Santee Cooper Lakes: Day 4
1:52 p.m. — Chris Johnston just keeps on culling. He’s put on a dominant demonstration of Coike-based excellence today on the heels of three other exceptional days. Sometimes anglers back into a win, but he’s been all gas, no brakes.
1:45 p.m. — Our photographers put together a fantastic gallery of Kyle Welcher, Pat Schlapper and Brandon Palaniuk grappling for every point they can get. Click here to view it.
12:45 p.m. — Shane Durrance reports that Pat Schlepper has unofficially moved to second place with a 4 1/2 pound cull after catching a 7-pounder. Pat said he is targeting clumps of floating vegetation that have at least 6 feet of water underneath them. He’s punching a beaver style bait with a one ounce pegged weight.
12:26 p.m. — Seigo Saito reported that it has been an extremely tough morning for Brandon Palaniuk on Championship Sunday.
Brandon said “If I want to win, some miracles need to happen.”
Momentarily thereafter, he finally landed fish number two, a big one over 5 ½ pounds.
11:49 a.m. — Click here to check out Christopher Decker’s morning gallery of AOY leader Cory Johnston.
11:29 a.m. — Pat Schlapper culling with a 7-pounder en route to his biggest bag of the week: “That’s why we flip the mats baby.”
10:58 a.m. — Both of Tucker Smith’s top 10 finishes so far this Elite Season have come in non-FFS tournaments. Chase Sansom reports that like most of the other leaders, Smith is working a Hideup Fullcast Coike around a variety of cover.
10:53 a.m. — Leader Chris Johnston ran 10 miles to fish three docks. It paid off with an estimated 7-pounder. "We need one more good fish and it's 11 o'clock," he said.
10:37 a.m. — Pat Schlapper may not match his best finish of the season so far – 3rd at Muskogee – but he’s moving up the leaderboard. He just extracted a 4.83 pound largemouth from a patch of curly-leaf pond weed.
9:55 a.m. — At long last, Brandon Palaniuk is on the board with a 3 ½ pound bass.
9:47 a.m. — Chris Johnston had four fish and headed back to the row of docks where he’d had some success on Day 2. He told Shane Durrance that they don’t produce many bites, but the ones he gets there tend to be big
On the second dock he hung one in the 5-pound class but lost it at the boat.
Without missing a beat, he shook off the hurt, moved to the next dock, and caught a 4-pounder.
He is now almost certainly over 100 pounds. BassTrakk has him there and he may have more weight than indicated.
9:17 a.m. — According to Ronnie Moore, heading into today, there have been 192 bags of 20 pounds or more this season (Elites plus Classic). Below are the top 10:
9:09 a.m. — Relax Retreat at Carolina King showed up for Cory Johnston with on-the-water biscuit delivery. He's in Jack's Creek, mixing it up between docks and grass. He just caught a 4-9. He started the day in 4th so he doesn't have much room to go up, but each point he gains is another step closer to an AOY award.
8:57 a.m. — Shane Durrance was surprised to see Chris Johnston pick up a spinning rod but after he used it to make multiple casts to the same spot it became obvious why – he’d found a fish on a bed. He’d only discovered it when he went shallow to retrieve a snagged lure. As usual, he made it pay off. Fish number four wasn’t a giant, but it extended his lead, especially as compared to a struggling Palaniuk.
8:53 a.m. — Photographer Dalton Tumblin reports that Brandon Palaniuk has voiced his confusion a few times already this morning. He can’t figure out why the bite has dried up.
“He’s sticking to the same game plan of the previous days – a Coike-style bait on cypress trees. So far, no luck. No fish in the boat and I haven’t seen him set the hook yet.”
8:25 a.m. — Per BassTrakk, Chris Johnston is just over 5 pounds away from a Century Belt with two spots left to fill in his limit.
8:10 a.m. — Shane Durrance reports that Chris Johnston just caught a bass that weighed approximately 6 pounds.
“I asked him if he has caught more than one fish off of a dock all week and he replied that it was only the dock he started on this morning. Yesterday it produced a 5 and a 7.”
8:10 a.m. — Chris Johnston on the Coike: “I don’t think the color is as important as the action on this bait.”
