Chris Johnston won $100,000
Chris Johnston of Peterborough, Ontario won the Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Santee Cooper Lakes, held May 14-17, 2026, by catching a 4-day total of 113 pounds, 12 ounces.
The pro angler pocketed $100,000 for the win. He beat his closest competitor, Brandon Palaniuk by 19 pounds, 12 ounces.
Santee Cooper has been fishing great all year, with local tournament anglers catching eyebrow-raising limits almost every weekend. The fishing was just as good for Johnston all four days of the event.
“To have the week I had, catching 5-, 6-, and 7-pounders the whole time – you couldn’t ask for anything more,” he said.
Johnston focused much of his fishing time around docks on the main lake in less than 10 feet of water. Although the lakes have plenty of docks, Johnston said most anglers in this tournament spent more time on vegetation and trees.
“I don’t think the docks get a lot of pressure,” he said. “And I don’t think there are a lot of bass that live on them. But the ones that do live there are big ones.”
Boon for Santee Cooper Country
His favorite lure for the event was a Hideup Coike Fullcast, a lure Johnston said hasn’t been used much in the Santee Cooper lakes. He did most of his fishing on the upper lake after a slow start in the lower lake at the beginning of Day 1. He caught a solid bag of 21-3 on that first day, and really ramped things up from there. On Day 2, he weighed 32-8, then bagged 29-2 on Day 3. He finished the tournament with 30-15 on the final day.
While the event was top-notch for many of the anglers that competed in the tournament, it was an even bigger boon for the local area, said Jane Powell, executive director of the Santee Cooper Country Tourist Information Center.
“The fishing at our lakes is among the best in the country, and this event brought in more than a million dollars to this rural area we call Santee Cooper Country,” said Powell. “This event is great for the anglers competing in it, but that influx of money into the hands of local businesses and the local area is another part of it that makes having these events here so much more meaningful than most people ever realize.”
Aside from the great fishing taking place on the Santee Cooper lakes, the John C. Land III Boating and Sports Fishing Facility in Summerton, SC was a hotbed of activity each day of the tournament. Vendors were set up in the parking lot, live music was played leading up to the weigh-ins, and BassmastHER Workshops, led by pro anglers Anastasia Patterson, La’Tonya Blanding, and Kylee Short, attracted female anglers from 7-years-old to 70.
Click here to see full results of the tournament.
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