Day 4: Lake Murray
2:31 p.m. — Robert Gee is unofficially the third angler to 20 pounds today. If that holds and other weights are accurate, he could move from 7th to 4th with his final day catch.
2:22 p.m. — Caleb Hudson has suffered through a tough Day 4, but even as a rookie he knows that every point is critical. Whether it’s AOY, ROY or qualifying for his first Classic, each time he gains a spot he gets a little closer to cementing his place. Five cuts, three Day 4 appearances is an exceptional start to a career.
1:22 p.m. — Seven of 10 anglers have over 80 pounds although only two of them have 20 or more on the day.
12:45 p.m. — Brandon Cobb has found the fish he needs to vault up toward or even into the lead – two pairs of spawning bass. One pair he estimates and 3 and 5 pounds. The others are around 4 and 6. He’s having trouble getting their attention but he’s also having trouble abandoning them.
12:48 p.m. — Smallest fish to cull among the top five is Brandon Cobb with a 2-8.
12:38 p.m. — Sam Hanggi has been catching his kickers later in the afternoon, but today he got started a little bit early with a 5-pounder at 12:30. He’s noticeably excited. He should be – this is his first Elite to 10 and he still has a legit chance to win
“This has been my week,” he said of the semi-unexpected bite. The fish decided to “toilet bowl my lure out of nowhere,” he added.
He's catching his fish using forward-facing sonar under docks.
12:23 p.m. — This is Trey McKinney’s 21st day of Bassmaster competition this year (out of a possible 23). His total weight through 20 days is 330 pounds 10 ounces. That averages out to just a hair over 15-1 per day.
11:55 a.m. — Straight limits across the board. Some of them have more room and ability to cull than others.
11:48 a.m. — Shane Durrance put together a fantastic gallery of Trey McKinney’s Sunday morning. Don’t count the two-time AOY runner-up out of it yet.
11:45 a.m. — With a little over 3 hours left to fish, we are two bass and two anglers away from 10 limits.
10:59 a.m. — Photographer Chase Sansom found Sam Hanggi up shallow, having abandoned the herring fish in favor of the bank. He’s engaging in a mix of sight fishing and scoping up shallow.
He just landed a 4 pounder – that’s the size he needs, but he’ll need a few more of them to challenge for the win.”
“I’ve never sight fished in my life before,” he said. “I can’t believe I just caught that one doing it”
10:34 a.m. — When things are going well, sometimes you can do no wrong. Andrew Loberg got a strike on his chartreuse fluke. The fish missed and messed up his bait, but rather than retrieving it quickly for another cast he kept it moving and hooked up.
10:24 a.m. — Paul Marks isn’t going to make it easy on the rest of the field. He seems to have adjusted to the slick conditions and just culled out a 2-10 with a much larger bass, making him unofficially the first angler past 20 pounds – one of the few with the chance to do that all four days.
10:18 a.m. — Photographer Chase Sansom is with Andrew Loberg, who says timing isn’t a factor for his days. Loberg got off to a quick start this morning but it has tapered off a little bit. He’s definitely not catching many now compared to earlier this morning. Sansom asked him if it was a timing deal and he said “that it’s a cloudy and wind deal for me.” The weather may not suit his needs, in which case he’ll have to make some adjustments.
9:58 a.m. — It’s getting tougher for our leaders to cull. Paul Marks has a 2-10 and a 3-0 to get rid of. Trey McKinney has a pair estimated at 3-0 apiece.
9:54 a.m. — Robert Gee: “I feel like I’m redfishing in the Bahamas or something like that.” He’s caught multiple fish in the past few minutes to hit his limit and he’s seen every one of them bite.
9:31 a.m. — Before takeoff, Trey McKinney told Bassmaster photographer Andy Crawford he was hoping the lake wouldn’t slick off — which is exactly what has happened. “That makes it tough to get a bite,” he said, explaining he would like just a little chop on the water.