8:02 a.m. — Chase Sansom reports Drew Cook hasn’t left sight of the takeoff ramp yet and has already boated a couple nice fish to get his morning started. He’s working docks in the launch creek with a 17mm Hideup Coike.
“Out of curiosity I asked him this morning if he thinks he owns more coikes than the entire Elite Series field. He paused, took a good look back at me and said ‘no comment.’”
7:58 a.m. — Because Pake South has already won two Opens, it appears that the Classic cut will go down the Elite leaderboard at least 42 places this year. Three anglers fishing who are in that range or just outside have a chance to make up some ground: Brandon Palaniuk, Pat Schlapper and Greg Hackney.
7:35 a.m. — Shane Durrance reports that it didn’t take long for Day 3 leader Chris Johnston to get going this morning. His second dock produced a 4-pound largemouth. He’s still throwing the same urchin style bait he’s been using all week. While the fish wrapped him up briefly, he recovered, dropped it in the livewell and got back to pursuing the blue trophy.
7:13 a.m. — Christopher Decker reports that Cory Johnston has gotten off to a fast start, landing two bass he put into BassTrakk as 3-pounders off the same dock. He is staying true to his pattern, fishing main lake docks with an unreleased 6th Sense urchin-style bait. The Day 1 leader has a lot of ground to make up, but he’s on a good pace if someone ahead of him falters.
7:09 a.m. — With every fish Chris Johnston catches – of any size – he makes it just a little bit harder for anyone else to win. But with a 4-pounder, he’s starting to really separate himself early in the day.
6:36 a.m. — Despite starting off a distant third today, Drew Cook definitely isn’t giving up. Six minutes into the day and he has a 4-pounder in the livewell. The leaders are going to have to catch quality bags today or risk sacrificing a great opportunity for a W.
6:28 a.m. — Everyone in this week’s top 10 has already won with BASS. Eight of the ten have won Elite Series tournaments. Bob Downey’s lone win was an Open. Justin Hamner’s lone win was the Classic.
6:17 a.m. — Brandon Palaniuk: “Me and the Johnstons have some fun battles.”
Santee Cooper Lakes: Day 3
1:17 p.m. — Chris Johnston: “I said I needed a 6-pounder and it happened right there. It was 6 ½.” His smallest fish is a 5-2.
1:01 p.m. — Seigo Saito reported that briefly after losing what would have been fish number five, Brandon Palaniuk recovered and landed the next one.
12:42 p.m. — Seigo Saito reported that as he arrived at Brandon Palaniuk’s fishing location the Day 2 leader bowed up on a big fish that he later estimated at 7 pounds. Unfortunately, as we’ve seen with multiple anglers today, the fish escaped to fight another day. It would have been BP’s fifth on a day that he sorely needs it to stay in contention for another in his growing list of career victories.
12:20 p.m. — Cory Johnston has lost multiple quality fish today, but after a lengthy fight his last “barely hooked” bass made it into the boat. It’s a cull of at least 3 or 4 pounds.
11:51 a.m. — Christopher Decker reports that Tucker Smith is having an excellent day so far on Santee Cooper. The youngster has right around 20 pounds for the day, most of which has come around docks with an urchin. Smith has adjusted to the bass every day.
He's hoping to make his second top 10 of the year and sixth of his very short Elite Series career.
11:44 a.m. — Chris Johnston: “Big old melon.” Should’ve been a 7, more like a 5, but he now has five fish in that class and is off to fish “stuff I’ve never fished before, trying for one of those Santee giants.”
11:37 a.m. — Photographer Chase Sansom is following Pat Schlapper now in Jack’s Creek, but unlike the rest of the Coike-slinging top 10 he’s working a chatterbait in scattered grass and then flipping a soft plastic craw in and around the cypress trees.
10:47 a.m. — Brandon Palaniuk -- “We’ve had the bites to have a really incredible day again.” BassTrakk had him at three bass for 9-4.
10:27 a.m. — Chris Johnston is unofficially the first angler over 20 pounds.
9:47 a.m. — Photographer Seigo Saito reports that Bob Downey started his morning with a 6-4 and a 4-pounder, and eventually filled out a limit of around 16 pounds. He’s caught big ones each day but needs a 25- or 30-pound limit to make a run at the title.
