitting pretty amongst my pundit picking partners, so I don’t need to take unnecessary risks yet. If you’re in the top 10%, it may be smart just ride it out with him.

Don’t forget about: David Mullins

David Mullins will certainly be slinging some kind of shad-shaped bait, whether that be a squarebill, topwater or swimbait. He may even find something a little off the beaten path and throw some deeper-diving crankbaits while everyone else in fishing in 5 feet or less. This lake is big, but it’s always nice to find something and have it to yourself.