Carolina Clash: Three 'giants' sound good to leader Morris

Winds and clouds helped conditions; field shrinks to 12 after today

By BOB GILLESPIE - bgillespie@thestate.com

There must be some link between loud music and catching fish in Lake Murray this week.

After Thursday’s first day of the Bassmaster Elite Series’ Carolina Clash, the leader was Grant Goldbeck, who lists among his past occupations being a drummer in a funk-rock band.

Friday, it was 46-year-old Rick Morris, another aficionado of fine tunes, sitting atop the standings after boating a five-fish limit of 17-pounds, 7-ounces and a two-day total of 35 pounds, 7 ounces.

When Morris was 20, so the story goes, his fishing boat slid off its trailer in the middle of an intersection and created a traffic jam — because Morris’ music inside his truck was so loud, he never heard the crash, or the honking horns.

Judging by his reaction to Friday’s haul, including three “giants” (5-pounders or better), the Virginia Beach, Va., resident hasn’t lost his vibe.

“I went two hours without a bite, and after three hours I had just one big one,” Morris said. “I went into deeper water and threw big baits, top-water spinners. I can’t complain; I’ve been the big bites and I haven’t lost any of them.”

One of his big fish in particular excited Morris. “Read it on the GPS, saw a high spot and first cast, hoo-eee! A 6-pounder! Man!”

Goldbeck added a 14-pound limit to his first-day catch of 20 pounds, 4 ounces and slipped back to third place behind Mike McClelland, who netted 16 pounds, six ounces for a 34-pound, 13-ounce total.

“It’s been two awesome days,” Goldbeck said. “If I got all (the fish) in the boat that bit, it would’ve been an incredible day.”

Brian Snowden, in sixth place with 32 pounds, 8 ounces, brought home the day’s biggest bass, a 6-pound, 8-ounce lunker.

Winds up to 30 mph and cloudy conditions were just what competitors wanted, yet most brought in smaller catches than Thursday. “The wind was good to an extent, but when you have waves crashing over the boat, it’s tough to stay where you need to stay,” Goldbeck said.

Friday’s results culled the field to the top 50, and it took 23 pounds, 5 ounces (by Canada’s Jon Bondy) to make the cut. Among the survivors were three South Carolina anglers: Landrum’s Marty Robinson (27 pounds, 15 ounces, good for 19th), Donalds’ Casey Ashley (26-11, 26th) and Ninety Six’s Davey Hite (25-13, 34th).

After today’s weigh-in, the field will be trimmed to 12. Hite, who grew up on Lake Murray, said his position might force him to alter his strategy.

“About 95 percent of the field is working Dreher Island and below,” he said. “I might have to go for broke and work the upper end of the lake. That’s not the thing to do in May, but these fish have been pounded so much, they’re getting wary.”

In the co-angler (non-professional) division, Georgia’s Travis McDermott (27 pounds, 8 ounces) maintained his lead.

Reach senior writer Bob Gillespie at (803) 771-8304.