9:37 a.m. — Photographer Shane Durrance got the full report on Chris Johnston’s dunking: “Yesterday when we pulled up on him he had around 28 pounds. I asked him what he caught them on and he said a Coike, but I have only one. I asked, what are you going to do if you get hung? He said he’d go swimming.
Last night he was able to borrow two Coikes from other anglers, so that gives him three.
While attempting to retrieve one of them under a dock, he accidentally slipped into the water and fell in. That led him to go all-in on the process and he got it back. He’s back up to three little urchins.
9:30 a.m. — Dalton Tumblin captured Brandon Palaniuk breaking off what he said was about a 6-pounder. The line snapped while setting the hook. Almost immediately after the disaster, while he was sitting down to tie on a new one, the fish came up trying to shake the Coike out of its mouth right next to his boat.
“As you could imagine, Palaniuk was pretty frustrated.”
9:21 a.m. — While trying to retrieve a valuable Coike, Chris Johnston got the full Santee Cooper immersion treatment. It was stuck in a cast net, but despite the dunking he was successful – and got the bait back.
9:15 a.m. — Chase Sansom reports that it has been exceptionally slow this morning for Carl Jocumsen. He hasn’t boated a single fish nor has he had a single bite. Yesterday he started quick with a 7-pounder and a 5-pounder. He has no choice but to bank on an improved afternoon bite.
9:03 a.m. — Christopher Decker reports that a quick move produced three bites in rapid succession for Cory Johnston, but it’s slowed down since. He exited the creek he started in and is now fishing main lake docks, a big part of his strategy on Day 2. While he has mixed in a ChatterBait, swim worm and a frog, he has favored an urchin-style bait.
8:20 a.m. — Chris Johnston has an early limit today with an estimated 17 pounds-plus. He’ll likely need to cull out two or perhaps three of them to stay in contention for the win.
8:20 a.m. — Dalton Tumblin reports that Brandon Palaniuk has caught his first stage-worthy bass of the day in a familiar spot.
“He’s fishing slow and really picking apart these cypress trees with the Coike-style bait,” Dalton said. “He landed this one while throwing right up against one of the cypress trees. In fact, he told me that was the same tree he caught an 8 pounder on yesterday.”
8:00 a.m. — Shane Durrance found Chris Johnston fishing docks in the backs of pockets with an urchin-style bait. The two-time AOY just connected with his fourth fish, putting him in the 15-pound range.
7:52 a.m. — Christopher Decker reports that it’s been a slow start to the morning for Cory Johnston, who is starting on a set of trees north of the 95 bridge. He received several bites first thing but did not connect with them. The current Angler of the Year leader and Day 1 leader needs to make up some ground today if he wants to catch Brandon Palaniuk and have a chance at his third Elite Series title.
7:45 a.m. — Check out the Best of Day 2 at Santee Cooper gallery from our amazing Bassmaster photography team.
7:38 a.m. — The reigning back-to-back AOY is pouring gas on the fire.
7:00 a.m. — Chris Johnston starts off strong again with a 4-5. Five of those would be over 21 pounds but yesterday it would have been a cull.
Santee Cooper Lakes: Day 2
2:08 p.m. — Per BassTrakk, more than 30 anglers are over the estimated cut weight of 31-6. Of course, some haven’t reported their fish and others severely underestimate the weight of their catches – often on purpose. It remains to be seen whether the Day 2 weights will improve and what it’ll take to get to fish on Saturday.
2:04 p.m. — With an hour or so until the first flight weighs in, Brandon Palaniuk has an estimated lead of about 8 ½ pounds. What kind of lead is safe here? At what point do you lay off of your fish? He has to assume that if he’s having a second banner day, then others are, too. Either way, he’s gotten ahead of the curve with respect to getting to 100.
1:44 p.m. — Brandon Palaniuk, who won here in 2020, just caught a 6-pounder, which pushes today's weight up. "He's very close to hitting the dirty 30," Bassmaster photographer Seigo Saito reported.
1:00 p.m. — Brandon Palaniuk just made the cull of the day, exchanging his 2-8 smallest fish for a lengthy, post-spawn 8-pounder. He apologized to photographer Seigo Saito for not bringing it around the boat for a better shot angle, but he can be forgiven. Every bite’s going to matter in this one, even though he’s over 50 pounds for two days.
