0:00

Welcome to the Lake Murray Country

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Podcast. Your official source

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for all fantastic things to do in

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Capital City Lake Murray Country.

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This is where you'll find information on

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where to stay, what to do,

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places to eat, and so much

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more to plan your next trip.

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In each episode, we will explore

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the top southern destinations of

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Columbia, Lexington, Newbury

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and Saluda. Filmmaker

0:29

Carmen. I've

0:31

never felt. So that gets

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you up. And

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still so much energy.

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You bring out the best in me.

0:44

Hey. Don't make me can.

0:48

There's still so much to make

0:50

sure. I'm

0:56

Scott Gordon. I'm the tournament director for the Big Bash

0:58

Tour. We've been visiting Lake Murray

1:00

for over ten years. One of our favorite destinations.

1:04

And I guess, Scott, that the main

1:06

question, the elephant in the room is why?

1:08

Why do you bring a tournament every year?

1:12

Yeah. Like Murray, of all the the ten

1:14

years that we visit the destinations

1:16

around the country, it has everything.

1:18

And what I mean by that, it's absolutely

1:21

gorgeous. It's it's a great sized

1:23

lake. The fishing is legendary. It's

1:26

obviously largemouth bass is is and

1:29

striped bass are the predominant there. But

1:31

it's just been amazing. It's the

1:34

the surrounding communities, the support.

1:36

And what I mean by that, it's an ideal destination

1:38

for families with the hotels

1:40

and the restaurants and the things to do, you

1:42

know, just all around the lake. It's it's just a

1:44

great, great destination.

1:47

And now this is coming from somebody

1:49

who does this for a living at

1:52

venues all over the country,

1:54

correct? Correct. And

1:56

and then you're gushing about

1:58

Lake Murray. So this is not hyperbole.

2:00

You're not making it up. You weren't paid

2:03

to say these things. This is truly how you feel.

2:06

It's an exciting lake every time that we're

2:08

there. There's multiple changes

2:10

in the leaderboard. As far as the overall,

2:12

there's there's a lot at stake. There's a lot of money

2:15

up for grabs. But it's not uncommon

2:17

during the three day event to have nine, ten,

2:20

even 15 changes on the leaderboard

2:23

as compared to some other lakes where a

2:25

big fish is caught in the first day. A lot of times

2:27

that will hold up. There's really no challenger.

2:29

We might see one or two moves

2:32

by Murray. It is off the chain.

2:35

And what is Lake Murray have to offer

2:37

for people who just enjoy

2:39

fishing as a hobby? They're

2:41

not they're not pros. They're not entering

2:43

tournaments, but they just want to enjoy

2:46

a nice hobby.

2:47

It's a it's a peaceful lake. Obviously,

2:50

we talked about the fish oil being world class. But

2:53

it's you feel kind of secluded

2:55

when you're out there on the lake because it's so

2:57

gorgeous with the trees and the shoreline

2:59

and everything that goes with that part.

3:02

But you're so close to the amenities

3:05

that really make it an attractive destination.

3:07

But there's fishing guides to it for those that are

3:09

novice, that aren't really familiar with fishing, or they

3:11

want to improve their skill or learn the lake. That's

3:13

a great avenue to pursue. There's

3:16

a great directory there in the

3:18

Lake Murray area for for the guides that

3:20

are coming on the lake with their bios.

3:22

It's yeah, it's got it all. I

3:25

can't say that for every destination.

3:27

You know what? That's exactly what I was about to say,

3:30

is, can you gush like this over

3:32

everywhere you go and you say,

3:34

no, you can't.

3:36

You know, there's some places that they just don't

3:38

have the amenities like the like Murray community

3:40

does, whether

3:43

it be accommodations or it be restaurants

3:45

or things to do with the family, you know, around

3:47

the lake. That's what I really like about

3:49

Columbia. And like Murray, it's

3:52

a great destination to bring the family because there's

3:54

so much to do.

3:55

Scott I love that. I love that

3:57

you're able to be honest in

3:59

your love for Lake Murray. If somebody wants

4:01

to find out more about Big Bass Tour, where can they find

4:03

that information?

4:05

At our website, Big Bash talked to

4:07

Tor.com and of course, on social media. Facebook

4:10

Big Bash Store like Murray Country

4:12

spans over 650 miles

4:14

of shoreline. Trail and state

4:16

park spans three islands

4:18

348 acres, and provides

4:20

access to 12 miles of late Murray

4:23

shoreline. Visitors will find

4:25

recreational water activities, nature

4:27

trails and some of the best striped and

4:29

largemouth bass fishing spots, all

4:32

only 30 miles from Columbia.

