HomeblogsDenali Rods – Denali Team News Denali News from president Scott Estes Unless you live in one of the northern states, you’re probably pretty safe in thinking that spring is officially here. That’s a good thing too, because I don’t think we could take any more cold, nasty weather, and especially no more of that awful white stuff. It’s not only the weather that’s warming up either, as our pro staff has continued heating up. That fact was headlined by Michael Murphy’s outstanding 3rd place finish in the BASS Southern Open on Smith Lake. Congrats to all the staffers, good luck, and keep spreading the word about our fine rods! Murphy Takes 3rd at Smith Lake BASS Open: Continuing the trend of outstanding finishes in major tournaments, Denali pro Michael Murphy parlayed a three day catch of 47.15 into a third place finish at the BASS Southern Open held March 6-8 on Alabama’s Smith Lake. Murphy relied on the combination of an umbrella rig and an Ima Flit jerkbait to pull chunky spots and largemouth from the lake’s abundance of docks and shallow cover. About the finish, Murphy said “It was a really fun tournament. The fish were biting well. Anytime you can catch pre-spawners that are feeding aggressively it’s a blast.” Under current BASS rules, the top 5 in angler of the year points from each of the Opens divisions will qualify for the 2015 Bassmaster Elite Series. After his third place finish at Smith, Murphy sits comfortably in 20th place in the points, well within striking distance of Elite qualification. The third and final Bassmaster Southern Open will be held on North Carolina’s Lake Norman, a lake only two hours away from Murphy’s Columbia, SC home. Read More Sloan Wins ABA on Tyler: Staffer Drew Sloan brought in a tournament best 13.81 pound stringer to win the second event of the East Texas division of the ABA Weekend Series held March 15th on Texas’ Lake Tyler. Sloan’s win was good enough to net him a cool $2056 dollars. Read More. Watson Tops Eufala BFL: Patrick Watson wrapped up the co-angler title at the March 8th BFL held on Alabama’s Lake Eufala. Watson caught a five fish limit that weighed 13-15; better than 134 other anglers on the non-boater side. For his victory, Watson earned $2,305 and valuable points toward a spot in the BFL St. Johns River Regional, which will be held October 9-11. Read More.