CLARENDON COUNTY, S.C. — On paper, there are few similarities between southern Canada and the Lowcountry of South Carolina, but Cory Johnston feels at home one way or the other.
The 41-year-old from Peterborough, Ontario brought in a limit weighing 29 pounds, 6 ounces to take the Day 1 lead at the 2026 Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Santee Cooper Lakes. Johnston holds a 5-ounce advantage over second-place Brandon Palaniuk.
“I love fishing shallow. That is kind of my deal,” Johnston said. “It really fishes a lot like home. It may not look like it, but with the grass and everything it does feel like home.”
It is a two-man breakaway at the stop of the standings on Day 1. The gap between Palaniuk and the third-place tie between Bob Downey and Justin Hamner is 5-6. In total, 28 anglers caught over 19 pounds on Lakes Marion and Moultrie and nearly the entire field reached a limit.
Both Johnston and Palaniuk have dueled at the top of the Santee Cooper leaderboard before. When “The Prodigy” won in the fall of 2020, Johnston finished third while each earned a Top 10 finish in 2022.
Coming off a 70th-place finish at Lake Murray, Johnston made the most of his “decent” practice period, mixing in several different areas in one lake using three different baits to collect his Day 1 total. Several of his keepers were spawning, and he caught those sight fishing. He also caught prespawners and postspawners around stumps and hydrilla.
“I caught them a few different ways,” he said. “I’m pretty surprised by how many bass are still on bed. I’m shocked, and I still feel like there are a few more coming too.”
Johnston had the opportunities to have an even bigger bag, but he lost a 7-pounder at the boat and another 6-pounder in the opening hours of the tournament.
“I went to my first area and didn’t get a single bite. I went to my second area and didn’t get a bite either. I went to my third area, and the first bass I hooked was that 7-pounder. It came off at the side of the boat. The next bite was a 2-pounder and it came off. At that point I was about ready to throw my gear in the water. We kept it together and made the best of the (rest of) the day.”
Throughout the rest of the day, Johnston landed two almost 7-pounders and another around 6-pounds before rounding out the limit with an almost 5-pounder and a 4-pounder.
Palaniuk, meanwhile, has found success each time the Elite Series has visited Santee Cooper, notching three Top 5 finishes. The fishery has changed drastically since he won in 2020.
“When we came here in the fall, if you found grass, it was like finding a needle in a haystack. Now there is grass everywhere,” he explained. “It seems like every time we come the conditions are a little different. With that, you have to fish differently. It is one of those lakes that sets up well for me.
“But for a long-time during practice, and for a little while today, it didn’t feel like I was going to figure it out (this week).”
Staying in one of the two sister lakes, Palaniuk threw two different baits to land his hefty Day 1 limit of postspawners. He only received eight bites throughout the day, but when he did catch one, it was big. Once he reached a weight he felt comfortable bringing back to check-in, Palaniuk switched tactics and landed a 6-pounder that culled out a 3 1/2.
“That’s when I was like, all right, this is one of those days you can’t make up.”
Palaniuk leaned heavily on one strategy on Day 1 and said he is looking for certain cover and depth elements. With that said, he isn’t sure what the rest of the week might bring.
“I don’t know if any of it is sustainable,” he said. “But there are (consistencies) where I feel like I should get a bite here.”
Downey and Hamner are tied for third with 23-12. Downey said he utilized one main area of the lake, starting the morning with a quick limit before making key upgrades throughout the day. Hamner, though, junk-fished his way into the Top 5, landing all five of his limit fillers on five different baits.
Wisconsin pro Kyle Norsetter caught the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Day, a 7-14 largemouth that earned the $1,000 daily bonus.
After falling to third in the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year race after Murray, Johnston now leads the season-long competition with 486 points. South Carolina’s Brandon Cobb is second with 462 points and Illinois’s Trey McKinney is third with 461 points. Tennesseans John Garrett and Cole Sands are fourth and fifth with 456 points and 448 points respectively. Dakota Ebare, Caleb Hudson, Bob Downey, Drew Cook and Matt Robertson round out the Top 10.
The full field of 99 anglers will launch from John C. Land III Sport Fishing Facility Friday at 6:30 a.m. ET and return for weigh-in at 3 p.m. After Day 2 weigh-in, the Top 50 anglers will move onto Semifinal Saturday before ten pros compete on Championship Sunday.
Bassmaster LIVE will begin coverage at 8 a.m. ET on Bassmaster.com and the Roku Sports Channel and the Day 2 weigh-in will be livestreamed on Bassmaster.com as well.
Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce is hosting the tournament.