The Southern Illinois University team of Ben DeBlois and Christopher Piha cranked their way to the top spot and $2,000 at the first Murray State Kentucky Lake Invitational. The team weighed 10 bass during the two-day event for a total weight of 31.89 pounds.
Pro Ray Barga told the collegiate anglers fishing the invitational at the pre-tournament banquet that fortunes can change in hurry on Kentucky Lake under prespawn conditions, and it is possible to catch 20-pound limits from any small stretch of bank this time of year. Such was the case for SIU’s DeBlois and Piha.
“We had only one fish at 11:30 a.m. on day one,” Deblois said. “Then, we found one 200-yard stretch of bank that was absolutely loaded.”
The team quickly filled out their day one limit of 16.36 pounds and knew where they would start day two.The fish had not moved when the team arrived at the spot on the second day.
“We had 10 fish in the first 40 minutes this morning,” Piha said after the final day’s weigh-in.
The team milked the bank for all it was worth and culled a 15-incher with a five-pound kicker fish later in the day to round out their final day’s bag that weighed 15.53 pounds. The winning bank was located inside a creek north of the takeoff at KenLake Marina. It had pea gravel mixed with chunk rock and featured four or five small secondary points. DeBlois and Piha used a crawfish colored Strike King Red-Eye Shad and a Srike King Strike Shad in a rootbeer color to catch their fish. The SIU team is sponsored by Dobyns rods, Strike King Lures, Vicious Fishing and Tackle Warehouse.
Warmer temps during an unusually cold February moved the fish shallow to prepare for the spawn a few weeks away. Air temps in the high 40’s and plenty of sunshine helped the shallow water bite. Most anglers reported catching their fish on crankbaits and jerkbaits.
Another team from SIU, Mark O’Brien and Ryan Wachter took second-place honors with a two day total of 30.83 pounds. Anglers from Tennessee Tech University, Seth Davis and Ryan Maddux claimed third with 26.15 pounds. Rounding out the top five teams were Therron Shaw and Austin Brown from Murray State University. Shaw and Brown weighed the biggest bag of tournament, 20.09 pounds, on day two and finished with a total of 25.71 pounds. The Murray State teams of Steve Miller and Ben Helmerich and Dan Langton and Chad Branham tied for fifth place with 22.74 pounds.
Murray State Bass Anglers wishes to thank all that helped out with making the first Murray State Kentucky Lake Invitational a success. Especially John Parks of Jet-A-Marine, John Newton, his wife and crew of U.S.A Bassin, Terry Little and Ray Barga. We also thank Jim Carter, Murray State University’s vice president of institutional advancement and Murray State University for their support of Murray State Bass Anglers. We look forward hosting the event next year.
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