2026 Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Santee Cooper Lakes Day 3: Chris Johnston Splashes into Lead!

Canadians Cory Johnston 4th & Kung 17th

Canadian pro Chris Johnston has taken the lead on Day 3 of the 2026 Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Santee Cooper Lakes with a three-day total of 82 pounds, 13 ounces. (Photo: Seigo Saito/ BASS)

BASS Press Release

CLARENDON COUNTY, S.C. — Not much went right for Chris Johnston on Day 3 of the 2026 Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Santee Cooper Lakes. He got hung up a lot, fell in the lake and left a pair of sunglasses and a flip flop in the water, but what he took out of the lake was much more important.

The Peterborough, Ontario pro caught 29 pounds, 2 ounces on Day 3 to claim the lead with 82-13. He will carry a 3-2 advantage over second-place Brandon Palaniuk into Championship Sunday. 

“It felt like I couldn’t do anything wrong other than falling in the lake. Maybe that’s good juju, I don’t know. I smell like Santee Cooper for sure,” Johnston said. 

The tournament lead has changed every day so far, and multiple anglers have a chance at breaking the century mark this week on Lakes Marion and Moultrie. If he can keep pace for one more day, this will be Johnston’s second Elite Series win and potentially his second Century Belt. 

“It would be awesome to win here, especially catching all of these giants,” he said. “This is the way to do it. You are having so much fun, but it stresses me out when they are going crazy jumping and swimming around the wood. Getting them in the boat is a feat all its own.” 

2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour Day 1: Easton Fothergill Leads with 21-8lbs!

Canadians Chris Johnston 12th, Cory Johnston 33rd & Gallant 42th

Reigning Bassmaster Classic champion Easton Fothergill has taken the lead on Day 1 of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour with a total of 21 pounds, 8 ounces. Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.

Bassmaster Press Release

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — With one day in the books at the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour, the storyline for much of the field is change. Anglers enjoyed warm flip-flop weather during pre-tournament practice days in Knoxville, Tenn. Since then, the weather and water conditions have done the flip-flopping, bringing frost at takeoff, wind and muddy water to the Tennessee River.

The one thing that hasn’t changed is the name atop the Classic standings. Easton Fothergill, the reigning Classic champ from Grand Rapids, Minn., best navigated the shifting conditions to jump into the Day 1 lead with a limit of five smallmouth bass weighing 21 pounds, 8 ounces.

Like the weather recently, Fothergill’s day was up and down. He had to adjust, and he had to cover water. In fact, he ran 124 miles throughout Friday’s first day of competition.

Fothergill started the day running far into Tellico Reservoir, which connects to the Tennessee River’s Fort Loudoun Reservoir via a canal near both lakes’ lower ends.

“It’s just where I personally found the most consistent bigger fish,” he said. “I did have some fish in Loudoun, but by the time I made the right adjustment I didn’t have time to check those fish.”

Fans watching Bassmaster LIVE saw Fothergill make that adjustment in real time. He opened the morning by breaking off a good fish and only had about 9 pounds at noon. Then he made a shift to a different type of structure, landed on a good spot and caught a pair of 4-pounders.

“That’s when the lightbulb went off,” Fothergill said. “Then I duplicated it on another spot and filled my limit with the rest of the big ones.”

Those big ones were a trio of 4-pound-class fish that he landed in a rapid nine-minute flurry that started at about 1:30 p.m. Prior to his “lightbulb moment,” Fothergill was running spots he’d found in practice, but he had to abandon those areas because changes in current and water clarity caused his fish to reposition. He actually ran all new water to catch the five fish he brought to weigh-in at the Food City Center on the University of Tennessee campus.