{"id":341,"date":"2025-02-26T00:38:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T00:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thebasshog.com\/blog\/?p=341"},"modified":"2025-02-26T00:38:00","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T00:38:00","slug":"lake-murray-readies-for-bass-pro-tour-powerstop-brakes-stage-3-presented-by-strike-king","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thebasshog.com\/blog\/lake-murray-readies-for-bass-pro-tour-powerstop-brakes-stage-3-presented-by-strike-king\/","title":{"rendered":"Lake Murray readies for Bass Pro Tour PowerStop Brakes Stage 3 Presented by Strike King"},"content":{"rendered":"
February 25, 2025<\/div>\n

COLUMBIA, S.C. \u2013\u00a0The Major League Fishing\u00a0Bass Pro Tour<\/a>\u00a0is set to visit Columbia, South Carolina, and Lake Murray next week, March 6-9, for the third regular-season event of the 2025 Bass Pro Tour \u2013 the\u00a0PowerStop Brakes Stage 3 at Lake Murray Presented by Strike King<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hosted by\u00a0the\u00a0Capital City\/Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism Board<\/a>,\u00a0the four-day tournament will feature 66 of the world\u2019s top professional anglers competing for a $150,000 top prize, crucial points in the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) race and coveted qualification spots for the Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2026.<\/p>\n

The star-studded lineup will showcase top professionals and local fan favorites, including defending Lake Murray champion and Prosperity, South Carolina local,\u00a0Anthony Gagliardi,<\/a>\u00a0reigning\u00a0Fishing Clash AOY Jacob Wheeler<\/a>, and REDCREST 2024 Champion\u00a0Dustin Connell<\/a>. Joining them are South Carolina standouts\u00a0Casey Ashley<\/a>,\u00a0Andy Montgomery<\/a>,\u00a0Britt Myers<\/a>, and the father-son duo of\u00a0Marty<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Marshall Robinson<\/a>, all eager to capitalize on their home-state advantage.<\/p>\n

The tournament will feature the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format, in which anglers catch as much weight as they can each day, while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the SCORETRACKER\u00ae leaderboard. The tournament is being filmed for broadcast later this year on Discovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cCapital City\/Lake Murray Country is honored to host this prestigious event that will showcase the natural beauty and world-class fishing opportunities that Lake Murray has to offer,\u201d said Miriam Atria, President and CEO of Capital City\/Lake Murray Country. \u201cOur region is a premier destination for anglers and outdoor enthusiasts alike. Lake Murray is a highly competitive fishery, and we know it will deliver a challenging event with strong final weights.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bass Pro Tour last visited Lake Murray in 2023, where Gagliardi added another major victory to his impressive record on his home lake. His success on the fishery includes a 2006 FLW Tour win, a 2014 Forrest Wood Cup title and a runner-up finish at the 2021 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit event \u2013 a tournament won by fellow Bass Pro Tour competitor\u00a0Matt Becker<\/a>, underscoring the high level of competition that defines this event.<\/p>\n

When asked about the conditions and expectations, Gagliardi shared insights into how he anticipates the tournament unfolding.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that it\u2019s fishing good. It always does this time of year,\u201d Gagliardi said. \u201cYou can catch them on a lot of different things, so I think the guys are going to have fun because they\u2019re going to catch fish \u2013 big fish \u2013 in a variety of ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking current weather patterns into consideration, Gagliardi said he believes the event will fall squarely in the pre-spawn stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re kind of in a place where the spawn can really move. Sometimes they spawn in February, sometimes not until April. It depends on the winter and recent weather. We\u2019ve had some cold spells and a warm week, but I think it\u2019s going to be a pre-spawn event. It\u2019s just not warm enough to push a lot of fish into the spawn, yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