The conditions, which are pretty much slick calm, hasn’t seemed to slow him down much. The two-time Elite Series champ and current leader of the Progressive Angler of the Year points race current has sacked 17 1/2 pounds, according to BassTrakk — and he has a lot of room to upgrade, with two 3-pounders in the livewell.
9:22 a.m. — Brandon Cobb: “I haven’t caught very many, but I’ve caught what I’d call three weighers.”
9:20 a.m. —Paul Marks is really digging into his bag of tricks this morning. In a tournament of minnow baits and flukes, we saw him use a square bill this morning, and now he’s also employing a small flutter spoon. That’s what produced a (legal) fish a few minutes ago. Shane Durrance, a veteran of Lake Lanier, said that “he is blowing my mind right now.”
9:12 a.m. — Things are going right for Paul Marks as he searches for his second Elite win – he just culled with a tail-hooked fish. That’s a legal catch since he didn’t sight fish it. With the fast and furious catches this morning, someone will need a few of those breaks to prevail.
8:39 a.m. — The teen-class bags are piling up early – two over 17 and two more over 15.
8:33 a.m. — Dalton Tumblin reports that Brandon Cobb is bouncing around a lot and trying to stay on the schooling bite. He’s fishing long underwater points and humps that extend out extremely far off the bank, making long casts at schools of fish with a fluke.
8:29 a.m. — From Shane Durrance: “Trey McKinney is throwing a herring style bait. Those were his exact words and then he laughed. The details are vague so it must be some kind of top-secret deal. He said the only thing he’s doing different today is he’s starting a different milk run trying to catch bigger ones.”
8:23 a.m. — Robert Gee just caught on worthy of a belly pat. ”Looks like me, dude. Short and fat,” he said. “Probably the shortest 5-pounder you’ll ever see."
8:19 a.m. — Andrew Loberg, looking for his first Elite Series win, is the first member of the top 10 to a limit.
8:16 a.m. — Fish number three for Paul Marks is another grown one that inhaled a squarebill. The BassTrakk numbers are moving quickly this morning and with the field so tightly packed it’s going to be hard to keep track of who is leading – or in the best position to lead when the day ends.
8:11 a.m. — Trey McKinney is not going to make it easy on the competition – not now, not ever. He just babied a leaping 4 ½ pound into the boat, taking time to direct boat traffic. No one seems to have more fun than the 21-year old two-time AOY runner-up.
7:49 a.m. — Photographer Chase Sansom is following Sam Hanggi – in his first top 10 – in Bear Creek. It’s been slow on his morning limit spot, with one fish in the boat. Later he’ll likely move across the lake to some shallow docks searching for afternoon kickers.
7:44 a.m. — Photographer Shane Durrance is following Trey McKinney who uncharacteristically did not get a bite in the first 30 minutes, at which point he looked up and said “Welcome back to reality.” That must’ve jostled something because a second later he hooked up with his minnow-style bait and is on the scoreboard.
7:36 a.m. — Today is Drew Benton’s 38th birthday. What a present it would be to bring home $100,000. He’s one of four anglers in the top ten in their thirties (the rest are all in their twenties) and the oldest by about a year and a half.
7:22 a.m. — The catching has started and Paul Marks has landed the first solid punch of the morning with an estimated 4-13.
6:45 a.m. — In 2023, Drew Benton went out on Day 4 in 10th place, 4-15 off the lead. Today he goes out in 10th once again, 4-1 out of 1st place. “Today looks a little bit better for sight fishing than what I’m doing,” tournament leader Brandon Cobb said. Indeed, while we’re at the tail end of the spawn, and other competitors have caught some bedding fish, Benton has made it the centerpiece of his strategy.
6:41 a.m. — Brandon Cobb was packed up yesterday morning and ready to move on to Santee Cooper. What a difference a (26 pound) day makes. Today he’s going out with a distinct chance at his third Elite Series win. “I’ve got a bullseye on my back but that’s a good place to be,” he said.
