Lake Murray has certainly performed very well this week in the Marathon Bassmaster Elite Series in the midlands of South Carolina. Big bags and big bass have been weighed in each day of the tournament so far, but this little guy has garnered much of the attention so far.
Sight fishing has been key this week in anchoring many of the bags, but more often than not and with so many talented anglers on the Bassmaster Elite Series, it’s tough to sustain four days of success on bedding bass.
“I don’t want to get my ‘butt’ kicked,” said Kenta Kimura when I asked him if he’d sight fished any this week.
Like Kimura, many of the anglers in the field this week have focused on bait fish such as the blueback herring and other shad-types of forage.
Kimura noted to me this morning prior to takeoff that he’s focused solely on the herring this week. “The blueback herring is a saltwater baitfish. We have them in Japan,” noted Kimura. “In Japan, the sea bass chase the herring much of the way the bass chase the bluebacks here. I use the patterns I learned at home from the sea bass to apply here with the bluebacks.”
I’m addition, Kimura has relied heavily on his forward facing sonar when locating the schools of bass on the points. He’s extended the range on his sonar to view out farther than normal. He added that, “long casts are key to avoid interrupting the school with your boat.” He will locate a school, Power Pole down, make long casts and work his bait across the school.
With nearly 20 pounds in the boat and a shot to fish on Championship Sunday, a tournament that will be decided among those who catch the biggest bass may be won by the angler that finds the star of the show.