Drew Cook Maintains Lead on Day Two at 2022 Santee Cooper Elite Series

Bucks Skeeter Yamaha

CLARENDON COUNTY, S.C. — Former Bassmaster Rookie of the Year Drew Cook had never led an Elite Series event until Day 1 of the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Santee Cooper Lakes, but Cook took the milestone in stride by catching 24 pounds, 12 ounces on Day 2 to stretch his lead in the event.

After a catch of 31-13 on the first day, which leads the VMC Monster Bag standings as the tournament’s heaviest bag, Cook now has a two-day mark of 56-9 that gives him a sizeable lead over Idaho pro Brandon Palaniuk (second, 48-15) and Louisiana pro Greg Hackney (third, 48-1).

“I should have had another really big bag,” said Cook, who resides in Cairo, Ga. “When it is going your way, it is going your way. At 10 o’clock I didn’t have a bass. I stayed on a female for too long and I left, went to

2022 Bassmaster Elite Series Santee Cooper Day Two Leader Drew Cook – photo by Seigo Saito – B.A.S.S.

another one, caught her. Then I went back to that (first) one and, on the first cast, I caught her.

“It’s been going right and hopefully it will keep going right.”

Despite a slow start, Cook continued to show off his sight-fishing prowess, picking off bedding bass with a Big Bite Baits Fighting Frog in tilapia magic. His heaviest fish weighed 7-8.

“I never spun out or anything. I kept my head in it, I thought, really well,” Cook said. “This is the first time I’ve ever been in this situation. It could have easily gone the other way. I caught one female, then another one and then a big male. Once we got things rolling we kept on.”

Calm sunny conditions prevailed for almost the entire second day, but the forecast for Day 3 calls for wind and potential rain and storms. With weather conditions and the quantity of big females moving onto the beds uncertain, Cook said he isn’t sure he can keep his current pace.

He does, however, know two big bass are still left in his area and hopes he can wrangle them on Semifinal Saturday.

“I did lose one big female this afternoon with 30 minutes to go,” he said. “Hopefully I can get her to bite again tomorrow. There was another one that was a 6-pounder, but I couldn’t get her to bite.

“I’m hoping the weather isn’t as bad as they say it is going to be, because if it is that bad that lake is going to be nasty.”

Palaniuk jumped up the leaderboard on Day 2 by catching 22-13 and increasing his two-day total to 48-15. The five-time Elite Series champion struggled much of the day, but Palaniuk landed an 8-12 largemouth with just 30 minutes to go before check-in time to salvage the day.

“It was a big grind today. What I wanted to do today did not work out this morning and I had to gamble,” Palaniuk said. “Things weren’t clicking so I went and fished all new water and I ended up catching that 8-12. That made a huge difference and really made my entire bag.”

With little success on his primary pattern from Thursday, Palaniuk punted and sight fished during the afternoon hours. Although he loves to sight fish, he said the tactic makes consistency difficult. Nothing is guaranteed and a lot of time is spent looking for new bass.

“All the fish I was catching that were staging all flooded the bank I think,” he said. “I’ll start (Saturday) doing what I did (Thursday) and see. The weather could change things and hold some of those fish back. I could catch a big bag early and if I can do that, it could make the afternoon a lot more fun.”

With 20-3 on Day 2, Hackney maintained his third-place position with 48-1. Unlike Cook and Palaniuk, Hackney got off to a hot start, securing a limit within the first three hours in the same area where he had success on Day 1.

With dirtier water in his area, Hackney picked apart shallow cover for bass he believed were on bed, but that he could not see. He “fished like a snail,” making multiple presentations to the same piece of cover.

“I caught a lot of fish today,” said Hackney, who has six B.A.S.S. wins to his credit. “I fished where I was yesterday and then I expanded on some other stuff. Where I thought I would catch big ones, I didn’t. All the fish I caught today were completely spawned out.”

After catching postspawn bass Friday, Hackney is unsure what his strategy will be moving forward, but the predicted weather conditions tomorrow may play in his favor.

“The fishing here is better when the weather is bad. When fish are spawning, when you are fishing for them and not looking at them, they bite better. They can’t see either,” Hackney said. “I’ll have to get up in the morning and see.

“I want to go down that lake and look. I have some areas where I saw 500 bass, but I didn’t see any 8-pounders.”

Wisconsin native Pat Schlapper claimed the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Day award with a 9-10 largemouth.

After Day 2, John Cox leads the Progressive Insurance Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 288 points. David Mullins of Tennessee is second with 278 points, followed by Palaniuk with 255.

