BLOOMSBURG, Pa. — Ewing Minor was comfortable from the moment he first fished the Susquehanna River in 2021. And since that maiden voyage a half-decade ago, he’s been nothing short of a force on “Susky”, a nickname given to the storied waterway.
Minor won the 2026 Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series at Susquehanna River presented by Native Watercraft on Sunday, capping a two-day, smallmouth fishing tutorial in central Pennsylvania. The 24-year-old ace angler took the lead Saturday with a 96.75-inch limit, and followed Sunday with another limit of five bass, this one for 93.75 inches. That gave him 10 smallies for a total of 190.50 inches, enough to capture his second Kayak Series win of the 2026 season.
Minor won $9,500 cash with the victory, topping the 184-angler field competing for $36,800 in prize money. He also won a weather-shortened Bassmaster Kayak Series stop at South Carolina’s Santee Cooper in May, and cashed checks at the other two regular-season derbies he’s entered this season (finishing sixth on Florida’s Kissimmee Chain in February and 13th on lakes Caddo and Bistineau in Louisiana in April.)
Fishing Susquehanna was a gift for a guy who’s been successful every time he’s fished the river. It reminds him of the James and other smaller rivers he fished as a youngster in Virginia, as well as the dam-controlled tributaries of the Tennessee River near his current home in Dandridge, Tenn.
“You can get in the zone, definitely, and have confidence with every cast,” Minor said of his comfort level on the Susquehanna. “But still, I found myself really out of it this morning. I caught a 19-incher right off the bat, maybe 10 minutes into the day. And it came on the same spot I caught that 20.5-inch fish yesterday. So, I was feeling really good.
“But then, I started struggling,” he added. “I got in a bad rotation and I spent most of the morning trying to find a productive area.”
To do that, Minor purposely sought out an area he knew was unlikely to provide the biggest bites.
Puzzling choice, perhaps, but Minor said he needed to “settle down” before swinging big.
“I needed a confidence boost,” he said. “It had gotten to the point I was getting hung up in trees, just not fishing to my potential. There were a bunch of boats around. Everyone was really respectful, but I didn’t want to be watching other boats to see what they were catching. I needed to focus on catching my own fish. So, I went to an area I found in practice that had a bunch of 16- to 17-inch fish. I went there just to reset.”
His mental game improved from there, allowing Minor to display the tenacity and ingenuity that’s made him one of the best young anglers competing on any bass-fishing circuit today.
In this case, he targeted the plentiful grass islands that dot the Susquehanna and, Minor added, there was nothing easy about getting to them.
“A few hundred yards out, you’d hit thick eelgrass,” he said. “People get tired of having to pull up the motor and clean the grass off. It’s a pain and it takes time. But I really felt it was important to be the first person to fish a certain place here. So, I trimmed up my motor to where the prop was coming out of the water and could stay clear of the eel grass. And right at the islands, there was no grass. Just rock. It was a challenge, but it was worth it.”
Minor primarily used a discontinued wake bait in golden shiner color on Day 2. He was fishing in extremely shallow water, the deepest about 18 inches and, at times, as shallow as 6 inches.
“The smallmouth will stay completely still up in the grass or up against a log or something,” he said. “Usually, as soon as your bait hits the water, it’s a wake. They crush it. I caught two 17-inchers then a pair of 19 1/2-inch fish. Then it was an 18 1/4-incher. The key to getting quality fish was getting around ones that had not been fished that day.”
Minor’s best fish of the tournament (a 20 1/2-inch smallie caught on Day 1) was caught on a 1/4-ounce Boogerman buzzbait with a Strike King Rage Menace trailer (Glacier). That rig also was good for a 19-inch catch on Day 2.
“On this river, topwater is how you catch big fish,” Minor said. “I fished from within sight of the parking lot to no more than 4 miles away both days of the tournament. It’s really no secret. I want to find areas that have had less pressure on the fish. Today was very similar to when I won here in 2024. I just tried to stay one step ahead of the crowd.”
Minor said he’s not fishing the final regular-season stop at Wisconsin’s Wolf and Fox rivers on Aug. 22-23, and instead will focus on getting the Carson-Newman kayak fishing team ready for its season (he’s the head coach at his alma mater). He’s already qualified for the 2026 Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series Championship presented by Native Watercraft and he likes his chances when the title event is held Oct. 14-16 on Lake Murray in South Carolina.
“I’ve fished there before and I have a rough idea of the lay of the lake,” Minor said. “I’ve had some success on herring lakes before, so I’m feeling pretty confident about that one.”
Pennsylvania’s Abby Abbondanza, who lives in Greensburg (about 2 1/2 hours from Lewisburg) climbed from sixth to second place on Day 2 at Susquehanna with a 95.25-inch limit. The veteran angler had a two-day total of 188.25 inches and pocketed $4,250. Rounding out the Top 5 are third, West Virginia’s Cody Queen, 187.75, $2,750; fourth, Maryland’s Dave Crockett, 186.25, $2,200; and fifth, Pennsylvania Jeffrey Rabbitt, 185.75, $2,000.
Rudy Yarworth won $500 bonus cash for his 20.75-inch smallmouth on Day 2 that took Big Bass honors
Columbia Montour Visitors Bureau is hosting the Susquehanna River event.