COLUMBIA, S.C. (Feb. 23, 2026) – Boater Michael Murphy of Gilbert, South Carolina, caught a total of five bass weighing 29 pounds, 11 ounces, to win the MLF Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on Lake Murray. The tournament was the first of five events of the season for the BFL South Carolina Division. Murphy earned $2,890 for his victory.
“Lake Murray isn’t fishing very typical right now,” Murphy said. “The water right now at Murray has only come up about a half a foot if any, so these fish normally would be in full-on pre-spawn mode by now. But you have fish that are still in winter mode because it’s been so cold and the water is so clear.”
Murphy added that he attributes his success recently fishing deep, winter patterns, due largely in part to his education as a fisheries biologist.
“I’ve caught fish three different ways in recent local tournaments,” Murphy said. “I’m not catching them in the same places – I just understand what they’re doing and their progression. They want to be in pre-spawn, and they’re at 9 to 12 feet, and they’re starting to get into that last two weeks before the spawn where they get really fickle.”
On tournament morning, the wind was blowing out of the northwest, and Murphy ran to spots he knew would have what he called “windy bank” situations. He fished those areas and caught a few bass, but they weren’t the quality he was looking for. So, at 8:30 he changed his mind set to fishing docks and boat ramps.
“I think the biggest key to my success was recognizing the transition quickly and smoothly,” Murphy said. “You can call it junk fishing. I call it watching the transition.”
Murphy said he ran swimbaits and a jighead minnow down the sides of docks with six feet of water on them. When rains came, Murphy switched to a spinnerbait and jig.
“It seemed like every time it rained, I caught a big one,” Murphy said. “I just really fished instinct.”
Murphy said he turned on forward-facing sonar at 12:15 and headed to the Crystal Lake and Bear Creek area to target outside grass lines in clear water. Murphy hit deeper rocks with a drop-shot, a Neko rig and a jig.
“Everywhere I went there was a big fish,” Murphy said. “I was just trying to focus and think, ‘What do big fish do?’ It was really just following the big fish. I had 15 rods on my deck, and I used 12 or 13 of them. It was controlled junk fishing, with the fish in a winter cycle and some fish wanting to pre-spawn pretty hard.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Michael Murphy, Gilbert, S.C., five bass, 29-11, $2,890
2nd: Joey Phegley, Graniteville, S.C., five bass, 22-6, $1,330
3rd: Lucas Murphy, West Columbia, S.C., five bass, 22-4, $1,200 (includes $500 Phoenix bonus)
4th: Kevin Banks, Prosperity, S.C., five bass, 21-0, $570
5th: David Fluker Sr., Lexington, S.C., five bass, 20-15, $510
6th: Andy Wicker, Cayce, S.C., five bass, 19-15, $450
7th: T.J. Souther, Brevard, N.C., five bass, 19-7, $430
8th: Logan Buttolph, Doswell, Va., five bass, 19-2, $420
9th: Paul Selle, Lexington, S.C., five bass, 19-0, $400
10th: Kevin Whitmore, Easley, S.C., five bass, 18-14, $390
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Murphy also earned the Big Bass Boater award after landing a 7-pound, 5-ounce bass worth $200. Jack Daniel Hoy of Hollywood, South Carolina, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,295 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 11 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Jack Daniel Hoy, Hollywood, S.C., three bass, 11-10, $1,295
2nd: Rick Jerman, Springfield, Va., three bass, 10-14, $715
3rd: Jason Ries, Columbia, S.C., three bass, 9-15, $350
4th: Todd Huntley, Inman, S.C., three bass, 9-10, $285
5th: Zahreed McClinton, Columbia, S.C., three bass, 9-1, $255
6th: Rodney Tapp, Inman, S.C., three bass, 9-0, $325
7th: Calvin Harrison, Columbia, S.C., three bass, 8-14, $220
8th: Lenwood Sweatman Jr., Harleyville, S.C., three bass, 8-13, $210
9th: Ray Pettit, Pacolet, S.C, three bass, 8-9, $200
10th: Mike Sather, Beech Island, S.C., three bass, 8-7, $195
Justan Pressley of Whitmire, South Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 6-pound, 2-ounce bass worth $100.
https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/bfl-murray-22326.html
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