Day 3: Lake Murray
2:22 p.m. — Brandon Cobb has taken the lead with a bag of fish that, if he's underestimating, could very well be the heaviest stinger of the event. Cobb has logged 25-5 into BassTrakk, which is a pound lower than the Jordan Lee's Day 2 bag of 26-5. However, anglers are notorious sandbaggers. So Cobb very well could have more than he's showing.
Weigh-in begins at 3 p.m., so tune in to find out if Cobb's stringer will become the event's heavy weight.
1:45 p.m. — Seigo Saito reports that Kyoya Fujita is burning minimal gas, still fishing close to the take off site. It was an uncharacteristically slow morning for him but his patience finally paid off with a couple of quality fish – including the 5-pounder documented below – that unofficially put him back into another in his long list of top 10 finishes.
1:10 p.m. — A rare smile from Kyoya Fujita, whose afternoon 5-pounder has likely ensured him a spot in the top 10. He babied the fish and then issued an audible sigh of relief when he got it into the boat. The late-day flurry continues virtually across the board.
12:40 p.m. — Punch. Counterpunch. Caleb Hudson catches a 5-pounder and then AOY leader Trey McKinney replaces his smallest fish — a 3-14 – with a 5-11. “Slurped it 10 feet away from the boat,” he said. Despite expectations that the early morning would provide the best fishing, the noon hour is proving to be exceptional.
12:27 p.m. — Robert Gee’s bite window continues with a 5-pounder. That’s a 2-pound cull, which puts him over 20, and possibly in contention for his second top 10 of the year. He had four of them in his rookie season of 2023.
12:05 p.m. — We may be hitting a bite window. Right after posting about Trey McKinney’s cull, Ambassador Trevor Tippetts send me a pic of Robert Gee giving a 4 ½ pounder a belly pat. He’d just lost one even bigger but wasn’t crying in his Cheerios. He had to make hay while the sun was shining, running and gunning for more bites.
12:00 p.m. — Trey McKinney keeps on culling. He thought he had a true giant: “Dude, her head shakes are like a foot wide,” he said as he patiently fought it trying to get the fish “so wore out so it can’t do nothing.” It wasn’t a 7, but it helped him inch up – toward another in a long line of top 10 finishes.
11:53 a.m. — We’re unofficially at five bags over 20 pounds, but only two of them are in the top 10. That means between late day culls and inaccurate estimates we’re likely to see some juggling of the standings between now and the time weigh-in ends.
11:38 a.m. — Chase Sansom found Brandon Cobb working main lake shoals and upgrading slightly. He has a 5-pounder and a 7-pounder but only 3 pounders to go with them.
He’s keeping it simple with what appears to be a Zoom Super Fluke, throwing it over top of the fish.
“One thing he has said since I’ve been with him is that the fish he wants to target are the big groups of multiple fish,” Sansom reported. “Once they get broken up and separated it’s no good anymore. He’ll pick up the trolling motor and move to the next shoal until he finds another group of them.”
10:48 a.m. — Jeff Gustafson is the second angler to pass 20 pounds according to BassTrakk, but it’s still not enough to crack the top 10. Nevetheless, it may be enough to get his best Elite finish of 2026 – he previously finished 18th at Guntersville and 17th at the Tennessee-Tombigbee. He hasn’t missed a cut this year, which has to feel good after a dismal 2025 season that left him outside of the 2026 Classic. That had to be particularly painful because it was held in Knoxville, where he’d previously won both a Classic and an Elite event.
10:25 a.m. — Ambassador Rick Culver reports that Tucker Smith has close to 14 pounds, not the 7-4 that’s showing up on BassTrakk, which means that we could be just a few pounds from having all four Surge Squad members in the top 10.
10:13 a.m. — Photographer Chase Sansom says that McKinney is culling 4 pounders now.
“All of his fish are between 4 and 4.50 pounds. He just landed one that gave him a bit of an upgrade. He tossed back a 3-14, and he’s clearly on the quality and quantity to get to that 20-pound mark fairly easy…but getting over that hump he’ll need some 5-pounders to make a run at the lead.”
