Wild card win sets up Murphy for All-American at home lake

COUNCE, Tenn. – Boater Lucas Murphy of West Columbia, S.C, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 46 pounds, 4 ounces, to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Wild Card at Pickwick Lake . For his win, Murphy earned $4,017 and a spot in the 2026 BFL All-American.

The BFL Wild Card is an annual event held at the conclusion of the BFL postseason as a last-chance opportunity to make the All-American. It’s open to BFL contestants who pay an entry fee prior to the tournament for all five tournaments in a division, fish two or more tournaments in the same division, and are not already advancing to the All-American. A total of 104 boaters and 104 co-anglers competed in this season’s Wild Card tournament.

Murphy’s previous fishing experience on Pickwick Lake before the Wild Card event consisted of one spring visit, so he practiced for 2 1/2 days before the tournament hoping to gain crucial knowledge to secure a berth into the 2026 All-American, which takes place on his home waters of Lake Murray.

“I thought I had found some areas that I could catch some,” Murphy said. “Not many, but some big ones. So, on the first day of the tournament, I scrambled down the lake a little bit and fished main-river bars and gravel flats to catch a 19 1/2-pound bag of mostly smallmouth.”

On the second day of the tournament, Murphy eyed the leaderboard and knew he had to catch a big limit to close the gap to the top of the field.

“I figured I’d stay down the lake, by the dam, where a lot of the big largemouth seemed to be hanging out,” Murphy said. “If I caught five, I’d catch five, and if I didn’t, I didn’t. And at the end of the day, I had caught a lot of them.”

Murphy said he caught 20 bass that weighed more than 4 pounds, and six that checked in at more than 5 pounds on day 2.

“All of the fish were quality,” Murphy said. “There weren’t many little fish in there. There are a lot of really big fish biting in Pickwick right now. If you get a bite right now, it’s at least a 3-pounder.”

Murphy said the fish were in a typical fall pattern – chasing shad on gravel bars, or sitting behind ambush points on stumps or on bluffs. Murphy said the baits that produced for him were a Strike King 3X ElazTech Z Too Soft Jerkbait in various shad colors, an Alabama rig and a jighead minnow. Murphy said a slow, dragging-the-bait presentation turned the fish off; many times, they wanted a bait burned past them to trigger a bite.

“At 10:00 I had 22 ½ pounds, and the thought started creeping into my head that I might have a shot at qualifying for the All-American,” Murphy said. “Winning the tournament wasn’t even a thought until I checked in and saw the leaderboard.

“I’m ecstatic about this,” Murphy went on to say. “Now I can relax a little bit knowing I’ll be fishing the All-American at home on Lake Murray. I can’t wait.”

Also clinching spots in the All-American were runner-up Caz Anderson and third-place finisher Gavin Clevenger. 

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