12:15 p.m. — Five of the current unofficial top 10 have over 20 pounds already. No one else is reporting 20 or more on BassTrakk. That means that we can still plan on some shakeups as anglers cull up.
11:51 a.m. — Keith Combs was one of the few anglers who had less than 10 pounds yesterday and sat in a disappointing 94th place but today is a different day. He’s up over an estimated 26 pounds and has at least temporarily moved inside the top 10 and certainly inside the cut to Saturday.
11:38 a.m. — With less than a full field reporting, 20 anglers are unofficially past the estimated cut weight of 31-6.
11:18 a.m. — Robert Gee is trying to earn his fourth straight 20-pound-plus day. He lost a quality fish just a foot from the boat then added a 6-pounder worthy of a belly pat.
11:14 a.m. — Shane Durrance reports that Chris Johnston only has one Coike left.
“He said if he gets it hung, he’s going swimming,” Shane said. “I’m back here praying for him to get hung. But I do want him to get it back.”
11:03 a.m. — Christopher Decker notes that one of the more surprising aspects of the Yokohama Tires Santee Cooper Elite is how many big bass have been caught off the bed so far in this tournament. Clifford Pirch landed a 6-pounder mid-morning on Day 2 he saw guarding a nest. Justin Hamner spent most of his morning sight-fishing and fished for a 10-pounder a good chunk of the morning on Day 1. Day 1 leader Cory Johnston said he landed a couple bass off bed to reach his 29-pound limit while expert sight fisherman Drew Cook and Drew Benton are both in the Top 20.
Water temperatures this week have been in the low 70s, a result of a late-spring cold front that pushed through before the event. It certainly isn’t the spawning event we saw in 2022 or 2023, but it is certainly making an impact so far. Can strictly bed fishing carry someone like Pirch to victory? It’s unlikely, but not impossible.
10:50 a.m. — Photographer Shane Durrance has spent the day in a Johnston family reunion. He started with Day 1 leader Cory, amassed a gallery and then moved on to Chris
“When I pulled up on Chris, he was running back and forth from the front of the boat to the back and we thought that he was hung up and trying to keep his boat off the bank,” Durrance reported. “As we get closer, we realized that he was actually hung up with a 7-pounder. The fish had him wrapped up, but he was able to get her out. He culled with that fish and now has around 30.”
10:42 a.m. — Carl Jocumsen’s love affair with Santee Cooper continues. Per photographer Chase Sansom he’s up over 21 pounds and should continue his streak of checks here, pushing it up to four in a row – topped off by a runner-up finish to his friend Brandon Palaniuk in 2020.
10:29 a.m. — The Cliff Pirch renaissance continues. He just sight-fished “the one I needed.” After it tangled up in a bunch of pads, he worked it into the boat and weighed it, but did not clearly announce its weight.
“The sun getting higher in the sky should help him,” Davy Hite said.
9:47 a.m. — And just like that, Johnston jumps into the lead, but it’s Chris, not Cory. His limit includes a 7-pounder. His cull fish is a 3-pounder.
“We’re not headed for a Johnston showdown, are we?” Tommy Sanders asked. “We’re not taking anything off the table.”
9:29 a.m. — Craig Lamb just sent two drone shots illustrating the area where Cory Johnston is fishing. “He started out in the middle of the channel then moved into a rotation along a point and then island,” Craig said. “He’s been in that same small area rotating around all morning.”
9:29 a.m. — After a slow start to the morning, Bob Downey is finally on the board with a 6-12.
9:25 a.m. — Photographer Seigo Saito found John Garrett back in the area where he caught big bag yesterday – with three keepers in the livewell. Seigo reports that it is very windy at South end of Lake Moultrie, where about a half dozen anglers have congregated with varying results.
9:10 a.m. — Brandon Palaniuk just issued a warning to all challengers with a thick-bodied 6-pounder that he thought was bigger. ”We got one problem, though,” he said. “She threw my last bait.”
8:52 a.m. — Photographer Dalton Tumblin reports that Justin Hamner is off to a very slow start with only one keeper in the livewell so far. He’s focusing on fishing docks with a jerkbait, glide bait and Coike-style bait. He just now put the poles down to stop on a bed fish. He’s working on it now and says it’s a big one.