10:08 a.m. — With all of the success experienced this week by Day 1 leader Emil Wagner, along with Paul Marks and Andrew Loberg, past Elite winner Tucker Smith has kind of been lost in the shuffle – but he too is having a solid tournament, with plenty of room to grow. Ambassador Rick Culver is enjoying a day with Smith after riding with Chris Zaldain yesterday and Scott Canterbury on Thursday.
9:49 a.m. — Per BassTrakk, there are now 16 bags of 13 pounds or more, including South Carolina’s Brandon Cobb with a reported 21-10 – the lone 20+ bag so far. The day is starting to take shape in some regards, but there’s one notable angler who does not have 13+. In fact, Bryant Smith has yet to unofficially eclipse 10 pounds. With a reported three fish for 9-12 the Day 2 leader has fallen to 10th. Then again, with two more 3-pounders he'd vault right back up to the top.
9:37 a.m. — Photographer Shane Durrance reported that Jordan Lee ran to two different spots down near the dam but found boats sitting on both of them. He decided to run into Bear Creek and hit another spot he has been saving, and it worked out for the best. He culled three different times, putting him near 19 pounds for the morning. “The fish were literally schooling all over the entire point chasing herring,” Durrance wrote.
9:09 a.m. — Jordan Lee finds himself surrounded by schooling fish, culling quickly and finding no reason to go elsewhere. ”If anything it’s just fun. Why would you want to leave this?”
8:42 a.m. — All-everything Trey McKinney has jumped into the lead and has room to cull. His results this season have simply been otherworldly: no missed cuts, no finishes below 20th, a runner-up in the Classic, and if he cruises into the top 10 this week it’ll be his third in five regular season events.
8:35 a.m. — Andrew Loberg, who entered the day in 6th place, slung an ear on his prop this morning and had to spend valuable herring spawn time changing it out. As Ronnie Moore pointed out on Live, not every minute or every hour is created equal in this tournament – the early morning periods are typically more promising and productive than later times, although that’s not a hard and fast rule. Loberg currently reports two fish for under 4 pounds and has at least temporarily fallen out of the top 10.
8:19 a.m. — Photographer Shane Durrance reported that Jordan Lee started on a spot he’d nicknamed “Loaded,” but found that it couldn’t live up to its name as it did not produce a single keeper. Then he ran to a rocky point with underwater boulders which started getting him back on track: Two keepers, including one of approximately 5 pounds.
8:13 a.m. — Day 1 leader Emil Wagner is catching fish at a rapid pace, and has at least temporarily grabbed the lead, but none of the five bass in his livewell hits or exceeds the 3-pound mark. He’ll likely need to cull them all if he’s to reclaim the lead and move toward his first Elite Series lead.
8:05 a.m. — Chase Sansom reports that Paul Marks is keeping the local gas stations in business: “I’ve been with him for roughly an hour now and we’ve visited at least to seven or eight different spots. He’s looking for those active fish on herring. He has yet to find them this morning but I’m guessing by the end of the day he’s going to roll across a wad of them.”
8:03 a.m. — Two Elites celebrated anniversaries yesterday. Greg Hackney has enjoyed 27 years of marital bliss with wife Julie, while Gerald and LuLu Swindle have been hitched for 22 years.
While the Swindles travel together, Hackney choked up a bit while talking about the number of anniversaries he's spent away from his wife.
"I think 22 of those (anniversaries) I've been up here (on stage)," Hackney said. "So when I go home, we date."
7:55 a.m. — John Cox missed the cut this week, which has been an unfortunate 2026 trend. Even so, he was all giggles and smiles when he crossed the weigh-in stage with nearly 22 pounds. He and Mercer discussed his tough year, when he hasn't really caught them even on waterways that one would think set up perfectly for his shallow-water mastery. "Fishing is supposed to be tough," Cox said with a laugh. "It's been really tough this year."
