I went to high school with two absolute first-class brainiac geniuses.
One became a professor of astrophysics and consults for NASA. I lost track of the other one after he got his PhD in mathematics.
And I write about fishing. Therefore, they don’t tout my accomplishments in the alumni magazine. But I’m extremely happy and own more plastic worms than I can use in 10 lifetimes. But I digress.
On the day that SAT scores were released, Genius A called Genius B with one question:
“Perfect score?”
“No,” Genius B replied. “You?”
“No.” And then he hung up.
Both had scored in the 99.9th percentile, but anything less than perfection seemed like a disappointment. That’s the point we’re at in Elite Series history.
“Did you catch 30?”
No.
“How about a 10-pounder?”
No.
CLICK.
Fishing fans like me continue to be spoiled by the performances of the Elite Series anglers. We had two 29-pound bags at Santee Cooper today and a total of 21 over 20 pounds and no one bats an eye. This tournament is still wide open heading into Day 2 and I’ll keep writing about it – partially because I never got much past geometry and partially because I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next.
Here’s what I learned, saw, thought and heard on Day 1 from Santee Cooper:
You Don’t Want to Make Hulk Mad – Cory Johnston: “I’ll be honest with you. The bass really pissed me off last week.” He finished 70th at Lake Murray, the first cut he’s missed since the Sabine River last May. It was his worst finish since he ended up 86th at Okeechobee early last year.
Twenties – As mentioned above, there were 21 bags of 20 pounds or more today, which is almost as many as we had combined here in 2022 and 2023 – 14 and 15, respectively. There is an odd gap, however. After Cory Johnston’s 29 pounds 6 ounces and Brandon Palaniuk’s 29-1, there’s nothing in the 28/27/26/25/24 class. Third place is Bob Downey with 23-12, 5-10 off the lead. They’re pretty well spread out below that, with three in the 23-pound range, five in the 22-pound range, six in the 21-pound class, and five more of 20 pounds or greater. When did 19 pounds become both promising and heartbreaking at the same time?
Cut Weight Projections – 50th place is 15-11, just a bit more than half of the leader’s weight. Double that and you get 31-6. In 2022, the cut weight after Day 1 was 15-8 and after Day 2 it was 32-7, which means it was 1-7 more than double. In 2023, on Day 1 it was 14-7 and after Day 2 it was 27-14, which means it was a pound under double. Which way it’ll go tomorrow is anyone’s guess.
Just a Bit Outside – Eleven anglers are within a pound of the 50th place cut. Thirteen more are within 2 pounds of the cut.
Primed for a Big Comeback – Assuming that the cut weight will double to 31-6, and that anyone in the field can happen onto a 25-pound bag, that would put anyone at 6-6 or higher within reach – which means that 96 of the 99 anglers have a shot.
Seth Feider (42nd, 17-8) – “It was a miracle day. I had four fish with 10 minutes to go.”
McKinney Watch – Trey McKinney started the day in first place in the AOY race with 451 points, leading Caleb Hudson (409), Brandon Cobb (408), Cory Johnston (385) and Justin Atkins (381). He struggled with mechanical issues and ended up in 92nd with four fish for 10-1. Cory Johnston, who entered the event in 4th in AOY, was of course the big mover today and sits in the lead. Brandon Cobb was the only other member of the top five in AOY to land inside the cut – and he’s barely there in 48th.
Gee Money – Dave Mercer to Robert Gee (5th, 23-8): “We might have to test you for steroids.” Gee closed out his 2024 rookie season with three consecutive top-three finishes – 2nd, 3rd, 2nd. Last year he came in 2nd in an EQ but didn’t notch a top 10 on the Elite Series. Now he’s on track for his third of the season, his second in a row, and the first of the year without forward-facing sonar.
Santee Cooper Record Bass – 16 pounds, 2 ounces, caught by P.H. Flanagan in 1949. Fifty-one anglers caught less weight than that today, including 45 who had five-fish limits.