8:44 a.m. — Pat Schlapper, who was in 11th place after Day 1, is on a bit of a tear this morning, almost certainly ensuring a spot in the top 50, if not the top 10. After three missed checks to start the season, he was 3rd at the Arkansas River before narrowly missing a check at Murray. He’s just outside the Classic cut last year – after making a late-season push in 2025 to make this year’s championship.
8:27 a.m. — Photographer Seigo Saito followed Stetson Blaylock to the dam where he has gotten off to a quick start with four fish, including a 5-pounder. He said it feels odd to be fishing a jerkbait without forward-facing sonar.
8:23 a.m. — Photographer Chase Sansom reports that Brandon Palaniuk hasn’t put anything on the board yet, but he didn’t really catch much of his weight until later yesterday afternoon. He has had a few bites but has not connected with any of them.
“I’m not liking the amount of bites I’ve gotten this morning, but I know this afternoon is going to be much better,” Palaniuk said.
As we pressed "send" on this entry, Palaniuk hooked and landed his first keeper.
7:45 a.m. — Big fish are starting to show up already, with estimated 7-pounders for both Carl Jocumsen and Will Davis Jr.
7:32 a.m. — Elite rookie Pake South had an uncharacteristically tough day yesterday, and that has him scratching his head. "I don’t even know what I’m going to do today," he told Bassmaster photographer Andy Crawford while waiting to launch his boat for Day 2. "I might not even put the boat up on plane. I might put the trolling motor down and go to this bank right over here.
"I figure if I’m gonna suck I might as well be cheap about it. I burned $100 worth of gas yesterday. I can suck right here. "
7:26 a.m. — Photographer Shane Durrance reports that leader Cory Johnson has started the morning off swimming a worm over shallow grass. There are three other boats within almost casting distance, including Mark Menendez and Bob Downey, who sits in third. Brandon Palaniuk just joined the party, too.
7:11 a.m. — Bob Downey is currently in a distant 3rd place. If he holds on, it’ll be his first Elite check at Santee – he was 51st in 2020, 85 in 2022 and 53rd in 2023.
7:08 a.m. — Cory Johnston’s record on Santee is also pretty exceptional – he was 3rd here in 2020 and 5th in 2022 before limping to an uncharacteristic 65th place finish in 2023.
6:50 a.m. — Brandon Palaniuk won here in the fall of 2020 and followed up with top five finishes in both 2022 and 2023. Now he’s on track for another one. He’s just 5 ounces behind the leader.
6:36 a.m. — Cory Johnston was virtually expressionless when he weighed in yesterday, finally breaking into a smile when forced to pose for the camera. He simply expects to win and is mad when he doesn’t. He won an Open on the St. Lawrence last year, but hasn’t won an Elite since he earned the trophy on that same fishery at the end of 2024. Earlier that same season he won on the St. Johns. He certainly knows how to close but it’ll take three more big bags on this fishery.
6:30 a.m. — It’s moving day in Clarendon County, South Carolina. Realistically, everyone is a 25- or 30-pound bag from fishing on Saturday, but that’s easier said than done. Meanwhile, teen-class bags go down to 79th place. A well-timed 7-pounder brings any of those guys who are below the 15-11 cut back into the mix. We should see some rapid rises and unfortunate falls before the day is over.
Santee Cooper Lakes: Day 1
2:50 p.m. — Pre-tournament favorite Patrick Walters hasn’t had the day he’d hoped for – although his actual weight remains to be seen. Based on precedent, it’s likely higher than what he’s reporting, but not enough to land him in or near the top 10. Still, he’s optimistic as he wraps up Day 1. He says he has an hour and 10 minutes left to go and just needs two big bites to “salvage the day.”
2:42 p.m. — Rookie of the Year leader Caleb Hudson had been having a tough day, but an afternoon move led to a critical cull – trading out a 1-9 for an estimated 5-4. “That was the biggest one I’ve caught all week,” he said. The power of momentum is strong.
2:05 p.m. — Christopher Decker put together a gallery of 100 shots he took today on Santee. To check out the pick of the litter Click Here.