7:29 a.m. — The catches are rolling in and Wes Logan is unofficially the first angler to a limit today.
6:44 a.m. — Ambassador Trevor Tippetts is getting a front row seat to angling greatness. Yesterday he got to watch Drew Benton light up the leaderboard, including a 7-pounder, and today he’s already seen Robert Gee catch a 5-pounder.
6:25 a.m. — Trey McKinney has a 38 point lead in the AOY race over ROY leader Caleb Hudson, who in turn leads Brandon Cobb by 21 points. Those margins can be easily erased in a single event and the leaderboard is remarkably tight after that – the difference between Cobb and 9th place is a mere 21 points.
6:22 a.m. — Caleb Hudson, with another check and another top 10, has created some daylight in the Rookie of the Year race. Heading into Day 3 he leads Lake Martin champion Fisher Anaya by 91 points and two-time Open winner Pake South by 131.
6:20 a.m. — As we saw yesterday, a big bag can go a long way in upending the standings. Heading into today’s competition, Bryant Smith has a 1 pound 13 ounce lead over 2nd place, but the difference between 1st and 10th is less than 4 pounds. The difference between 10th and 20th is less than 2 pounds. A 7-pounder or a flurry of 5-pounders will take someone from just cashing a check into contention in a hurry.
Day 2: Lake Murray
2:20 p.m. — Trey McKinney took a commanding lead in the Progressive Angler of the Year race yesterday, putting 41 points between him and his closest competitor (Elite veteran Brandon Cobb). The young angler got off to a slow start today, falling down the leader board before working his way back into the unofficial Top 10. The current AOY estimates show McKinney continues to lead the field, but has lost ground versus second place (now rookie Caleb Hudson). The running AOY estimate shows McKinney with 447 points, while Hudson has 413 point.
2:15 p.m. — Drew Benton has surged into second place on BassTrakk with an estimated 23-pound stringer that includes 7- and 6 1/2-pounders. And he still has a lot of room to move up, with two bass weighing less than 3 pounds in his livewell.
1:38 p.m. — David A. Brown’s reggae-tinged deep dive into the meaning of this week’s weather is a good read – and may explain why we’re experiencing a change today.
1:35 p.m. — Check out Sam Hanggi’s estimated 7-pounder.
1:30 p.m. — Kyoya Fujita, who finished 2nd last week in the Bassmaster Open at Lake Norman, continues to enjoy the Carolinas. He’s stayed near the take-off area first the first two days of this tournament and just keeps catching quality fish.
1:13 p.m. — With an estimated 21 pounds in the box, Tennessee rookie Sam Hanggi is on pace to make the first Elite Series cut of his young career. He started the day in 43rd place, which could go either way, but made the moves he needed to today to get his season going on the right track at the midway point.
12:45 p.m. — Life on the Elite Series is a never-ending series of surprises. Yesterday, plenty of anglers came in with 18-, 19- or 20-pound bags, expecting to be near the top of the heap and were disappointed to find that they were at best also-rans. Today, there are a bunch of them out there thinking they’ve dropped the ball with comparable catches, missing out on opportunities to move up or cash a check, and they may end up pleased with how life treats them. Of course, there are still a few hours to fish and BassTrakk is an imperfect barometer of the day, but a little bit before 1pm we still only have three bags over 20 pounds, and not all that many in the upper teens.
By all accounts, it’s a much tougher day.
Then again, we may be surprised.
12:30 p.m. — Seigo Saito is following Bryant Smith as he runs a series of points. The bite isn’t fast and furious but the quality remains and the California pro is unofficially in the lead. He just culled out a 4-pounder with one a pound or so heavier.
11:30 a.m. — Per BassTrakk, there are still only two bags of 20 pounds or more. We saw 29 of them yesterday and while that number may drop, it won’t be quite this precipitous. Expect some jockeying to occur in the afternoon and some of the sandbaggers will likewise be revealed.