4:35

Hi there. I'm Tony, 40, with

4:37

USA Base. We are

4:39

the organization that's going to be

4:41

organizing the Bass Fishing World Championships

4:44

that will be held at Lake

4:46

Murray this October in

4:48

partnership with the capital city Lake Murray

4:50

Country. We hope that you'll

4:53

join us and see all the

4:55

anglers from across the world on

4:58

basically the best bass fishing lake

5:00

in the world, which is Lake Murray.

5:02

Tony, you've said a lot there. First,

5:05

when you say world championships,

5:07

this is like the Olympics.

5:10

Correct? Yep. If. If

5:13

and when. Right. So that actually part

5:15

of the goal of the organization

5:17

that I work with is to get fishing

5:20

into the Olympics, believe it or not. And it's

5:22

it's much closer than than folks

5:24

might think. And

5:26

this tournament is going to be a

5:28

huge stepping stone towards that. So.

5:31

So it is like the Olympics.

5:33

And we hope that someday it

5:35

actually is.

5:37

How many countries are going to be represented

5:39

in Lake Mary?

5:41

Yeah. So the the

5:44

largest grouping of countries

5:47

to ever fish a bass tournament is 15

5:50

nations. And we

5:52

are tracking to have 25 nations.

5:54

Wow. Yeah. So

5:56

we're pretty excited about that.

5:57

Give me some examples. Where are these people coming?

5:59

Yeah. So so

6:02

there's a there's a few that, you

6:04

know, you might expect Mexico, Canada,

6:07

but Australia will be there.

6:10

South Africa. There's a

6:12

number of European, Spain, Italy.

6:16

We have a team from Laos going

6:19

to compete. Philippines,

6:21

Japan's another powerhouse.

6:24

So Colombia, Venezuela.

6:27

So it's really it's

6:30

each continent other than Antarctica. I don't

6:32

think they bass which much there, but the

6:34

rest of the continents we got them covered.

6:35

I'm surprised that there's bass fishing

6:38

in some of the places that you listed. I didn't

6:40

know that bass were there.

6:43

Yeah. So, you know, there are

6:45

some countries that have similar fish

6:47

to bass, but bass

6:50

are you know, they are certainly

6:53

a desirable sport fish. And they've been introduced

6:55

in a lot of areas like the Philippines,

6:58

Guatemala. We would think that there's bass there.

7:02

So they're they're actually a little more prevalent

7:05

than you might think. But they might

7:07

also have a fish that's similar to a bass

7:10

that they fish for.

7:11

I gotcha. Well, then why Lake

7:13

Murray? You referred to it as one

7:15

of the best bass fishing lakes in the world.

7:18

Give me some more details.

7:20

Apart from just the, you

7:22

know, its geography

7:24

and, you know, the fact that it's

7:26

it's large and it's, you know, it's very

7:29

clear water. So there's more

7:31

than one species of bass in there to pursue.

7:35

A lot of it has to do from our end,

7:38

working with the actual host

7:40

organization, which is capital city, Lake

7:43

Murray Country. And so

7:45

Miriam Atria and

7:47

Vicki Davis have been super

7:50

instrumental in helping us with the

7:52

infrastructure to get this thing

7:54

going. Mike

7:57

Decker with with them is

7:59

helping us kind of get the word out. But, you

8:02

know, it's about the lake, but it's definitely

8:05

also about the support that we've gotten

8:08

from capital city Lake Murray Country.

8:10

And when I come to the

8:12

Bass World Championships, what

8:14

can I do? What what am I

8:16

going to see and how am I going

8:18

to interact?

8:20

Yeah. So it kicks

8:22

off. Our activation event is a youth

8:24

day downtown Columbia

8:26

on the canal there and

8:29

that we had held 10 to

8:31

2. So if you've got

8:33

anybody interested in angling that's youth

8:35

wants to come meet our team and some

8:37

of these anglers from across the country catch

8:40

some fish. That's

8:42

a great place to start. And then

8:45

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, they'll have weigh

8:47

ins at Dreher Island. And

8:50

those start 3

8:52

to 4:00 is when you would want to be

8:54

there. And on Friday

8:57

after the way. And we're actually going to have a

8:59

concert there at the ramp

9:01

from Cody Webb.

