Fantasy Fishing: Shallow water angler's time to shine on Santee

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We are over halfway through the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series season, and we are starting to realize who can catch them everywhere we go. Trey McKinney is dominating the AOY points race, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone if you’ve been paying attention these last three seasons. Then you have guys like Brandon Cobb and Justin Atkins who have shallow water strengths but have proven they can compete in tournaments where forward-facing sonar is allowed.

FFS is not allowed at Santee Cooper, so this will give shallow water anglers an advantage. Not only is Santee Cooper known for its shallow cover, but it is also known for its big bass. While we have only seen two century belts in the last three Elite Series visits, the lakes are fishing really good this year. A single-day Bassmaster College Series event in early April had 5 bags over 30 pounds, and it took 25 pounds to make the top 20.

Let’s jump into the picks!

BUCKET A: MCKINNEY

We all know Trey McKinney’s stats. He has never finished out of the top 2 in AOY and has never finished out of the top 2 at a Classic in his first two years of fishing the pro level. It feels like this kid has been competing for way longer than two years with what all he has accomplished, such as already winning two Elite events. His worst finish in 2026 is 20th place. If you’re wanting to play it safe, you would definitely not be gambling when picking Trey McKinney!

Solid secondary selection: Brandon Cobb has made the top 50 cut in every single Elite tournament this year, and he just wrapped up a 3rd place finish at Lake Murray. On top of that, South Carolina is his home state, and he has spent lots of time on Santee Cooper. His previous two finishes on Santee were 4th in 2023, and 6th in 2022. Shallow water is his strength.

BUCKET B: BENTON

Drew Benton’s previous three finishes on Santee Cooper are 27th, 9th, and 20th, which are all very respectable. While most of the fish will be post-spawn, his shallow-water strengths will still play. He also just wrapped up a Top 10 on Lake Murray, so momentum is certainly going his way.

Solid secondary selection: This season has been suiting Jason Christie’s strengths very well with shallow water fisheries like Tenn-Tom, AR River, and now Santee Cooper. His finishes at those two events were 1st and 4th. He has also won on shallow water fisheries like Tenn-Tom, Lake Chickamauga, and Sabine River. While most of his success has been on shallow river fisheries, he still knows how to catch them around shallow cover which is exactly what Santee Cooper has to offer for a non-FFS event.

BUCKET C: PALMER

Luke Palmer is arguably the biggest favorite when it comes to Santee Cooper due to his previous win back in 2023. His three finishes there have been 1st, 4th, and 18th. Shallow water flipping and pitching is certainly his strength, and this showed at the AR River event this year with his 6th place finish. Expect Palmer to have another great tournament here.

Solid secondary selection: Brandon Palaniuk’s track record on Santee Cooper is hard to beat with all three of his finishes being within the Top 5 (5th, 3rd, 1st). While his previous two years on the Elites have not been up to his AOY standards, we still know that he can win an Elite at any point. His most recent win was at Lake Okeechobee early in the season last year, and I don’t think anybody would be shocked to see him win an Elite two years in a row.

BUCKET D: GORE

This Alabama angler has done very well since joining the Elites in 2024. Wesley Gore has recorded five Elite Series Top 10s already, along with a Top 10 in the Classic earlier this year. Growing up on the Coosa River, Gore is a shallow water angler. He has also done well at big bass factories like Lake Fork, and I would expect him to do the same at Santee Cooper where we might see more century belts like we have in the past.

Solid secondary selection: With this being a non-FFS tournament, we know that Cherry thrives in those events like he did in his win at Lake Guntersville earlier this year. He also recorded a 16th place finish at the Arkansas River event, which was a shallow water fishery. His 3 finishes on Santee Cooper were 13th, 39th, and 25th.

BUCKET E: KENNEDY

Steve Kennedy is one of those anglers that can either be hero or zero, and many Fantasy Fishing players have either looked like a hero by picking him or have gotten burned by him. When it comes to Santee Cooper, it certainly fits his strengths. It also helps his case that his 3 finishes there since 2020 were 8th, 14th, and 13th. I could certainly see some postspawn glide bait action from Kennedy at this event.

Solid secondary selection: While Caleb Kuphall has not been super consistent since joining the Elite Series in 2020, he has racked up a few stellar finishes. One of those was his 2nd place finish at Santee Cooper in 2022. He claims Santee Cooper Lakes is his favorite place to fish, and his strength is fishing a jig, which is usually a huge player there. When he does catch them somewhere, he usually catches big ones. He won by almost 18 pounds at Lake Guntersville in the 2021 Elite, and he earned a century belt at his 2nd place finish at Santee.