Sprague's Relentless Charge: Day One Stage Three of the Bass Pro Tour

The Calm Before the Chaos

Cold air. A hard wind. The kind of post-frontal conditions that make grown men mutter curses under their breath. The first morning of PowerStop Brakes Stage 3 on Lake Murray wasn't built for comfort.

It was built to test nerves. The lake's reputation was carved in tournaments past, FLW Cups, MLF wars, places where giants were caught and careers were made. Today, it was just another battlefield.

Jeff Sprague 4lb 3oz Bass Caught on a Red Crankbait | Courtesy of MLF

Jeff Sprague stepped onto his boat, a veteran in a world that demands precision. He had heard the chatter. The big ones were everywhere, stacking up like a buffet line in pre-spawn chaos.

Some guys were glued to their screens, watching forward-facing sonar like it held the universe's secrets. Not Sprague. Not in Period 1.

Sprague's Relentless First Period

Jeff Sprague Fishing on Lake Murray — Jeff Sprague Lights Them Up on Lake Murray Day 01 | Courtesy of MLF

It started with a trickle, then a flood. Sprague wasn't just catching fish, he was stacking bodies. Nearly 40 pounds of largemouth in 90 minutes, a feeding frenzy that would make sharks jealous. He didn't need sonar. He read the water. He felt the conditions.

I didn't have a starting spot, just a starting area.
Jeff Sprague

"I didn't have a starting spot," Sprague admitted later, almost amused. "Just a starting area."
Turns out, that was all he needed. He moved with intention, scanning for sweet spots, turns, little rolls, and structures invisible to the untrained eye.

Each cast was surgical. Each hookset was deliberate. When the dust settled, Sprague had 59 pounds, 13 ounces on 18 scorable bass. The rest of the field was left gasping in his wake.

The Rookie's Trial by Fire

For Marshall Hughes, Lake Murray wasn't a playground, it was a maze. It was a shifting, unforgiving labyrinth of creek arms and contour lines designed to break first-timers. Hughes had two days of practice. He had two days to figure out a fishery where the veterans had spent years sharpening their instincts.

So, he did what any intelligent man would. He picked his spots, stuck to them, and prayed to whatever fishing gods were listening.

"It's got all the little islands and pockets," Hughes said. "I just picked an area on the first day of practice and another on the second. And here we are."

Here he was indeed, 50 pounds, 13 ounces later, sitting in second place behind Sprague. A newcomer but not a novice, he had worked two distinct patterns: one with sonar, one without. When the electronics-fed bite faded, he went old school. He covered water. He found the places that felt right. And just like that, he was in the conversation.

An Interview From The Middle of the Field: Justin Cooper

Justin, you ended Qualifying Day 1 in 36th place. What are your thoughts on how the day played out?

Justin Cooper: "I caught them on the same XPS Rock’n Shad I used to win Conroe in the first period, so I felt pretty good early on. But then, in the second period, I didn’t get a single bite. That was tough. In the third period, I switched things up, using an XPS Cover Jig and flipping docks to get some bites."

It sounds like you had some opportunities but couldn’t quite capitalize on all of them. What’s the plan for Day 2?

Justin Cooper: "Yeah, I definitely missed some key bites today, which is frustrating. Hopefully, tomorrow we catch everything that bites. The plan is to scope again in the first period and then flip that jig the other two periods. We’ll see how it plays out."

The Battle Ahead

Edwin Evers 7lb 2oz Bass Caught on Lake Murray | Courtesy of MLF

Day 2 looms like a storm cloud. The race to lock in a Championship Round spot is a savage one, with anglers breathing down each other's necks. A dozen pros hover within five pounds of the cut line. The difference between making it and going home is one cast, one decision, and one moment of clarity amid the chaos.

For Sprague, the path is clear—win the Qualifying Round and skip the Knockout. He'll keep his best water fresh for Sunday's fight for $100,000. But he knows how fickle the game is. The lake will change. The bite will shift. And the ones who adapt will be left standing when the dust clears.

For Hughes, it's about proving that Day 1 wasn't a fluke. He belongs in the same conversation as the legends of this circuit. He can take a complicated, brutal, beautiful fishery like Lake Murray and make it his own.

For everyone else? It's survival. The line between hero and heartbreak is razor-thin. Buckle up. It's going to get bloody.