Elite

Big bass of Santee Cooper Lakes

Chris Johnston uncovers an urchin dock bite for his second Century Club belt.

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Written by
Mike Suchan
After a slow start to 2026, Chris Johnston put it into overdrive at the Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Santee Cooper Lakes. Winner of the past two Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles, the Canadian lapped the field for his second Elite title. Let’s look at the big bass that made a difference in this non-forward-facing sonar event.
Tennessee’s Robert Gee kicks off the big hit parade with a 6-9 in his Day 1 bag of 23-8 that put him fifth. There were 93 limits and 21 bags eclipsing 20 pounds on Day 1, with the average fish weighing 3-5. Gee slipped to 20th but moved to 38th in the AOY points, inside the projected cut of 44th needed to qualify for the 2027 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.
Clifford Pirch, mired last in the points, made a bit of a move behind these two kickers that went 6-9 and 6-10. The Arizona pro started sixth with 22-14 and finished 15th, his first cut of the year. Pirch still has a mountain to climb to reach his ninth Classic.
Japan’s Kyoya Fujita caught one of several 7-pounders on Day 1. His 7-7 was more than half his 14-6 that put him 65th, and he dropped to 85th. The subpar outing sent Fujita from 19th in AOY to 35th.
Justin Hamner was having an uncharacteristically slow season, starting this event 79th in points. A 7-7 and friends helped turn things as he started in a tie for third with 23-12. Just 15-3 knocked the 2024 Classic champ back to 17th after Day 2, but he wasn’t done.
Cole Sands started in 25th with 19-13, aided by this 7-9. The Knoxville pro dropped to 41st before 20-11 on Semifinal Saturday pulled him back to 19th, which moved him up three notches to fourth in the point standings.
Rookie Fisher Anaya landed a 7-10 that helped him weigh 19-8 to stand 27th. The winner of the Lake Martin Elite in February fell off the pace with 15-11 then had three for 8-15 to finish 48th. He lost four spots in AOY to 27th, but gained 33 points on Caleb Hudson in the Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Rookie of the Year race.
Kyle Norsetter had the Phoenix Boats Big Bass at 7-14 salvage his Day 1. The Wisconsin pro shows the disparity of his 17-11 day that put him 39th. But he was on the big bite, and had emcee Dave Mercer give him a long-awaited “g-g-g-giant bass.”
Brandon Palaniuk, the 2020 winner on Santee Cooper Lakes, made his big bites count. The Prodigy had a 6-4 and friends in his Day 1 29-1 that put him second.
Canadian Cory Johnston was also about quality throughout his 29-6 that gave him the Day 1 lead. Johnston fell to fourth with 17-8 on Day 2 and stayed there after limits of 23-9 and 21-12.
There were plenty of movers on Day 2, including Jay Przekurat. The Wisconsin pro jumped from 56th to 18th with 23-7. He finished there and improved 11 spots to 11th in AOY, knocking at another Top 10 finish.
Keith Combs climbed out of the cellar with 24-8, more than doubling his Day 1 9-15. The Texan improved from 96th to 43rd and eventually finished 39th. After falling outside the Classic cut at Lake Murray, Combs has hope as he stands 48th.
Canadian Evan Kung sat at the 50 cut after Day 1’s 15-11. Weighing 23-7 saw him jump 34 spots and he wound up 17th. Kung stood 85th in AOY after Muskogee and has moved within Classic reach at 53rd with two of the three remaining events closer to home.
Kyle Welcher improved about 10 pounds with his 26-9 bag on Day 2 that catapulted him from 45th to eighth. After a hot start to his season, the Alabama pro slipped but seems to have regained his footing.
Louisiana’s Tyler Rivet tied for 63rd on Day 1, but a 7-0 helped him weigh 18-7 and make the 50 cut by 3 ounces. There were 87 limits on Day 2 when the average fish stayed at 3-5, and there were 20 stringers topping 20 pounds.
Greg Hackney stood in seventh place after consistent bags of 22-5 and 23-0. The Louisiana veteran enjoyed his week as he posted his 67th Top 10. It also moved him up 18 spots to 52nd in AOY with hopes of qualifying for his 20th Classic.
Pat Schlapper, who won two events last year and had the big fish (9-10) at Santee Cooper in 2022, backed up 21-13 on Day 1 with 23-12 to move to sixth.
Drew Cook, who won the 2022 Elite here with 105-5, dialed in the sight bite on Day 2. Son, Fin, helps dad show off his 24-14 that moved him up eight spots to fifth.
A 7-0 helped Australian Carl Jocumsen weigh 26-6 to take over third place, albeit more than 10 pounds off the lead. Jocumsen fell to 12th after coming 2 pounds – and one fish – short of making Championship Sunday.
