CLARENDON COUNTY, S.C. — Ewing Minor’s original plan for Day 1 of the 2026 Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft at Santee Cooper Lakes was a dud.
Realizing that, he made a mid-morning move that was more than beneficial to his cause.
The 24-year-old Dandridge, Tenn., resident set up early Saturday on an offshore spot he thought would be productive. It made sense, given that Santee Cooper bass have fully transitioned into post-spawn behavior. But try as he might, Minor couldn’t get the South Carolina bass to bite. With the clock nearing 10:30 a.m. ET and with only one keeper bass to his credit, he decided to move to a secondary spot.
While motoring there, he decided to cast toward a particular dock. Considering there are dozens between the far-flung location he’d originally chosen to fish and the spot he was heading, he could have chosen any dock.
But the one he picked was all aces.
Minor caught more than 100 inches of bass around the dock, finishing Saturday’s competition with a total weight of 106.75 inches and the Day 1 lead in this tournament — the third of six regular-season events in the 2026 Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft.
“Today was very calm and cloudy,” Minor said. “The fish I planned to focus on just wouldn’t bite. Nothing was working. So, I scrapped everything and was moving to a backup spot. Before I got there, I stopped on this one dock and it didn’t take long to catch 100 inches. After that, I just practiced the rest of the day.”
Minor caught his bass using a Hideup Coike Full Cast softbait in anywhere from 3 to 8 feet of water. He wasn’t quite ready to divulge how he fished the lure on Saturday, noting that many anglers haven’t figured out how to best work the coike (which resembles a sea urchin). The lure has been popular in Japan (where it originated) for 20 years, but only last year did it become a hot-ticket bait on American fishing circuits.
Minor, however, is so fond of the coike, his profile photo on the Tourney X standings page pictures him with the lure, its soft plastic spines dangling toward the camera lens.
And now, of course, his name is atop the same standings page entering the second and final day of this tournament on Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie, collectively known as the Santee Cooper system. Minor said he’s not sure what to expect on Day 2 of the event, but figures to hit a variety of places looking for the right bites.
“I don’t know what to think about tomorrow, honestly,” Minor said. “But I wasn’t really sure what to expect today, though I knew I was around some big fish. Hopefully I can put together a solid limit again.”
Minor’s hot start at Santee continues a string of success he’s had to date in 2026. He finished sixth in the Bassmaster Kayak Series season opener on Florida’s Kissimmee Chain in February and 13th at Lake Caddo/Lake Bistineau in north Louisiana in April. Between those two regular-season events, he placed 12th in the 2025 Championship, held in March on lakes Chickamauga and Nickajack in his native Tennessee.
Rounding out the Top 5 after Day 1 at Santee are second, Tennessee’s Rus Snyders, 105.5 inches; third, North Carolina’s Will Lambert, 104.75; fourth, Pennsylvania’s Greg Polec, 104.5; and fifth North Carolina’s Cher Tou Thao, 100.25.
The Top 5 anglers in each regular-season tournament qualify for the first ever standalone series title event, the 2026 Newport Bassmaster Series Championship presented by Native Watercraft, when it’s held Oct. 14-16 on Lake Murray a couple hours further inland from the Santee Lakes.
A total of 214 anglers from throughout the U.S. are competing this weekend at Santee Cooper for a portion of a cash purse totaling $42,800. Lambert caught the big bass of the day — a 24.5-inch largemouth he hooked between 7 and 8 a.m. ET Saturday morning.
The second and final day of the tournament will begin with a 5:30 a.m. ET launch and lines in at 6 a.m. ET. Competition ends at 2 p.m. ET with a 3 p.m. ET deadline for all catches submitted into the Tourney X scoring system. An awards ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. ET at Manning (S.C.) Junior High School.
Follow the action as it unfolds on Bassmaster.com.
The Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce is hosting this event.