The Major League record for home runs by a pair of brothers is 768, held by Hammerin’ Hank Aaron and his younger brother Tommie.
Hank hit 755 of them and Tommie clubbed 13.
For those of you north of the border, there’s a hockey analogy: Wayne Gretzky and his brother Brent hold the NHL record for combined points by two brothers. The total is 2861. Wayne notched all but 4 of those.
By the time the history of the Elite Series is written, the Johnston brothers may be the highest-achieving siblings in the sport’s history. But if past performance is indicative of what we’re likely to see going forward, neither of them will go down as Tommie Aaron or Brent Gretzky. They both pull a lot of weight in their team-based partnership and consistently haul big weights to the Elite Series scales.
This week is no exception.
As Chris (2nd, 53-11) held up his 32 pound, 8 ounce limit today, emcee Dave Mercer noted that “we did this yesterday, but it was with the other brother.” Cory (4th, 46-14) topped the field on Day 1 and Chris returned the favor on Day 2.
Alas, this is not like a round of “best ball” golf where the brothers can choose their combined best five fish each day. One of them has caught the best bag each day, but that pesky Idahoan Brandon Palaniuk has been second each time – and that’s enough to lead by 5-2 over Chris, the highest-ranking Johnston so far.
Let’s see if they can put their heads together and beat him.
It won’t be an easy task and it’s complicated by the fact that there are lots of 30-pound bags left in the two lakes – and 47 other anglers who are tired of these three taking their money.
Here’s what I saw, heard, thought, guessed and improvised as Santee continued to pump out big fish:
Best Brothers – There have been several other notable brother combinations in Bassmaster history, including Tom and Don Mann, but the gold standard is likely Chris and Bobby Lane, who fished 13 and 11 Elite Series seasons, respectively. Combined, they earned a Classic win, eight other BASS victories, 19 Classic berths and nearly $3.5 million. Chris and Cory have had a shorter timeframe, with seven-plus Elite seasons apiece, but they’re well on their way to matching those feats. No Classic wins, but Chris has two AOY titles, and together they’ve had 14 Classic entries, six BASS wins, and nearly $2.5 million in winnings.
Almost Like Brothers – In 2020 Carl Jocumsen (3rd, 47-12) and Brandon Palaniuk battled back and forth for the win in a fall Santee tournament, with BP eventually claiming the title and Carl landing in the runner-up spot, 8 pounds back. The two are related by marriage and tout themselves as best friends. After two days here, BP is leading and Jocumsen is 3rd, sandwiched between two Johnstons. “I hope that I’m fighting it out with BP on the final day,” Jocumsen said today. Guess who finished 3rd in that fall 2020 event? None other than Cory Johnston. Chris missed the cut in 57th.
One Day Wonder – In two days of fishing combined, 48 anglers caught less than Chris Johnston’s Day 2 weight of 32-8.
In the Cut – Based on yesterday’s 50th place mark of 15-11, the cut weight should’ve ended up around 31-6, but it skewed higher – to 32-11, an extra 1-5 over doubling. That left five anglers with more than 31-6 gravely disappointed. KJ Queen actually caught 32-11, but lost a tiebreaker to Bryant Smith to get an extra day off.
Twenties – Yesterday there were 20 bags of 20 pounds or more, including two over 29 pounds. Today there were 20 again, including two over 29 pounds, although Chris Johnston’s 32-8 is the biggest of the tournament (and the Elite Series season) so far. There were also two over 26, two over 24 and five over 23. There were three anglers who caught at least 20 one day or the other, who did not make it through to Saturday.
Just a Bit Outside – John Cox, a perennial Classic contender, continues to live on the wrong side of the line. He was 95thand 66th in the two Alabama tournaments, but since then has finished 52nd, 51st, 57th and now 57th again. “It’s been ounces all year,” he told Dave Mercer.
Century Belts – With 59-0 and 53-11, Palaniuk and Chris Johnston are the only two anglers on pace to earn Century Belts this week. Palaniuk will need to average 20-8 over the next two days to get there. Johnston will need 23-3. They each have one in their careers. BP’s came at Lake Fork in 2022 on largemouths. Johnston’s came in 2023 at the St. Lawrence on smallmouths.
Brandon Palaniuk – “Every time we come here it looks different.”
Herbivorous Palaniuk-Related Fact – Cypress trees are not native to Idaho.
Limitology – Ninety-three out of 99 anglers weighed in limits yesterday. Today there were 87. Taku Ito in 80th was the highest-ranking angler who did not catch a limit both days. Four anglers failed to catch a limit either day.
Keith Combs on Santee’s Bass – “I changed my heart on them. I really love them now.” He referred to them as “dishonest” yesterday but nearly tripled his Day 1 bag of 9-14 today with 24-8 and jumped from 94th to 43rd .
Cory through the Years – Over seven complete seasons on the Elite Series, Cory Johnston has never finished worse than 26th in the yearly AOY race. His average finish is just a bit under 12th. His top finishes have been twin 3rd place finishes in 2019 and 2024, when he finished 8 and 25 points out of the lead, respectively.
Headwear Report – With the retirement of Bernie Schultz from the Elite Series after the 2025 season, Cliff Pirch (11th, 42-3) is now officially king of all visor-wearers. Additionally, Joey Cifuentes forgot his cowboy hat today and dropped 20-12 on the scales, jumping up from 63rd to 36th. He may ditch the hat going forward but rest assured that because he’s a pro angler, the wheels of commerce will keep spinning. They’re still available through his website.
Justin Hamner (17th, 38-15) working on a bed fish – “Can we call Drew to come and catch it for me? Is that allowed?” A moment later he set the hook and then landed the bass which he estimated at 1-9. They say the camera adds 10 pounds, but in this case it was more like 2 or 3.
Walters Watch – Pre-tournament favorite Patrick Walters was outside of the cut yesterday but added 21-9 to his 14-11 to jump up to 26th place and an opportunity to fish tomorrow.
“We actually just went fishing today,” he said. “We did not run around with our heads cut off.” Walters may be nearly 23 pounds out of the lead, but he’s just a little over 6 pounds out of the top 10. A 25- or 30-pound bag tomorrow from what he described as his favorite lake could ruin a lot of other anglers’ hopes.
First-World Problems – Brandon Palaniuk: “I’ve only caught 30 pounds once, I think in my entire career. Twice. I take that back. Twice.”
Bryant Smith (50th, 32-11) – “I live on the west coast but if I ever moved somewhere, it would be South Carolina.”
Things to Avoid – Smelling salts.
First Year Jitters – Only two of 10 true rookies made the cut: Fisher Anaya (37th, 35-3) and Tristan McCormick (47th, 33-0).
McKinney’s Yearly Clunker – In each of his first two seasons on the Elite Series, Trey McKinney missed one cut and each time it was a true bomb – 93rd at Smith Lake in 2024 and 89th at the St. Johns in 2025. In both seasons he finished 2nd in the AOY race, missing the title by 24 points and then by 8. If this turns out to be his one miss for the year, the points he made up today – moving from 92nd to 90th – could prove to be consequential. Alternatively, yesterday could end up being his annual dream-killer. “We did unfortunately make it more interesting than I ever wanted it to be,” he said.
Famous Coopers Not in Attendance Today – Winnie, D.B., Flagg.
Davy Hite – “Everyone fishing the Elite Series is well-aware there are two Johnstons out there.”
And then there were 50. Don’t forget to hoard your Coikes. The way they’re disappearing, you may soon be able to (and might need to) insure them.