2:02 p.m. — Chase Sansom put together an incredible gallery of Ike’s incredible morning. Click here to check it out.
2:00 p.m. — With an hour left to fish, nine of our top 10 are over 20 pounds – and realistically giving the underestimating and a few anglers not reporting, we’re probably over that mark now. It’s still early but it seems very likely that it’ll take 90 pounds to win, and 100 is not out of the question.
1:00 p.m. — With two hours left to fish, we have eight bags over 20 pounds, five more of 18 or greater, and a total of 24 over 15 pounds. It’s hard to say what the cut will be, but expect upper teens. We have multiple pros not reporting, others sandbagging and a lot of time to fish.
12:56 p.m. — Justin Hamner: “We’re going to make a move, go catch our fifth fish, and then do something crazy.”
12:38 p.m. — Seigo Saito is watching Brandon Palaniuk, who reported an up-and-down morning. He has a couple of fives and a six, but also lost a big one is trying to cull out two smaller bass. As they spoke, BP hooked up with what he thought was a giant. “Sure enough, another 4 ½ pounder,” Seigo reported. He wants a 25-pound bag to earn his second Santee victory but a lot has to go right to make that happen.
12:09 p.m. — Don’t open the door too wide – a Johnston may saunter in. While Trey McKinney was temporarily immobilized Cory Johnston grabbed the lead. He was in 2nd in AOY prior to Lake Murray but fell to 4th after a poor finish.
12:05 p.m. — Trey McKinney is back in business and ready to continue his quest for the AOY title.
11:52 a.m. — David Gaston is unofficially the second angler to 20 pounds, and he's claimed the lead for the time being.
11:38 a.m. — Christopher Decker reports that Carl Jocumsen has had a great morning so far on Santee Cooper Lakes, landing just under 20 pounds by 11:30. The Australian has been focusing on cypress tree points and throwing an urchin-style bait. He said he hasn’t gotten many bites, but when he has they’ve been good ones. Just after landing a 3-pounder, he left the northern end of Lake Marion and headed south. His goal is to catch 25 pounds before check-in.
11:23 a.m. — AOY leader Trey McKinney slung an ear on his prop and is waiting for assistance. He has two fish in the livewell totaling a bit over 6 pounds and says that he has a stretch of docks that should help him fill out a limit given adequate time. This is the type of disaster that can ruin a quest for the title, but his calmness under duress is nonetheless impressive. Despite having a spare prop, he couldn't make it work, so he moved on to a nearby brush pile to fish while he waits.
10:56 a.m. — Shane Durrance is watching Ohio pro Alex Redwine, who caught a limit in Lake Marion, then made a long run to Moultrie. Redwine said that he doesn’t really have a pattern, just a few areas. He’s drifting through the grass, catching fish occasionally – enough to remain in the top 10 for now.
10:29 a.m. — Ike unofficially becomes the first angler to hit the 20-pound mark.
9:40 a.m. — Craig Lamb has been flying his drone this morning, looking for areas with clearly visible vegetation. Lots of anglers are using moving baits like vibrating jigs and lipless crankbaits, but here’s Hunter Shryock flipping a cypress and grass combination.
9:15 a.m. — Iaconelli has a long and mixed track record at Santee Cooper:
- 1997 Invitational – 119th
- 1998 Invitational – 216th
- 2003 Tour – 85th
- 2004 Tour – 31st
- 2006 Elite – 18th
- 2022 Elite – 84th
- 2023 Elite – 34th
9:15 a.m. — Chase Sansom reports that Ike landed his fifth fish. He hasn’t burned much gas, but he’s in the 19-pound range.
“The last time I did this where I didn’t leave sight of the ramp, I finished 3rd,” Ike said. “I’ll take a 3rd this week, I haven’t been catching them very good this year so if you ain’t got no place to go, don’t go nowhere at all.”
b9:09 a.m. — Christopher Decker is watching Bob Downey, who is unofficially inside our quickly-changing top five. He just landed an estimated 5-pounder, but he’s also missed a few bites and caught a bass that didn’t help the cause.
8:50 a.m. — BassTrakk currently shows a handful of bags in the 13-pound class, but it’s still exceptionally early. Granted, the past two Elites here were in different months, but in 2022 there were 14 bags over 20 pounds on Day 1. In 2023 there were 15.
