Wrapping up the ‘South Carolina Swing’ with two strong finishes was very encouraging. I also enjoyed the fact that both events allowed me to fish the way I like to fish.
Going into those events, I was really excited and confident. Starting with Lake Murray, the herring fishing fits my style where I can hit a ton of spots in a day. Also, it’s really clear water, so when you put those two together, I’m going to have success like my 28th-place finish.
With Santee Cooper Lakes’ abundant grass, it’s gone from feeling like a swamp to feeling like the lakes I fish in Minnesota, so I was super comfortable there. I got off to a slow start on Day 1, but I put the puzzle pieces together on Days 2 and 3. I just ran out of time, or I would have made the Top 10, rather than 16th place.
Overall, I’m happy with two good finishes because they moved me up the board in the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year Race. I’m currently 18th in AOY, so I’m in great shape to make the next Classic.
Looking a little deeper into the Santee Cooper event, my only previous tournament there was the 2024 Bassmaster Open. At that point, the fishery had some grass, but not even close to what it has now.
In the recent Elite event, I had some things going on in the lower and upper lake. The bottom lake was producing more bites, but it was harder to catch a big one. On the upper lake, it was harder to get a bite, but when you got one, it was a big one.
That was something I was struggling with midday in the tournament — which route to go. You could take a safe route and just get bit all day, or you could go to the upper lake and take a risk and hope for a couple of good bites.
Each day, I started in the lower lake to get a baseline limit of fish, and then I’d go to the upper lake and get a couple big bites. Looking back, I think I should have spent more time in the upper lake to give myself more opportunity to catch big fish.
Applying my Santee Cooper experience to the broader sense of my Elite season, I’ve learned that sometimes, you have to take the safer route and make sure you bring in a limit of fish.
As I’ve matured in my fishing career, that’s something I now have to consider, because I know when all else fails, you have to grab your points and move on. That’s definitely something I’m faced with every single tournament.
A good example of this principle was the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Elite. I had some good fish up the river, but I also had a place to get some bites around the ramp. I chose to just get bit all day around the ramp. Even though it wasn’t a good finish, I avoided a bomb and that’s huge at the end of the year in the AOY race.
