Fantasy Fishing: Bring your thickest string

Written by

Pete Robbins

Picking Lake Murray against Santee Cooper Lakes would be like choosing between Mary Ann and Ginger. They both have lots of things going for them, and in April you really can’t make a wrong choice.

The two waterways are just a short distance apart, and they’re both confirmed big bass factories, but they aren’t quite carbon copies. Murray has bluebacks, whereas Santee does not, but the latter has a lot more water to fish.

I expect that we’ll see fewer overall 3- and 4-pound bass this week, but many more fish over 6 pounds. That semi-wildcard factor should play into your Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing selections. So should the fact that I think more of the fish will succumb to traditional power fishing techniques.

It’s a week later, so the sight bite might have receded, but don’t expect the fish to have moved offshore in any appreciable numbers. Furthermore, while there may never be an Elite tournament again where forward-facing sonar does not apply, I don’t expect multiple members of the Top 10 to rely upon it as their primary tool. I could be proven wrong – and I have been before – but I’m expecting flipping sticks and ChatterBaits and some lookey-loos finding bass on the bed to prevail … with maybe a glider or two thrown in for good measure.

They live here, as Drew Cook and Caleb Kuphall proved with Century Belts last March, and anyone who brings a knife to this gunfight is set to have their heart broken.

With that in mind, here are my picks:

BUCKET A: WALTERS

My pick: After a tough start to the year at Okeechobee, Patrick Walters is trending upward, most recently with a fourth-place finish at Murray. Now he’s back on his home pond, where he has two top 20 finishes in two Elite events. If he’s going to contend for Bassmaster Angler of the Year, now is the time to step on someone’s neck and climb up the ladder.

Solid backup: How fun was it to watch John Cox – he of the one depth finder – contend for the trophy at Murray while everyone else seemed to rely on Space-X arrays? He’s not simple by any means, but he simplifies the playing field to make it look easy. It’s not, except for him it is, and he’s due to win again soon.

BUCKET B: MARTIN

My pick: Scott Martin finished a subpar 57th here last year, but like Walters he’s trending upward each tournament this year. The family has history on this lake longer than that of anyone in the field. He’s too good not to win at some point, and this one seems to be more in his wheelhouse than any other fishery north of Jacksonville.

Solid backup: I don’t know if the glider will play this week, but if it does, expect Steve Kennedy to bring at least one 7- or 8-pounder to the scales. He’ll fill out solid limits with his swim jig and Senko. Like Martin, his family has decades of experience here.

BUCKET C: PALANIUK

My pick: It’s hard to turn down Brandon Palaniuk — who has finished first and third here in two attempts — so I won’t, even though the super-high ownership percentage scares me a bit. He’s a bargain in Bucket C.

Solid backup: Matt Robertson is on the outside looking in for the 2024 Bassmaster Classic through three events. He seemed to have his mojo back at Murray before losing it. He’ll need a good finish here to help extend his Classic streak to four in a row — maybe the boat troubles that seemed to help him at Murray will reemerge, although on a stumpy inland ocean like Santee that might not be a good thing in any circumstances.

BUCKET D: CHRISTIE

My pick: Jason Christie was next-to-last here in 2022. That won’t happen again. He’s more likely to make a Top 10 than a bottom 50.

Solid backup: Todd Auten calls Lake Wylie home, but he’s been fishing the entirety of the Palmetto State since before half the field was born, including a bunch of derbies on Marion and Moultrie. If they’re eating the ChatterBait — and they will be — he could quietly creep into the Top 10.

BUCKET E: HERREN

My pick: Matt Herren will pick up a jig or a beaver, put his blinders on, and go to work. If he can find the right stretch, he’ll get healthy in a hurry. Like Christie, he rode the struggle bus here last year, but he was 15th in 2020, albeit at a different time of year.

Solid backup: Two Elite events on Santee, two checks for Alabamian Clent Davis, who has been in a career-worst funk (86th, 93rd, 97th) to start the season. He needs to take a big risk, which could come with a big reward for him and Fantasy Fishing players alike.