8:45 a.m. — Logan Parks is one of the boats in the lower lake and he's culling. He got off to a tough start this season, missing the 50 cut in the first four events, but he finally broke through at Lake Murray and hopes to keep the momentum rolling.
8:32 a.m. — More than 20 boats made the run down to the lower lake this morning. That’s more than we have above the I-95 bridge. While there are clearly clusters of anglers in between, they tend to be pretty evenly distributed.
8:13 a.m. — Justin Hamner told Davy Hite that he was starting on a 10-pounder, and while his big fish wasn’t double digits, it was still a toad, probably in the 7-pound class. “Two and a half,” he told the camera, channeling his traveling buddy Patrick Walters, a known sandbagger. The big fish came off of a brim bed, but he said that he'll return to the 10 -- which itself is on a bed -- when the light gets better.
8:09 a.m. — Photographer Shane Durrance stationed himself in the lower lake today, where he came across Lake Martin champion Fisher Anaya. Anaya reported that he had 30 pounds one day in practice, including two bass over 8 pounds in the morning. However, it appears that the north wind is not helping his bite – he finally caught his first bass, which turned out to be a 2-pounder.
7:37 a.m. — Mark Menendez started his 300th BASS event by landing a bass he estimated to be over 7 pounds. A great way to mark such a milestone.
Menendez told photographer Christopher Decks that he’s had a steady practice, getting 6 or 7 bites a day, all quality. While a lot of the bass he’s caught “look like they were dragged down the highway” post spawn, a good number of bass have been prespawners.
There’s a decent amount of activity in the area. Brandon Palaniuk, Bob Downey and Pake South are a few in the general surroundings.
7:30 a.m. — Mike Iaconelli didn’t go far this morning. Chase Sansom found him close to the takeoff and Ike commented “Gas is too high to be burning right now and this spot here is just about as good as anything else I’ve got.”
The decision and thriftiness paid off with a quick 4-pounder.
7:28 a.m. — Between Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie, the Santee Cooper fishery has over 170,000 acres of fishable water. That may have been far too much to cover during a single three-day practice period, so while some anglers developed a two-lake strategy, others were forced to bet on one over the other. It remains to be seen if both will play equally or if one will turn out to be the correct choice.
7:16 a.m. — It’s still early, with relatively few fish catches, but those few may be a harbinger of things to come – multiple quality fish including an estimated 7-14 for Wisconsinite Kyle Norsetter. He's working on what could be his third Elite check in a row and fourth in five events.
7:00 a.m. — Photographer Chase Sansom talked to Jeff Gustafson yesterday. Gussy said it was going to blow from the north and indeed it will, but right now it’s blowing from the southwest. It should change directions in a few hours.
“Yesterday I rode around with Carl and even in 5mph winds it’s pretty sporty out there,” Sansom said. “The guys that are running to Moultrie will most likely be in for a ride on the way back to takeoff this afternoon. I would imagine with the wind swap that’ll change up the fishing in some areas as well.”
6:43 a.m. — A reminder that this is one of the tournaments where forward-facing sonar is not allowed. That likely changes how they’ll be caught, but not necessarily who will catch them. Several presumed “scopers” did quite well at the non-scope tournaments and several pre-tournament favorites struggled to put quality fish in the boat.
6:38 a.m. — A handful of members of this week’s field competed in the inaugural Elite Series event here in 2006: Steve Kennedy (4th); John Crews (9th), Greg Hackney (11th), Russ Lane (17th), Gerald Swindle (28th); Mark Menendez (30th), Bill Lowen (36th); and Randy Howell (103rd). Howell, Alton Jones and KVD were disqualified for practice period violations of the rules. There were six Century Belts in that tournament.
6:31 a.m. — Our last two spring Elite Series tournaments here – 2022 and 2023 – it took 36-9 and 32-7 to make the cut, respectively. Those are average daily catches of a little over 18 and 16 pounds.
6:06 a.m. — Good morning from famous Santee Cooper. Per Dock Talk, this is a “new” version of the system – with clearer water and more vegetation. We’re generally post-spawn, too. Most of the fish will likely be caught fairly shallow, but anglers looking to distinguish themselves may have to look for something off the wall or different.
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