By jumping into 15th place on Day 2 with 40-0, young Wisconsin pro Jay Pzrekurat continues to dominate the Falcon Rods Bassmaster Rookie of the Year race with 241 points. Alabamian Joseph Webster is second with 179 points and Minnesota’s Josh Douglas is third with 161.

The Top 47 will take off from John C. Land III Sport Fishing Facility at 7:30 a.m. ET Saturday and return for weigh-in at 3:30 p.m. The Top 10 after Saturday’s round will compete for the blue trophy and a $100,000 first-place prize on Championship Sunday.

FS1 will broadcast live with the tournament leaders beginning at 8 a.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday. Live coverage can also be streamed on Bassmaster.com and the FOX Sports digital platforms.

The tournament is being hosted by the Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce.

2022 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2022 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2022 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Huk Performance Fishing, Marathon, Strike King, Triton Boats, VMC
2022 Bassmaster Conservation Partners: AFTCO, Yamaha Rightwaters

About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 515,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series presented by Mossy Oak Fishing, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Abu Garcia Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Team Championship, Yamaha Rightwaters Bassmaster Kayak Series powered by TourneyX, Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk.

2022 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Santee Cooper Lakes 3/17-3/20
Santee Cooper Lakes, Clarendon County  SC.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 2

Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$

1.  Drew Cook              Cairo, GA               10  56-09  100
Day 1: 5   31-13     Day 2: 5   24-12
2.  Brandon Palaniuk       Rathdrum, ID            10  48-15   99
Day 1: 5   26-02     Day 2: 5   22-13
3.  Greg Hackney           Gonzales, LA            10  48-01   98
Day 1: 5   27-14     Day 2: 5   20-03
4.  John Cox               DeBary, FL              10  46-00   97
Day 1: 5   19-03     Day 2: 5   26-13
5.  Pat Schlapper          Eleva, WI               10  45-00   96   $1,000.00
Day 1: 5   18-12     Day 2: 5   26-04
6.  Cory Johnston          Cavan CANADA            10  44-06   95
Day 1: 5   20-04     Day 2: 5   24-02
7.  Josh Douglas           Isle, MN                10  43-10   94
Day 1: 5   15-08     Day 2: 5   28-02
8.  Clifford Pirch         Payson, AZ              10  43-10   93
Day 1: 5   16-13     Day 2: 5   26-13
9.  Luke Palmer            Coalgate, OK            10  42-14   92
Day 1: 5   16-07     Day 2: 5   26-07
10. Caleb Kuphall          Mukwonago, WI            9  42-10   91
Day 1: 5   29-10     Day 2: 4   13-00
11. Gerald Swindle         Guntersville, AL        10  42-04   90
Day 1: 5   21-00     Day 2: 5   21-04
12. Brandon Cobb           Greenwood, SC           10  41-14   89
Day 1: 5   19-14     Day 2: 5   22-00
13. Matt Arey              Shelby, NC              10  41-09   88
Day 1: 5   22-01     Day 2: 5   19-08
14. Steve Kennedy          Auburn, AL              10  41-08   87
Day 1: 5   19-08     Day 2: 5   22-00
15. Jay Przekurat          Stevens Point, WI       10  40-00   86
Day 1: 5   15-08     Day 2: 5   24-08
16. David Mullins          Mt Carmel, TN           10  39-15   85
Day 1: 5   18-10     Day 2: 5   21-05
17. Marc Frazier           Newnan, GA              10  39-14   84
Day 1: 5   15-10     Day 2: 5   24-04
18. Hank Cherry Jr         Lincolnton, NC          10  39-07   83
Day 1: 5   26-14     Day 2: 5   12-09
19. Drew Benton            Blakely, GA             10  39-04   82
Day 1: 5   17-03     Day 2: 5   22-01
20. Joseph Webster         Hamilton, AL            10  38-02   81
Day 1: 5   19-10     Day 2: 5   18-08
21. Todd Auten             Lake Wylie, SC           9  38-00   80   $1,000.00
Day 1: 5   27-02     Day 2: 4   10-14
22. Skylar Hamilton        Dandridge, TN           10  37-12   79
