Local Bass fisherman Jerry Murray who some also know as the Locksmith or the Dog man has been having a year, most would think would be impossible, let alone even dream of.

 

Jerry, a Creswell resident, has been Tournament Bass fishing since he moved to Va. Beach in 1980.He moved from Louisville Kentucky  when he came to Va Beach to spend the summer with his Brother Capt Mike Murray.

 

That summer he discovered Back Bay, the most southern part of Virginia Beach. It is connected to the Currituck sound via the Knots Island Channel near Corova Nc

 

Jerry said that was all it took,to see  8-9 and  10lb bass being caught everyday

 

“I wanted to be a part of that.  So I quit playing baseball and moved to Va Beach to Bass fish

 

Joining a fishing club called Blue and Gray Jerry says he started getting better

 

“In the club we fished everywhere,Kerr Lake,Gaston Chickahomony  and by doing that I learned how to pattern the fish.I learned their habits and where they are during seasonal patterns,” Jerry explained.

 

When matching where the fish eat during the times of the year.  “It is important to match the hatch” so to speak

 

If it is the time that the crawfish are on the move then use crawfish colored baits

 

If the bluegill are spawning then use a bluegill type bait.

 

Jerry has fished as many as 18 tournaments in one year. Including three Bass-master Opens

 

Tournaments where he has fished have featured pros like  Peter “T” Thliveros and Alton Jones
He even helped Alton understand how to fish tidal water on the Potomac River.

Jerry was becoming a very good angler, placing in the Va. Mr. Bass Tournament four times and missing angler of the year in Region Seven Va by 2oz in 1988.

 

He also won several regional tournaments

 

But also in the 80s Back Bay was in a severe drought And Va, Beach pumped salt water into it at the sand bridge.

This killed all the grass and the Bass moved south to the Currituck sound.

Jerry followed them moving to the outer banks in 1988. He and his current fishing partner Danny Chrisman Joined up and fished for the next fifteen years or so.
In 1996 Jerry won the Six Man Fishing Championship of NC

But as Mother Nature would have it In 2003 Isabel hit and killed approximately 93 percent of the fish in Currituck and the Albemarle sound.

That was the start of another part of Jerry’s life where he became known as the dog man.

He had always had an English Setter and bird hunted in the winter months,

But with the fishing so bad, he had to find an outlet for his competitive nature.

That became the field trials joining the United States Complete Shooting Dog Association.
In the next eight years Jerry compiled over 250 wins

 

Including winning the Futurity competition

“In the dog world that’s like winning the Kentucky Derby,” said Murray.

 

Murray was handler of the year twice, breeder of the year, and had 29 National Dog of the Year titles

 

He had one dog  “Dot” that won  Seven different State titles in one season

 

He bred dogs based on their genetic makeup, line breeding, and cross breeding

 

Jerry says:

“I had proven it could be done and to top it all off, I gave Ashby Morgan a female pup out of my last breeding. Jerry named her Pinekones Black Rose.   Ashby has won the last two National Championships with her
In 2008 the economy took a hit. The dog world was hit hard too.

 

Jerry recalls getting back into fishing around that time.

“So my old Fishing partner said the Bass had made a comeback.  I gave up the dogs and picked up my fishing rod once again,” said Jerry.

 

Fishing a new and upcoming tournament trail called “Fishers of Men” then in its first year Jerry and Chrisman finished third in the points standing.

 

Jerry also joined Elizabeth City Bassmasters,one of the oldest clubs in the state

 

And this is where the 2014 dream year began

 

Elizabeth City Bassmasters has ten tournaments a year allowing competitors to miss two tournaments or have two bad tournaments.

 

In the first tournament on the Chowan river, Jerry won having a eye popping 19.98 pound fish just the weight of a penny from the 20’lb mark. Included in the five fish creel was a whopping 7 pound monster.

Buck Bucanning a fellow teammate was quoted as saying  “heck we all came here tied for first and I came in second and I’m now 10lb behind”

 

The tournament wins just kept happening with fish weight and locations listed below:

 

March 2014: first 19.98 Chowan River

 

April lake gaston 2.75

 

May Little river 6.40

 

May Perquimans river 10.89

 

June Scuppernong   11.24

 

July  Coinjock   14.54

 

Aug Pembroke creek Edenton bay 7.60

 

Sept  Yeopeom  river. 13.50

 

Oct Pasquotank river Elizabeth City 15.22

 

Nov. trailer tournament Little River Three fish weighed 8.50 lbs

And had big fish at 3.85 lb

 

Jerry’s has said he never thought he would go on a winning streak like this

 

“I didn’t think it was possible. I played semi pro baseball and I know how rare a perfect game is to have.

 

I did it in eight different months at eight different spots in eight different weather conditions,” he said.