9:03

Oh, my. Jumbo. We

9:06

need to talk. No food or bounce. And while

9:08

we will bounce in these

9:10

blasted.

9:11

Water.

9:12

Splashes over time.

9:16

John. And kind of

9:18

come see all these these anglers weigh

9:21

in and have a good time at the concert.

9:22

And if you're in the area, I would imagine

9:25

that you might run into somebody

9:27

from around the world, that you can sit down, have

9:29

a conversation about bass fishing

9:31

in Laos or in Australia.

9:34

Yeah, it's it's

9:37

certainly an eclectic mix of

9:39

anglers and the vibe is it's

9:42

a pretty special fellowship. You

9:45

know, I think that I wish more events

9:48

like this were would allow folks

9:51

to mix and, you know, enjoy common

9:53

interests. Yeah, fishermen

9:56

just kind of tend to be a good group

9:58

of people and there's access,

10:01

you know, to the world. Number

10:03

one angler, Jacob Wheeler, is on our team.

10:05

You know, we've got some of the best in the United

10:08

States representing us that are going for gold.

10:11

So, you know, Scott Martin, some of

10:13

these people that are legends really

10:15

in the sport, you

10:18

know, they're they're accessible, signing autographs,

10:20

say hello, take a photo. You know,

10:23

they love to to to support,

10:25

you know, support what we're doing.

10:26

And forever. Lake

10:29

Murray will have been the home

10:31

of the Bass World Championships

10:34

2022. Any time you go

10:36

out and catch a fish on the lake, you

10:38

can say, I caught a fish on

10:40

the home of the 2022 Bass

10:42

World Championships, correct?

10:45

That is absolutely the truth.

10:47

You know.

10:47

It can never be taken away.

10:49

It can never they can never be taken

10:51

away. And I'll tell you what's interesting, we've

10:53

all dealt with those with COVID. So

10:56

this this event is about four years

10:58

in the making. So. So

11:01

we're pretty excited and it's actually going to be

11:04

be held. And, yeah,

11:07

it's you know, these

11:09

guys are fishing for official

11:11

gold medals. You know, this is not a prize

11:13

money thing. This is all about

11:16

the Olympic spirit. And, you

11:19

know, in a lot of ways, I think a lot of us

11:21

value that even more than somebody chasing

11:23

a buck.

11:24

And if somebody wants to find out more information,

11:26

where can they find that online?

11:28

So the simplest place is derby.

11:31

Derby, derby that USA based dot org.

11:34

Capital city like Murray Country is one of the world's

11:36

top fishing destinations. Like

11:38

Murray is home to some of the best freshwater

11:40

fish, making it the perfect fishing

11:42

hole. There are over 12 species

11:45

of fish luring local and national

11:47

fishing tournaments every year. The

11:50

clean and clear lake water makes smallmouth

11:52

bass plentiful, which the anglers

11:55

love is they can easily spot their laws

11:57

while reeling in a big one. Visitors

11:59

can book a trip with one of the many talented

12:01

and well-known late Murray fishing guides.

12:05

Hey, I'm Dave Washburn, vice president

12:07

of operations for Major League Fishing.

12:10

And Dave, that's actually a big title

12:12

that that feels big,

12:15

right?

12:16

So sometimes it feels big. Yeah. It's

12:18

you know, it's been a great ride and looking

12:20

forward to a lot of great things. I've been here for over

12:23

22 years now, it seems like

12:25

just yesterday. And my pleasure.

12:28

You're having fun. All right.

12:29

Tell me why Lake Murray is such

12:31

a good lake to fish on.

12:34

Well, one has got a great

12:36

vision. We had several events back there,

12:38

you know, as recent as last year. We had Matt Becker

12:41

win a warehouse pro

12:43

circuit tournament. There was £76, five

12:45

ounces over four days back

12:47

in 2006, I believe it was. Anthony

12:49

Gagliardi won a tournament there a

12:52

an FLW tour event at the time, £89,

12:55

two ounces over four days. It's just a tremendous fishery.

12:58

But beyond that to the hospitality

13:00

in Columbia is unmatched. It's just

13:02

a great destination.

13:04

I think you're right. And I think there's something to be said

13:06

for the Southern hospitality and

13:08

the welcoming ness of of

13:10

the people around Lake Murray. Is

13:13

it one of those lakes in the world that

13:15

is on a lot of people's checklist

13:17

of places you need to go?