Day 1: 5   17-02     Day 2: 5   20-10
23. Patrick Walters        Summerville, SC         10  37-11   78
Day 1: 5   22-04     Day 2: 5   15-07
24. Taku Ito               Chiba JAPAN             10  37-07   77
Day 1: 5   21-10     Day 2: 5   15-13
25. Chad Morgenthaler      Reeds Spring, MO        10  37-06   76
Day 1: 5   16-14     Day 2: 5   20-08
26. Mike Huff              London, KY              10  37-02   75
Day 1: 5   16-10     Day 2: 5   20-08
27. KJ Queen               Catawba, NC             10  36-07   74
Day 1: 5   13-13     Day 2: 5   22-10
28. Clark Wendlandt        Leander, TX             10  36-07   73
Day 1: 5   15-15     Day 2: 5   20-08
29. Chris Zaldain          Fort Worth, TX           8  36-06   72
Day 1: 3   11-10     Day 2: 5   24-12
30. Wes Logan              Springville, AL          9  36-05   71
Day 1: 4   12-11     Day 2: 5   23-10
31. Hunter Shryock         Ooltewah, TN            10  36-04   70
Day 1: 5   15-14     Day 2: 5   20-06
32. Seth Feider            New Market, MN          10  36-04   69
Day 1: 5   18-04     Day 2: 5   18-00
33. Shane LeHew            Catawba, NC             10  36-02   68
Day 1: 5   20-10     Day 2: 5   15-08
34. Jacob Powroznik        North Prince George, VA 10  35-15   67
Day 1: 5   19-06     Day 2: 5   16-09
35. Carl Jocumsen          Queensland AUSTRALIA    10  35-06   66
Day 1: 5   19-14     Day 2: 5   15-08
36. Brandon Lester         Fayetteville, TN        10  35-06   65
Day 1: 5   17-04     Day 2: 5   18-02
37. Matt Herren            Ashville, AL             9  35-02   64
Day 1: 4   13-14     Day 2: 5   21-04
38. Bryan New              Saluda, SC               8  35-01   63
Day 1: 5   19-03     Day 2: 3   15-14
39. Ray Hanselman Jr       Del Rio, TX              9  34-15   62
Day 1: 5   19-00     Day 2: 4   15-15
40. Jonathan Kelley        Old Forge, PA            9  34-09   61
Day 1: 4   08-15     Day 2: 5   25-10
41. Koby Kreiger           Alva, FL                10  34-03   60
Day 1: 5   14-11     Day 2: 5   19-08
42. Derek Hudnall          Denham Springs, LA      10  34-02   59
Day 1: 5   13-07     Day 2: 5   20-11
43. Stetson Blaylock       Benton, AR              10  33-15   58
Day 1: 5   16-09     Day 2: 5   17-06
44. David Williams         Newton, NC              10  33-12   57
Day 1: 5   12-13     Day 2: 5   20-15
45. Jason Williamson       Wagener, SC             10  33-10   56
Day 1: 5   13-01     Day 2: 5   20-09
46. Tyler Rivet            Raceland, LA            10  33-07   55
Day 1: 5   17-04     Day 2: 5   16-03
47. Kyle Welcher           Opelika, AL             10  33-01   54
Day 1: 5   13-15     Day 2: 5   19-02
48. Clent Davis            Montevallo, AL           9  32-15   53   $2,500.00
Day 1: 4   13-08     Day 2: 5   19-07
49. Gary Clouse            Winchester, TN          10  32-14   52   $2,500.00
Day 1: 5   17-14     Day 2: 5   15-00
50. Scott Canterbury       Odenville, AL           10  32-07   51   $2,500.00
Day 1: 5   12-02     Day 2: 5   20-05
51. Kenta Kimura           Osaka JAPAN              9  32-04   50   $2,500.00
Day 1: 5   19-03     Day 2: 4   13-01
52. Chris Johnston         Otonabee Ontario CANADA 10  32-03   49   $2,500.00
Day 1: 5   16-11     Day 2: 5   15-08
53. Buddy Gross            Chattanooga, TN         10  31-08   48   $2,500.00
Day 1: 5   13-10     Day 2: 5   17-14
54. Jamie Hartman          Newport, NY             10  31-03   47   $2,500.00
Day 1: 5   16-09     Day 2: 5   14-10
55. Jacob Foutz            Charleston, TN          10  31-02   46   $2,500.00
Day 1: 5   20-12     Day 2: 5   10-06
56. Darold Gleason         Many, LA                10  31-01   45   $2,500.00
Day 1: 5   14-00     Day 2: 5   17-01
57. Scott Martin           Clewiston, FL           10  31-01   44   $2,500.00
Day 1: 5   17-00     Day 2: 5   14-01
58. Lee Livesay            Longview, TX            10  30-04   43   $2,500.00
Day 1: 5   15-08     Day 2: 5   14-12
59. John Crews Jr          Salem, VA               10  29-11   42   $2,500.00
Day 1: 5   14-11     Day 2: 5   15-00
60. Cody Huff              Ava, MO                 10  29-08   41   $2,500.00
