COLUMBIA, S.C. (March 7, 2025) – During the Day 1 tournament on Lake Murray, pro Jeff Sprague of Wills Point, Texas, grabbed the lead early and finished nearly 9 pounds clear of the rest of the field. A day later, despite what should have been less favorable conditions and the fact that he didn’t really try to catch fish during the final period, he amassed even more weight.
That sums up just how special Sprague’s bite has been so far. The Texas pro added 18 scorable bass for 62 pounds, 3 ounces on Friday, bringing his total to 122 pounds even. That earned him the Qualifying Round win with ease, topping his nearest pursuer, Toyota pro Terry Scroggins of San Mateo, Florida, by more than 30 pounds.
“This is what hooks people on bass fishing,” Sprague said. “This is what bass fishing is all about. It really has been a special bite no matter how it turns out, just being able to find what I found. … Genuinely, these are the type of conditions and events that come around only so very often, and it’s just a lot of fun.”
As a result, Sprague will skip Saturday’s Knockout Round and advance directly to the Championship Round. The rest of the Top 20 will advance to Saturday and compete for the remaining nine Championship Round berths.
Despite his strong performance on Day 1, Sprague was nervous as he took the water on Friday. Slick, calm conditions greeted the field rather than the strong wind that blew all day Thursday, and he worried that might hurt his shallow cranking bite while helping those anglers who started the day using forward-facing sonar.
It didn’t take long to assuage his concerns. Sprague returned to the area where he’d done most of his damage a day prior and boated nine bass totaling 33-11 in the first period. That included a 6-11, a 5-0 and a 4-9. By the end of the period, his lead had expanded to more than 13 pounds, discouraging anyone else from trying to track him down.
That confirmed the spots where Sprague has already caught fish are reloading. Just as important, he’s figured out a pattern for the type of habitat bass are using to stage, and as he found more areas that set up the same way, he continued to reel them in.
“I was really nervous this morning, to be honest with you, about whether or not they were going to bite with no wind at all,” Sprague said. “It was very glass calm. Had a few bites pretty quick, and that really set my lightbulb off, so I continued to kind of expand a little bit in the area where I was at. It’s a big area, but the fish aren’t everywhere. They’re pretty specific about what they want to be on. And when I find it, man, it’s special. They’re there, and they’re coming.”
Some of the fish Sprague landed in the afternoon essentially came by accident while he was checking out new water, including one that ate his crankbait as he was trying to pull it out of the water after time expired at the end of Period 2.
“I don’t know what I could have caught today had I continued, because I really laid up for the last 3, 3 1/2 hours and just looked,” he said. “But even then, I was able to catch some fish. So, I got a lot of things out of my mind today, and I got a lot of things in my mind today. It was a good learning day for both where (they are) and where they are not.”
Sprague is generally fishing fast, but one key to his success has been staying patient once he hooks a fish. He’s willing to play the bass for a minute or more rather than horsing them, a lesson he learned the hard way after losing several big ones on Day 1.
“Those fish are so heavy, and they’re so green right now,” Sprague explained. “Bigger fish have a harder mouth, and I’ve lost so many bass this week – and I’ve lost so many bass in my career, especially the bigger ones. And I’ve got them on light line, even though it’s a baitcaster, because the water is really clear. You just need to make every one count, so patience is your friend. You have to just do your thing and let the fish play itself out, and eventually they’ll get winded and just kind of come to you. It makes your life a lot easier, and you’re not getting hooks in your hand, either.”
Sprague isn’t worried about spending a day off the water. He’s committed to his pattern no matter what, and he thinks the upper-70s temperatures forecast for Saturday will only push more bass shallow.
His 14th career Bass Pro Tour Top 10 secured, his focus now is on finally landing his first tour-level win. Only pro Brent Ehrler has more Top-10 finishes in BPT competition without a victory. After so many close calls, Sprague didn’t want to get ahead of himself and talk too much about what it would mean to finally hoist a trophy, but he thinks this could be one of his best opportunities yet.
“I feel like I’ve been cursed for the past five years from getting one of these things closed out, if you want to know the truth,” he said. “I legitimately feel like I have an opportunity to make it happen here. I really do. Either way, it’s been an amazing week, and it’s just a lot of fun to catch these fish. But I do feel like I’m on the winning way to catch them.”
The top 20 pros that now advance in competition on Lake Murray are:
1st: Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, 36 bass, 122-0
2nd: Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., 28 bass, 90-6
3rd: Marshall Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 27 bass, 89-1
4th: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 27 bass, 81-6
5th: Brent Chapman, Lake Quivira, Kan., 23 bass, 81-5
6th: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 26 bass, 80-5
7th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 28 bass, 79-15
8th: Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., 28 bass, 78-3
9th: Marshall Hughes, Hemphill, Texas, 23 bass, 76-6
10th: Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 24 bass, 73-12
11th: Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., 26 bass, 73-5
12th: Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., 21 bass, 73-3
13th: James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., 23 bass, 68-14
14th: Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 24 bass, 66-11
15th: Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., 21 bass, 63-8
16th: Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C., 20 bass, 61-12
17th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 20 bass, 60-13
18th: Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., 20 bass, 59-8
19th: Colby Miller, Elmer, La., 19 bass, 59-0
20th: Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn., 17 bass, 58-14
Overall, there were 540 scorable bass weighing 1,661 pounds, 14 ounces caught by the 66 pros on Friday.
Friday’s Berkley Big Bass Award went to Erie, Pennsylvania pro Dave Lefebre, who caught a nice 7-pound, 8-ounce largemouth in Period 3. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day.
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