CLARENDON COUNTY, S.C. — Getting away from the crowd on Santee Cooper proved to be the right move for Haywood Anglers duo of Kollin Brown and Cord Shook.
The duo caught a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 1 ounce to claim the 2026 Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Series at Santee Cooper Lakes title, punching their ticket to the 2026 Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior National Championship at Kentucky Lake in the process.
“It feels pretty good. I’m thankful to be able to come out and fish,” Shook said.
Boat captain Dillon Brown said the duo work well together as a team, and that showed in the results.
“I sat back there and watched them catch those fish, and I was just thinking how good God is,” he said. “They worked really well as a team. When Kollin caught that 5-pounder, that got everyone’s blood pumping.”
Brown and Shook fish highland reservoirs like Fontana Lake and Chatuge most often, a much different setup than Santee Cooper. The duo has some experience on the Low Country fishery, which benefitted them in this tournament.
They spent most of their day in the upper region of Lake Marion where they targeted cypress trees in around 3 feet of water. While it took them 45 minutes to get to their starting spot, they had plenty of water to themselves.
The wind generated water movement around the trees, and the duo used that to their advantage. A wacky-rigged worm caught the majority of their bass.
When they reached their area, they caught two quality largemouth to start their day before landing a 5-pounder. They proceeded to fill out their limit, but when the wind settled down, the bite slowed as well.
Late in the day, Brown and Shook ran to a set of mid-lake docks and caught a 4-15, sealing the victory.
“That really saved us,” Brown said.
Jacob Murphy and Kaleb Everhart of the Roco Anglers club finished second with 15-3 while Liam Price and Kinsley Montgomery of the Gaffney Jr. High School Fishing Team finished third with 13-6.
Hunter Lawrence and Bam Kendrick caught the Big Bass of the Tournament, a 6-4.
This event was hosted by Santee Cooper Country.