10:41 a.m. — Check out Craig Lamb’s amazing gallery of early morning aerial shots from Lake Murray.
10:38 a.m. — Shane Durrance is following perennial AOY contender Jay Przekurat, who is relying heavily on his forward-facing sonar, but is switching between two different lures to get the job done.
10:22 a.m. — Caleb Hudson just caught a tagged bass that may be worth $1,100 as part of the Bonus Bass program, in which 200 tagged fish were stocked in both Murray and Santee Cooper. Hudson knew about the program and registered with a $100 entry fee two days before the tournament – so even if he doesn’t make the cut (unlikely) he’ll still get paid. If someone else weighs in a tagged fish today, they’ll split the pot.
9:44 a.m. — Dalton Tumblin is trying to keep up with Brandon Cobb, who is catching fish after fish. He’s on a very long underwater point catching schoolers with a fluke. The bass are constantly busting the surface. This spot has allowed him to make several culls to put himself back up towards the top of the leaderboard. He says he doesn’t think he can catch a 20-pound bag right here, but maybe at least 18 to give him a good foundation for the rest of the day. Cobb just culled out a fish that had been hooked in the tongue with an equal-sized specimen that seemed more likely to thrive – a strategic decision that could prevent a disaster.
9:35 a.m. — With 18-3 yesterday, two-time Classic winner Jordan Lee was perched precariously in 49th, and ounce above the cut man. Today he’s gotten off to a strong start, with an estimated 19-12, including a 7-4. He’ll definitely be fishing on Saturday.
9:32 a.m. — Seigo Saito reports that while Bryan Schmitt has had a decent start on Day 2 he has substantial room to improve. There are some true giants in his zone, he just needs to make them bite. Two of them di, but he couldn’t get a hook in them. He’ll continue to work on these larger-than-average specimens.
9:26 a.m. — Photographer Chase Sansom moved to cover Andrew Loberg in a major downlake creek where Loberg is “putting on a clinic with one fish after another. He’s on the chartreuse fluke bite, throwing it over top of wolfpacks of fish looking to upgrade to some big ones.”
“I got like 16-17 pounds but that’s just a starter bag for here,” Loberg said. “Going to have to catch some big ones to stay in this thing”
9:01 a.m. — Drew Benton just entered a 7-pounder into BassTrakk. Yesterday he weighed in a 7 that he entered as a 5-4. Any speculation as to what this one actually weighs?
8:50 a.m. — If the season ended after yesterday, Pake South would be the first man outside of the Classic cut – except for the fact that South won two Opens (without fishing a full slate in either Opens division) which would put the 41st and 42nd place anglers in the AOY race into the Hartwell Classic.
8:44 a.m. — After yesterday’s weigh-in the AOY standings – at least below first place – got a major shakeup.
8:25 a.m. — Shane Durrance reports that he’s trying to keep up with the quick-moving Emil Wagner, who is throwing a fluke and a topwater, occasionally just staying for a cast or two. He just left a shoal where he estimated 200 bass are chasing herring. Durrance had to ask him to confirm that number. Indeed, it was 200. He’s got a limit but needs to cull.
8:17 a.m. — Craig Lamb got a drone shot of the types of points these anglers are fishing. Check out the bottom composition and the available cover that’s holding the herring and in turn the bass.
8:12 a.m. — Brandon Cobb finished his limit with a double of small fish. He’ll need to cull the one that made it onto his dance card. He also needs to change out his trebles after the two bass managed to mangle them.
8:09 a.m. — Taku Ito may be the first angler in Bassmaster Live history to describe a bass as “cute.” He’s had a distinctly un-Taku-like start to his season and is looking for his first win since 2024 at Smith Lake.
7:42 a.m. — David Gaston is first to a limit this morning, although he’ll likely have to cull them all out if he wants to improve on his 19th place position from Day 1.
