Fantasy Fishing: Back to an old school bar fight

Written by

As the Elite Series pros head to Santee Cooper this week, everyone’s looking for a caffeinated sponsor.

Not only has the season passed its midway point, but we’re also fishing our first warm weather back to backs. Longer days mean more time to practice, less time to sleep. Many are operating on muscle memory.

But muscle memory alone is not enough to succeed as we prepare to switch gears. Santee will be a very different tournament than Murray. Despite being just a couple of hours apart, they’re markedly different fisheries. Furthermore, things are changing quickly. As we saw with Drew Benton at Murray, there may still be a few fish on the bed, but their numbers are dwindling. Finally, forward-facing sonar won’t be allowed this time around.

So who am I picking? Fearless shallow water warriors with a history on the big double-pond. I want anglers who can switch out their tackle quickly, toggle their brains from “herring” to “grass,” and power through any desire to get home and get some sleep.

Here are my picks:

BUCKET A: COOK

My Pick: In three Bassmaster tournaments at Santee, Drew Cook’s record is impeccable – a win, a 3rd place finish and a 12th place finish. Those events occurred in three different months. He may have come in 59th place at Murray, but he’s actually riding some momentum. He started off in 94th on Day 1 but then dropped a 22-pound bag on the scales to power up 35 places.

Solid Second: It’s tough not to pick Trey McKinney for anything and everything right now. Put him in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest or the World Series of Poker and he’d probably find a way to get paid. Ignore him at your own risk.

BUCKET B: BENTON

My Pick: Cook’s running buddy and fellow Drew – Drew Benton – notched another Top 10 at Murray and won’t have any trouble at all switching gears. He’s never had a Bassmaster finish worse than 27th at Santee in three attempts, with one Top 10 to his credit.

Solid Second: Jason Christie is inside the Classic cut through five events, with a win under his belt, and he clearly loves the old-school derbies, but it’s a question of which version of the Classic champ will show up – the one who finished 93rd here in 2022 or the one who came in 29th in 2023. He has his share of clunkers, but when he’s on few anglers are as good at closing and after missing the past two Classics he’s no doubt hungry to get back.

BUCKET C: PALMER

My Pick: Oklahoman Luke Palmer also seems to click exceptionally well with Santee. His record boasts a win here, plus 4th and 18th place finishes. He’s in 42nd in the AOY race, anxious to get back to the Classic for the first time since 2024 (at which time he’d made five in a row), and has excelled in the “bar fight” style tournaments this season – 6th at the Arkansas River and 22nd at Tennessee-Tombigbee. This was shapes up well for him to step back into the limelight.

Solid Second: Rumors of the demise of Mark Menendez – he almost didn’t requalify for the tour this year – were premature. While this hasn’t been his best season, he’s shown he can still be competitive, with 10th and 29th place finishes. Not only does he have constructive experience on Santee as the runner-up in 2023, but he’s been competing here since before some of the field was born.

BUCKET D: DAVIS JR.

My Pick: Will Davis Jr. did not miss a cut last year on his way to finishing 5th in the AOY race, but this year has not been nearly as kind to him. Thus the Bucket D positioning. He has a minimal track record at Santee with B.A.S.S., but this is a solid time of year for him to lock a Davis Swim Jig in his hands and go to work. It’s the same week of the year as his 2023 Elite win on Lay Lake.

Solid Second: Scott Canterbury hasn’t cracked the top 35 in Elite competition yet this year. He’s too good to let that slide continue much further and Santee – where he was 18th in 2023 – would be a solid place to stop the damage.

BUCKET E: HOWELL

My Pick: Randy Howell’s position in AOY isn’t quite as poor as it seems. If he hadn’t had mechanical issues at the Arkansas River he might’ve picked up 20 or so places in the year-long race, putting him in position to make a late-season charge at a spot in the 2027 Classic. He’s shown flashes of greatness this year, but just hasn’t been able to keep it going for four days. His last tournament here with B.A.S.S. was a 2006 DQ, but that doesn’t reflect his abilities, and he has loads of experience on Santee – his first Bassmaster event here was in May of 1994.

Solid Second: Fantasy Fishing kryptonite, thy name is Steve Kennedy, but for serious risk-takers who like a high potential ROI, pick him with caution. His record is actually quite exceptional here – 4th in 2006, 13th in 2020, 14th in 2022 and 8th in 2023.