13:20

Absolutely. It's it's one of those,

13:22

again, a tremendous fishery and a tremendous

13:24

community. And the

13:26

folks, the capital city, Lake Murray country

13:29

couldn't be better. Host So yeah,

13:31

if it's not on your list, it should be.

13:33

Where does it rank for you personally?

13:36

In the world? In the country?

13:38

Yeah. Well, all things considered, I

13:41

think there's only one community

13:43

that has hosted more championship events for

13:45

us. So, you know, Lake Murray Country

13:48

or, you know, Lake Murray is right

13:50

there at the top. It's got to be at the top. Well,

13:53

it's in the top two.

13:54

Really?

13:55

Okay. Wow. Well, let's talk about

13:57

the Bass World Championships specifically.

14:00

What are people going to get to experience when they come

14:02

out?

14:03

Well, it's a it's a new, unique

14:05

event for the bass fishing community. We'll

14:08

have dozens of countries here

14:10

hosted for the tournament

14:12

in Lake Murray, and it'll be a chance

14:15

to experience, you

14:17

know, for fans to come out and see

14:20

what I learned several years

14:22

ago, that the bass fishing community

14:24

is big, but it's also very small. And what

14:26

I mean by that is we are a major league

14:28

fishery and we partner with the ten

14:31

countries around the world

14:33

to run major league fishing tournaments that advance

14:35

to our own Toyota series championship. Many

14:37

of those countries are also participating in

14:40

the Black Bass World Championship coming to the Murray.

14:43

And what I found is when I go to tournaments in

14:45

China, if you'd said when I started 20 years

14:47

ago that your career would take you to China for a bass tournament,

14:50

I would've said, You're crazy. Never going to happen.

14:52

I've been to China three times for bass tournaments. I've

14:54

been to Korea for restaurants where they held

14:56

the weigh in and the Olympic rowing stadium.

14:59

Wow. And what I found is

15:01

that that bass fishermen, our bass

15:03

fishermen, whether they're here in the United States or

15:05

they're in Korea or Mexico or

15:07

China or, you know, any number

15:09

of countries Portugal, Spain, all the countries that are going

15:11

to be competing in

15:14

Colombia this fall. It's just a

15:16

it's neat to experience that on a personal

15:18

level that a language may be different.

15:21

You know, obviously the environment's different

15:24

systems of government are different, but

15:26

the people that are fishermen are

15:28

kindred spirits. And that really comes through.

15:30

And it's amazing what can be a

15:33

unifier for people and what

15:35

can introduce different people

15:37

from different backgrounds in different parts of the world

15:39

that can introduce them together to

15:41

be able to come to, you know, a

15:44

common denominator of, hey,

15:46

we like the fish and

15:48

that it brings people together.

15:50

And it absolutely does. It is a unifier

15:52

and it's a connection point. And and

15:55

it's neat to see that the international

15:57

movement continue to grow through efforts

15:59

like this.

16:01

What is it that you're looking forward to most

16:04

for the best world championships?

16:06

Well, one, I'm looking forward to getting back

16:09

there and seeing my friends from like Murray Country,

16:11

Capital City. I mean, Mario and

16:13

her team are fantastic. And like

16:15

I said, we've had three Cup events

16:17

that are our force World Cup events back

16:19

in the day and we always seem to

16:22

break new ground there in Colombia.

16:24

So this year will be an extension of that. We'll

16:26

be there with the team from USA Base running the,

16:28

you know, the Black Bars World Championship. I

16:31

look forward to seeing a lot of our international competitors

16:33

that I normally only get to see at our

16:35

Toyota series championship. Now I get to spend a little more time

16:37

with them and meet some new

16:39

international competitors that I have had

16:41

a chance to meet yet. So looking forward to all those

16:43

things.

16:44

Dave, thank you so much for taking time to

16:46

talk to me on the podcast.

16:49

I appreciate the opportunity and happy

16:51

to talk anytime.

16:52

Thank you for listening to the Lake Murray

16:54

Country podcast. Your official

16:56

source for all the fantastic things to

16:58

do in Capital City like Murray

17:01

Country. For more information

17:03

on attractions, dining, hotels,

17:06

outdoor recreation, fishing,

17:08

golf events and everything

17:10

else, you need to plan your next trip.

17:12

Visit Lake Murray country

17:15

dot com you make

17:17

common.

17:19

I've never felt so free. That gets

17:22

you up.

17:24

Still so much energy.

17:27

You bring out the best in me.

17:32

Hey, you can.

17:36

There's still so much you

17:38

make caramel. Three.