7:40 a.m. — Chase Sansom says that even after a short time on the water, he’s noticed a change from yesterday. Less running around hunting for active fish, more staying put waiting for something to happen. There’s a big bright orb in the sky that was missing yesterday, the wind isn’t as strong. Will that help or hurt the bite?
7:37 a.m. — Photographer Dalton Tumblin reports that Jacob Foutz is far from the crowd this morning. Rather than fishing the more popular areas on the lake, Foutz is deeper in a creek arm all by himself. He’s got three in the livewell so far. The third fish came on a fluke -- he threw it right at the fish as it was schooling and busting the surface only about 15 yards from his boat.
6:49 a.m. — Some anglers to watch today:
Patrick Walters (19th, 21-3) – Perpetually in the top 10 on Murray, and just about all South Carolina Lakes for that matter.
Drew Benton (27th, 20-8) – Sight fished yesterday to 20+, should have better conditions today
Cory Johnston (78th, 15-3) – Needs to regain points he lost to Trey McKinney yesterday.
6:39 a.m. — If you want to see a parade of healthy fish (and the anglers who caught them) check out Andy Crawford’s gallery from yesterday’s weigh-in.
6:33 a.m. — Brandon Cobb: “Yesterday was fishing conditions. I think today will be a little tougher.”
6:20 a.m. — When the scales close today we’ll be halfway through the Elite Series season and today is therefore an inflection point. Just about everyone has a chance to make the cut or fall outside of the cut depending on decisions and execution. The difference between a 12-pound bag and a 20-pound bag is just one or two key moments. Prepare to see some rise up the leaderboard and a few others fall out of what seems like a certain check.
Day 1: Lake Murray
2:31 p.m. — Talk to Trey McKinney off the water, and you'd be tempted to think he was just a young kid. I mean, he is just 21. But when he's fighting big bass he transforms, and the intensity is written all over his face. Today, with rain and heavy overcast making sunglasses less necessary, Bassmaster photographer Chase Sansom captured telling images of McKinney with crazy intense eyes. Be sure to check out the entire gallery!
1:41 p.m. — Trey McKinney found his hat and found another 5-pounder. “We’re letting 4-pounders go,” he said matter-of-factly, with perhaps a touch of hidden incredulity. At this point, however, nothing the kid does should surprise us.
1:15 p.m. — Watch out for past Lake Murray winner Drew Benton, who has sight-fished through the storms and now has better conditions for his favorite technique. He’s on point watching two fish over 6 pounds. Either or both would be game-changers. “Right now we’re just in survival mode,” he said.
1:05 p.m. — On a rainy day when running and gunning might’ve been uncomfortable, Bassmaster photographer Chase Sansom still put together this gallery of the Elite Series pros making moves.
12:57 p.m. — Brandon Cobb, another herring lake expert, just culled out a 3-pounder with a 5.46. Throughout the fight he assumed it wasn’t big, but then when it came into sight things got serious. A 2.46 pound cull is a big deal when ounces will separate checks, cuts and possibly trophies. "It'll be kind of hard to cull now," he said. "I think our smallest is 3.80."
12:52 p.m. — Just before 1pm, local expert and past Elite winner Bryan New made it an even ten anglers with an unofficial 20 pounds or more. There may be a few more who aren’t reporting or are underreporting. Meanwhile, amongst those represented on BassTrakk, there are seven more in the 19+ class, and an additional seven at 18 or greater.
12:20 p.m. — Photographer Shane Durrance is following Paul Marks, who is in the 20-pound range. Marks explains that he’s running and gunning, looking for points with herons on them, which indicates the presence of a herring spawn.
12:16 p.m. — Pre-tournament favorite Patrick Walters, whose weight has been the subject of much speculation, just made a quality cull, getting rid of a 2-8 for a bass whose poundage he did not announce. “That’s a 3-pounder he just threw back,” Davy Hite said. No one will be surprised if the 14- or 15-pound bag he’s reporting turns out to weigh far more.