While Day 1 belonged to big brother, Chris Johnston fine-tuned his pattern and busted the Rapala CrushCity Monster Bag of the event. With a 7-15 best, Johnston tipped the scale to 32-8, a “Dirty 30” the anglers like to call. The big day moved him to second with a two-day total of 53-11.
Behind the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of Day 2, and 8-6, Palaniuk also had 30 pounds, but a 4-ounce, dead-fish penalty clipped his Day 2 weight to 29-15. With 59-0, Palaniuk led Chris Johnston by 5-5 and Jocumsen, who finished second to Palaniuk in 2020, was 11-4 back. The big bite magic eluded Palaniuk on Semifinal Saturday (20-11), and he ended as runner-up after 14-5 on Championship Sunday. Earning 100 points pushed him up 14 places to 41st in AOY.
Easton Fothergill climbed from 68th with 21-10 on Day 2, then made a bid for Day 4 with 23-4, including a 7-9. The 2025 Classic champ from Grand Rapids, Minn., finished 16th and moved up 12 places to 18th in AOY.
Tucker Smith of Birmingham, Ala., was consistent in his run to Championship Sunday. Day 3 was the 2025 Rookie of the Year’s best day with 22-0, and his lowest weight was 19-6 on Day 4. With 82-8, Smith finished eighth and moved up nine AOY spots to 32nd.
Bob Downey experienced an up-and-down event but never fell out of the Top 10. He started third with 23-12, added 19-2 to gain a LIVE camera for Day 3. That’s when the Detroit Lakes, Minn., pro landed 24-7, including a 6-4 kicker. Just 10-0 on Sunday left Downey ninth, giving him 93 points to move into the AOY Top 10 at ninth.
Shane LeHew improved each day, climbing from 52nd to 45th before busting 25-9 on Day 3 to finish 13th. The North Carolina angler moved onto the bubble at 42nd in AOY as he seeks an eighth consecutive Classic berth.
On camera jokingly saying his 7-pounders were 2 3/4, Hamner had Semifinal Saturday’s second-best bag of 28-15. His biggest went 7-12. Adding 17-12 on Day 4 left him sixth with 85-10, propelling Hamner to 55th in AOY with hopes of climbing to a fifth Classic.
Cook caught a pair of 6-pound kickers in Saturday’s 25-11 that moved him to third. Although 10-12 off the lead, Cook and others said they saw 30-plus bags swimming. Cook added 20-8 to finish third and moved up six notches to seventh in AOY.
On Day 3, Norsetter got another g-g-g-g-giant. His 9-14 earned the Phoenix Boats Big Bass daily and overall bonuses. It also helped him weigh 28-14 and climb to finish 11th, just 8 ounces from fishing Sunday. Norsetter, the last Elite in points to make this year’s Classic, stands in good shape at 23rd in AOY.
On Day 3, Norsetter got another g-g-g-g-giant. His 9-14 earned the Phoenix Boats Big Bass daily and overall bonuses. It also helped him weigh 28-14 and climb to finish 11th, just 8 ounces from fishing Sunday. Norsetter, the last Elite in points to make this year’s Classic, stands in good shape at 23rd in AOY.
Welcher, who slipped into the final day in 10th, had a 5-15 en route to 21-0 and a seventh-place finish. That gave the 2023 AOY a 14-spot boost to 15th in AOY.
Schlapper landed a 7-2 in his 23-15, the second best stringer on Championship Sunday. The pro from Eleva, Wis., finished fifth with 90-3. A slow start had Schlapper 87th in AOY after three events, but two Top 10s in the past three events have moved him to 43rd.
Cory Johnston has snatched the AOY mantle from his brother. He came into the event fourth in AOY, 66 points behind leader Trey McKinney. Cory Johnston added 21-12 on Day 4 to finish fourth, adding 98 points to take the AOY lead with 483. McKinney suffered a 90th-place finish and gained only 12 points, creating an 86-point swing. Cory Johnston goes to the Pasquotank River Elite in June 20 points ahead of McKinney.
With the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of Day 4, a 7-7, Chris Johnston again hit a Dirty 30. His 30-12 gave him 113-12 for a 19-12 margin of victory. “I’ve been pegged as a smallmouth guy up north, but I have been very consistent with these southern fisheries…” he said. “So, to win one in this fashion is unbelievable. To have the week I had, catching 5-, 6- and 7-pounders the whole time, you couldn’t ask for anything more. I don’t think I’ve ever been that dialed in a tournament ever.”
Chris Johnston became just the third angler, behind Patrick Walters and Kyoya Fujita, to earn Century Club belts on smallmouth and largemouth fisheries. There have now been nine Century Club belts awarded at Santee Cooper Lakes, breaking a tie for third place all-time with the St. Lawrence River. There have been 100-pound totals in each of the past eight Elite seasons.

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