With multiple ways to target bass, Gagliardi expects a mix of techniques to play a role throughout the tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be fish caught in all depths,\u201d the Suzuki pro explained. \u201cSome guys will fish shallow with crankbaits, spinnerbaits and flipping jigs around cover. Others will focus on jerkbaits or forward-facing sonar. It\u2019s really going to be a typical pre-spawn deal, with ChatterBaits, crankbaits, dragging a worm and flipping a jig all coming into play. There\u2019s not really a way you could fish this lake right now and not catch one.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for tournament weights, Gagliardi admits it\u2019s difficult to predict.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never fished a tournament here in the everything-counts format,\u201d he said. \u201cLast time, I won under the five-fish limit format. Looking at it that way, you\u2019re going to have mid-20-pound bags, and then who knows how many fish beyond that? Maybe someone cracks 100 pounds. I\u2019d guess that 30 pounds a day would be a solid mark to advance, but we\u2019ll have to see how it plays out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite his history of success on Lake Murray, Gagliardi remains cautious about his chances at another win on his hometown fishery.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never feel good about it going in. Even though I\u2019ve done well, I\u2019m always leery,\u201d Gagliardi said. \u201cI honestly don\u2019t fish the lake as much as I should, even though I live here. I know the lake well, but I don\u2019t always know the bite for a given time of year. Every time I\u2019ve won, it\u2019s been doing something different than I expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a little nervous going into it, like I always am before any big tournament, but I enjoy fishing the lake and it\u2019ll be fun. It\u2019s just the lead-up that gets me \u2013 figuring out how to practice, when to use forward-facing sonar and how to adapt. That\u2019s what stresses me out the most. But once we hit the water, it\u2019s all about figuring things out fast enough to stay in productive areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anglers will launch at 7:15 a.m. ET each day from Dreher Island State Park, located at 3677 State Park Road in Prosperity. Each day\u2019s takeout will be held at the same location, beginning at 3:45 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the\u00a0MLFNOW!<\/em>\u00a0live stream and SCORETRACKER\u00ae coverage at\u00a0MajorLeagueFishing.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On Saturday and Sunday, March 8-9 from 3-6 p.m. MLF welcomes fans of all ages to visit Dreher Island State Park for the MLF Fan Experience & Watch Party. Fans can watch the pros live on the\u00a0MLFNOW!<\/em>\u00a0big screen, enjoy free food, participate in casting contests, enter to win hourly giveaways and cheer on their favorite pros. The first 50 kids 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel each day. The Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand both days to meet and greet fans, sign autographs and take selfies.<\/p>\n

PowerStop Brakes Stage 3 at Lake Murray Presented by Strike King\u00a0will feature anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.<\/p>\n

The 2025 Bass Pro Tour features a field of 66 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2026 championship.<\/p>\n

The full field of anglers will compete in the two-day Qualifying Round on Thursday and Friday. After the two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the pro with the highest two-day total will advance directly to Sunday\u2019s Championship Round. Anglers that finish second through 20th will advance to Saturday\u2019s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining anglers compete to finish in the top nine to advance to Sunday\u2019s Championship Round. In the final-day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $150,000.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0MLFNOW!<\/em>\u00a0broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on all four days of competition from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET.\u00a0MLFNOW!<\/em>\u00a0will be live streamed on\u00a0MajorLeagueFishing.com<\/a>,\u00a0the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.<\/p>\n

Television coverage of PowerStop Brakes Stage 3 at Lake Murray Presented by Strike King will premiere as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Oct. 4 on Discovery, with the Championship Round premiering on Sunday, Oct. 5. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.<\/p>\n

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, Bass Force, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, E3 Sport Apparel, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Rapala, Star brite, Suzuki and Toyota.<\/p>\n

For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit\u00a0MajorLeagueFishing.com<\/a>. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF\u2019s social media outlets at\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0X<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Major League Fishing, LLC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

February 25, 2025 COLUMBIA, S.C. \u2013\u00a0The Major League Fishing\u00a0Bass Pro Tour\u00a0is set to visit Columbia, South Carolina, and Lake Murray next week, March 6-9, for the third regular-season event of the 2025 Bass Pro Tour \u2013 the\u00a0PowerStop Brakes Stage 3 at Lake Murray Presented by Strike King. Hosted by\u00a0the\u00a0Capital City\/Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism Board,\u00a0the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":342,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thebasshog.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Anthony-Gagliardi.jpg?fit=1000%2C500&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebasshog.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebasshog.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebasshog.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebasshog.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebasshog.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thebasshog.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":343,"href":"https:\/\/thebasshog.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341\/revisions\/343"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebasshog.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebasshog.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebasshog.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebasshog.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}