12:00 p.m. — It’s noon, and with 73 anglers reporting we have five bags over 20 pounds (unofficially) including one over 22. It takes 19 pounds to be in the top 10. The 50th place cut mark is 11-4, although 37th (13-14) might be a more accurate marker of the cut point.
11:27 a.m. — Fantasy Fishing loyalists across the globe were just rewarded by watching a hatless Trey McKinney catching an estimated 5-8 that culled out a 3-pounder. “That puts us almost at 22,” he said. He’s not taking any chances with the AOY title this year, it seems. He may not win it, but he won’t lose it. Someone will have to beat him straight up.
11:00 a.m. — At 11 o’clock, we still only have two unofficial weights of 20 pounds or more. Of course there may be several who are sandbagging or underestimating, and some may not be reporting at all. There are seven more anglers between 19-0 and 19-13, all of them likely one cull away from the magic mark. The afternoon promises some big moves, both before and during weigh-in.
10:29 a.m. — Jake Whitaker keeps up the pace – with a 5-pounder. Chase Sansom is doing a yeoman’s work in a torrential downpour.
10:24 a.m. — Emil Wagner is the first to 20 pounds, per BassTrakk. We saw him lose a big fish but he also has four over 4-pounds in the well. He’s a spotted bass herring expert from Lake Lanier – like Paul Marks, who’s also near the top of the heap – but more importantly he knows how blueback herring act. He just caught one that plenty of competitors would’ve liked, but it didn’t cull out the 3-4 that’s the weak link in his catch.
9:32 a.m. — Chase Sansom drove down near the dam to cover Hunter Shryock, who is in that zone, but not doing what you might expect. In a prior event, he had a top ten throwing a Berkley Choppo audible but with the different conditions he’s had to throw an audible.
9:15 a.m. — Clearly it’s not going to make sense to blog every time the leader changes, because it should happen frequently throughout the day. Just as we pressed “Save” on the entry about Paul Marks, South Carolinian JT Thompkins grabbed the lead. Per his estimates, he doesn’t have a fish of 4 pounds or more – lots of room to cull.
9:09 a.m. — Surge Squadder Paul Marks is an early leader but will it hold? If he needs 20+ to stay in the top 10, he’ll need to cull at least three or four of the fish currently in his livewell. The Lake Lanier resident had to have this one circled on his calendar – both FFS and herring.
8:07 a.m. — Ike just got healthy in a hurry with a 4 ½ and one over 2 on the same bait at the same time.
7:56 a.m. — Photographer Chase Sansom reports that a drenched Trey McKinney is making all the right moves so far this morning, and with an estimated 4 ½ pounder filled out a limit that pushes him up over 13 pounds. The rain is subsiding, too. It’s not clear how that will affect the bite, but it’ll make moving around much easier.
7:23 a.m. — Per BassTrakk, Wes Logan is first to a limit with 8 pounds 12 ounces. He’ll likely have to cull out all of those fish if he wants to be competitive.
7:22 a.m. — Photographer Chase Sansom is trying to follow Trey McKinney near the takeoff area, but between the rain and the fact that McKinney has already move multiple times it has been a chore. The goal is to find herring and bass feasting on them but the combination of the inclement weather and the presence of other boats complicates matters.
6:58 a.m. — Did you see the anglers’ predicted winning weight gallery? Lots of eighties and nineties, plus a few in the triple digits. The bottom line is that if you’re not topping 20 every day – or at least averaging that much – you won’t be in contention. Three-pound fish need to be culled. And the difference between a 20-pound average and a 25-pound average is remarkably vast.
6:32 a.m. — Cory Johnston: “It’s all about the herring points to start.”
6:30 a.m. — Welcome to a dark and stormy Lake Murray, stop five on the 2026 Elite Series schedule. Tomorrow will mark the halfway point of a season that feels like it just started. The anglers are ready to get out there and make something happen on this blueback fishery. “I feel like a lot of people are going to burn some gas,” Wes Logan said. “You may burn some gas in a 10 mile circle.”