Elite

Top lures at Lake Murray 2024

See the lures used by the top anglers at the Minn Kota Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray.

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Photography by
Dalton Tumblin
Photography by
Andy Crawford
Photography by
Kyle Jessie
Photography by
Craig Lamb
Photography by
Chase Sansom
The bass feasted on blueback herring at the Minn Kota Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray. Early morning is prime time for surface feeding until the bite diminishes with the rising sun. Cloudy skies prolong the bite, and that was the prime scenario for a native son to put on a show. 
Patrick Walters proved it with a wire-to-wire win that would make South Carolinians proud. Walters posted an incredible winning weight of 93 pounds, 15 ounces to claim his third Elite title and $102,000. 
Walters caught 26-12 on a cloudy Championship Monday for the Rapala Crush City Monster Bag of the Tournament and it’s $2,000 bonus. The epic finish also gave him a double-digit margin of victory.  
Walters and his peers targeted surface feeders and then switched to other tactics when that action subsided. Apply that textbook lesson when you stock up for spawning season with the lures used by the pros at Lake Murray. 
Click here to buy these lures at Bass Pro Shops.
Brock Mosley (10th; 64-8)
Mosley used a reaction bite and finesse approach for his strike zones. 
He used this Bill Lewis ATV Squarebill to cover water. 
And a Yamamoto D Shad for slower presentations. 
Will Davis Jr. (9th; 69-14)
Davis worked his strike zones with a bait selection to cover shallow water. 
A top setup was this Big Bite Baits Cane Thumper, rigged on a 1/4-ounce Davis Bait Co. SXSWIM SS Weighted Swimbait Hook. 
Davis made a shaky head with a 3/16-ounce Davis Bait Co. Little Will’s Series Shaky Worm Head, with a 6-inch Davis Bait Co. Original Shaky Worm. 
Davis also used a 1/2-ounce Davis Bait Co. Wood Jig, with a Big Bite Baits College Craw for a trailer. 
John Garrett (8th; 71-5)
Garrett rigged up with baits for the baitfish spawn and to cover his strike zones later in the day. 
A key setup was this Strike King Caffeine Shad rigged on an exposed 4/0 worm hook. Garrett added a SuspenStrip to the shank, and an exposed No. 5 treble hook secured by a piece of plastic tubing. 
Garrett also used a Strike King Wake Shad. 
And a Strike King Sexy Dawg Hard Knock. 
Ed Loughran III (7th; 72-9)
Loughran fished his second championship round of the season using a confidence rig that has delivered past success. 
He made a drop shot with a 6-inch Missile Baits Magic Worm, rigged on a 2/0 Gamakatsu G-Finesse All Purpose Worm Hook, with a 3/16-ounce weight.
 
Trey McKinney (6th; 76-9)
McKinney used a soft jerkbait and prototype topwater to emulate the swimming action of blueback herring being fed upon by the bass. He rigged this Strike King Caffeine Shad on a 5/0 Gamakatsu G-Finesse Hybrid Worm Hook, using a steady retrieve in the presence of the herring to get bites. 
McKinney also used this topwater in development by Strike King that he worked to closely imitate the sweeping v-wake swimming action imparted by the herring. The lure will be introduced in July at the annual ICAST industry trade show. 
Jay Pzrekurat (5th; 76-10)
Drop shot and finesse rigs were key to the success of Pzrekurat. 
He made this version with a six-inch Strike King Filler Worm, rigged on a 1/4-ounce WOO! Tungsten Weight. 
Alternatively, he used a Strike King 3X Baby Z Too Soft Jerkbait using the same size weight. 
Pzrekurat also used a four-inch Strike King Caffeine Shad on a Gamakatsu G-Finesse Hybrid Worm Hook. 
Click here to buy these lures at Bass Pro Shops.
Lee Livesay (4th; 76-13)
Livesay used a topwater early and then added a fluke-style bait to his lineup. 
The topwater was this 6th Sense CatWalk outfitted with Gamakatsu G-Finesse Treble Hooks. 
Livesay also used this NetBait Super Twitch on a 4/0 Gamakatsu G-Finesse Worm Hook. 
JT Thompkins (3rd; 77-13)
Thompkins gave the pressured bass a different look with a strike-enhancing addition to a soft plastic stick worm. 
He impaled this spinner into the tail of a five-inch Yamamoto Senko, using a variety of different retrieves to get the attention of the bass. Using the same setup and for a change-up, Thompkins used a Yamamoto D Shad. 
Cody Huff (2nd; 81-4)
Reaction baits were key to the lure lineup of Huff. 
A key bait was this Rapala OG Deep Tiny 7. 
Patrick Walters (1st; 93-15)
Walters deployed a topwater and glide bait for surface feeders and a Carolina and finesse rig when that action subsided. 
For topwater bites he used this Rapala Precision Xtreme Jowler 12. 
Walters also used a Clutch Swimbait Darter glidebait
For finesse bites, he used a Zoom Super Fluke paired with a #2 Redline Neko Hook and he was using the soon-to-be-released Sufix Revolve line in 8-lb, hi-vis green with a 12-lb Sufix Advance fluoro leader.

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