Sabbagha Says Shoot for A Seven on Murray

By Pete Robbins 

 

Since moving full-time to a spring tournament on Lake Murray in 2021, the Big Bass Tour has seen ridiculous numbers of five-pound bass come to the scales. It always takes something over six to claim top honors, often a seven, and in 2022 an 8.02 pounder was the top dog. That makes this a high-stakes event, heavy on strategy. 

 

That’s especially true when the blueback herring are spawning. It can be critical to be on your best area or zone first, but if you catch a big one right off the bat you have to figure out when to weigh it in. You may be sacrificing a chance at another big fish, or one that’s even bigger. 

 

Local stick Joey Sabbagha said that the bite should be varied, but mostly focused on the protein-packed bluebacks. 

 

“The fish are in all three phases – pre-spawn, spawning and post-spawn,” he explained. “The water level are high, the bluebacks have hit the banks and the pre- and post-spawn bass are munching on them. There’s some color in the upper ends, and lots of shallow cover for the fish and the bait to get around.” 

 

He’d focus on that upper end, with lures like a Berkley Swamp Lord Frog or Popping Frog – white if the fish are clearly keyed in on bait, something darker if it’s around some shallow grass. He’d also cover water with a buzzbait or a Berkley Choppo. Both produce giant fish at times and call them from a distance or anger territorial specimens. 

 

“If you find a key area, you can kind of hunker down,” he explained. “For some reason, you can pick out 10 points and they’ll only be on one. But the bite should just get better as we get closer to the tournament. We had some nights where it got down into the 30s this week, but with some warmer nights it should get better and better.” 

 

While shad traditionally spawn early in the day, in low light conditions, the bluebacks keep running throughout the day. It’s often simply a matter of timing, being I the right place when the feed bag gets strapped on. 

 

“Some of my biggest fish have come just before mid-day, between 10 and 12,” Sabbagha said. 

 

For newcomers to the lake, when you’re trying to find the best points, look for the flat ones, with some sort of hard bottom composition like rock or sand. 

 

While he likes the upper lake, in the dingier water, there are plenty of big fish roaming around the lower end of Lake Murray, too. Consider a big topwater like the Berkley Cane Walker, a fast-moving fluke-style lure like the Powerbait Jerk Shad, or the Cull Shad swimbait – and don’t ever forget the Magic Swimmer, a traditional saltwater bait that transitioned and dominated in the Carolinas a generation ago. It still works exceptionally well today, and can be fished fast to trigger hungry bass. 

 

Sabbagha said that the lake is fishing better every day, and he fully expects that two bass over 7-pounds will make it to the scales. That didn’t happen last year or in 2021, but in 2023 there were four over 7-pounds. The year before that, an 8.02 showed up and 5th place for the event was 7.37. These Lake Murray fish get fatter and fatter on bluebacks every year, which makes it increasingly critical to check the live leaderboard. Plenty of hourly checks will come on slightly smaller fish, but it’s often a matter of one or two spit-up baitfish for the biggest prizes.