Today’s Throwback Thursday historical photo, dating back to 1993, caught my eye when I saw that the fish catch was made from what is currently considered by most to be one of the hottest “big bass” lake in the country, O.H. Ivie. It also didn’t hurt that it featured two great historical bassin’ figures, Bobby and Billy Murray.
The brothers were in town promoting for Pradco Tackle Company, with Billy overseeing the south Texas and Louisiana area as a regional merchandising manager, and Bobby covering north Texas and Arkansas.
The brothers had located a big group of bass and crappie in 45-50 feet of water, and their most effective weapons were “spoons and slabs,” jigged vertically over the bottom-hugging fish according to the accompanying story. They were later slated to do three days of appearances at the upcoming Big Country Outdoor Sports Show at the Abilene Civic Center.
At this point in time, O.H. Ivie was only three years old, having been impounded in 1990. Although the fish the Murrays are holding don’t compare to what the lake’s been producing the last few years, they are very respectable for just a few years growth, possibly portending the big bass reputation that was to come.