Day 1: 5   12-01     Day 2: 5   17-07
61. Bernie Schultz         Gainesville, FL         10  29-05   40   $2,500.00
Day 1: 5   15-01     Day 2: 5   14-04
62. Alex Redwine           Blue Ash, OH            10  29-00   39   $2,500.00
Day 1: 5   12-03     Day 2: 5   16-13
63. Justin Atkins          Florence, AL             9  28-13   38   $2,500.00
Day 1: 5   19-08     Day 2: 4   09-05
64. Brad Whatley           Bivins, TX               7  28-12   37   $2,500.00
Day 1: 4   11-09     Day 2: 3   17-03
65. Jake Whitaker          Fairview, NC            10  28-10   36   $2,500.00
Day 1: 5   13-02     Day 2: 5   15-08
66. Jeff Gustafson         Keewatin Ontario CANADA 10  28-06   35   $2,500.00
Day 1: 5   15-13     Day 2: 5   12-09
67. Masayuki Matsushita    Tokoname-Shi JAPAN       7  28-04   34   $2,500.00
Day 1: 5   23-08     Day 2: 2   04-12
68. Paul Mueller           Naugatuck, CT            7  28-03   33
Day 1: 4   16-10     Day 2: 3   11-09
69. Jay Yelas              Turner, OR               9  28-02   32
Day 1: 4   11-11     Day 2: 5   16-07
70. Cliff Prince           Palatka, FL              9  28-02   31
Day 1: 5   12-02     Day 2: 4   16-00
71. Austin Felix           Eden Prairie, MN        10  27-15   30
Day 1: 5   17-10     Day 2: 5   10-05
72. Caleb Sumrall          New Iberia, LA          10  27-12   29
Day 1: 5   14-03     Day 2: 5   13-09
73. Keith Combs            Huntington, TX          10  27-09   28
Day 1: 5   12-08     Day 2: 5   15-01
74. Brock Mosley           Collinsville, MS        10  27-09   27
Day 1: 5   14-02     Day 2: 5   13-07
75. Brandon Card           Salisbury, NC           10  27-08   26
Day 1: 5   13-10     Day 2: 5   13-14
76. Ed Loughran III        Richmond, VA            10  27-07   25
Day 1: 5   15-07     Day 2: 5   12-00
77. Chad Pipkens           Dewitt, MI               9  27-07   24
Day 1: 5   14-00     Day 2: 4   13-07
78. Matt Robertson         Kuttawa, KY              8  27-01   23
Day 1: 5   16-07     Day 2: 3   10-10
79. Mark Menendez          Paducah, KY              9  26-13   22
Day 1: 4   10-12     Day 2: 5   16-01
80. Jesse Tacoronte        Kissimmee, FL            9  25-08   21
Day 1: 5   10-04     Day 2: 4   15-04
81. Daisuke Aoki           Minamitsurugun Yamanash  7  25-00   20
Day 1: 5   17-13     Day 2: 2   07-03
82. Joshua Stracner        Vandiver, AL            10  23-06   19
Day 1: 5   13-04     Day 2: 5   10-02
83. Justin Hamner          Northport, AL            8  23-04   18
Day 1: 3   07-07     Day 2: 5   15-13
84. Michael Iaconelli      Pitts Grove, NJ          8  21-03   17
Day 1: 5   13-14     Day 2: 3   07-05
85. Bob Downey             Detroit Lakes, MN        7  19-10   16
Day 1: 2   04-05     Day 2: 5   15-05
86. David Fritts           Lexington, NC            3  19-00   15
Day 1: 1   05-12     Day 2: 2   13-04
87. Bill Lowen             Brookville, IN           5  17-04   14
Day 1: 1   02-03     Day 2: 4   15-01
88. Gregory DiPalma        Millville, NJ            6  16-08   13
Day 1: 1   02-06     Day 2: 5   14-02
89. Bryan Schmitt          Deale, MD                5  15-07   12
Day 1: 4   09-09     Day 2: 1   05-14
90. Frank Talley           Temple, TX               4  15-00   11
Day 1: 1   03-15     Day 2: 3   11-01
91. Rick Clunn             Ava, MO                  5  12-12   10
Day 1: 3   09-00     Day 2: 2   03-12
92. Micah Frazier          Newnan, GA               3  10-03    9
Day 1: 2   07-02     Day 2: 1   03-01
93. Jason Christie         Park Hill, OK            1  04-02    8
Day 1: 1   04-02     Day 2: 0   00-00
94. Matty Wong             Honolulu, HI             1  03-05    7
Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 1   03-05
———————————————————————–

PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Day
1   Todd Auten               Lake Wylie, SC      08-15      $1,000.00
2   Pat Schlapper            Eleva, WI           09-10      $1,000.00

———————————————————————–
Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
1        74       424      1462-06
2        71       420      1557-06
———————————-
145       844      3019-12