Lake Moultrie also produced the state record blue catfish (113-8) and channel catfish (58-0) – no one in this week’s field approached either of those weights today, although a number of them should beat the latter amount over three or four days.
Davy Hite on Patrick Walters (61st, 14-11) – “He even hides his bait when he’s retying.”
Ken Ellis on Patrick Walters – “If he was fishing a team tournament he’d lie to his partner.”
Mike Damone Speaks – Last year Kyle Norsetter (39th, 17-11) was a bit peeved when Dave Mercer failed to give him either a “Boom Shaka Laka” or a “g-g-g-giant” for a big fish he caught at Lake Fork. Today Norsetter weighted in the 7-14 Phoenix Boats Big Bass and he finally got what he wanted – both phrases. “Finally,” he said. “I don’t hold a grudge, and in his defense it was at Lake Fork, but I’ve been waiting for this for a while.” His daughter Harper, joining him onstage, went airborne like a Wisconsin smallmouth.
Pirch Report – Clifford Pirch (6th, 22-14) entered this tournament in 101st in the AOY race in a field that’s down to 99 anglers with an average finish through five events of 85th. That comes on the heels of an 85th place finish in the standings last year, so the eight-time Classic qualifier, three-time US Open winner is likely fighting for his Elite Series life. Today’s 22-14 is a solid step in the right direction. With three-plus events left to go, there’s lots of room for movement. “I got two of the right ones today and just had fun,” he said.
Sam Hanggi (88th, 10-15) – “Basically tomorrow I’m going to go to every place I didn’t go today.”
P-Dub Pressure – Patrick Walters earned four Elite Series top tens in both 2023 and 2024, plus three (two Elites and the Classic) in 2025. Through five Elite events this season, he’s earned five checks, but hasn’t finished better than 26th. That had him inside the Classic cut heading into this week, but in 28th he was far outside of his usual position in the AOY race. It’s always hard to tell how Walters is doing on any given day – his rough BassTrakk estimates seem to occasionally be measured in kilograms rather than pounds. His 62nd place position is not ideal, but he’s only a pound out of the cut, which is a rounding error in his history.
Andrew Loberg (93rd, 10-0) – “I’m going to need five 10-pounders tomorrow to make a little comeback.”
Newly Agreeable – Mark Zona predicted earlier that Bryan New (39th, 17-11) would win the tournament. When told that onstage, New deferred to the semi-retired opinionator: “I like Mark Zona’s pick.”
Century Belts – The March 2006 Elite Series tournament here at Santee produced six four-day catches of 100 pounds or more. In March of 2022 there were two of them, topped by Drew Cook’s 105-5. In 2023, Luke Palmer just missed it with 96-14, although he won by over 14 pounds. Johnston and Palaniuk “only” need to average a little over 23 a day to get it done.
Keith Combs (94th, 9-15) – “Every time I come here I find these bass to be so dishonest.”
The Early days – BASS first visited Santee Cooper in early June of 1975 and the victor was Hall of Famer Roland Martin, who tallied 64 pounds over three days. Other members of the top 10 included the mostly-forgotten (except by their families) Hurley Board, H.M. Nimmons and Herb Venning. Other Hall of Famers in the field included Ricky Green (6th), Woo Daves (11th), Jimmy Houston (18th), Johnny Morris (21st), Tom Mann (26th), Rayo Breckinridge (44th) and John Powell (48th).
Do You Remember – Preston Clark’s record-setting bait in 2006 was a pumpkin-colored Zoom Big Critter Craw.
Famous Coopers Not Seen at Weigh-In – Sheldon, Cecil, Alice.
Best Knuckles Award – Drew Cook’s son Fin.
We’ll be back at it bright and early tomorrow. I promise no quantum physics and no math beyond cut weight estimations, but you’ll get plenty of old-school Bassmaster factoids and a few key quotes from one of the sport’s hallowed fisheries, which happens to be on the upswing.
