The Dock That Won It All: Ewing Minor Takes Santee Cooper
The 24-year-old from Dandridge, Tennessee, had set up early on Day 1 of the 2026 Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series at Santee Cooper Lakes presented by Native Watercraft on an offshore spot he was sure would produce. With the bass transitioned into post-spawn behavior, the logic was sound. The fish just didn't cooperate. Calm, cloudy conditions, nothing working, and by 10:30 a.m. he had exactly one keeper to show for it.
So he scrapped everything and pointed his approach toward a backup area. And that's when the tournament turned.
One Cast, One Dock, All Aces
On the way to his secondary spot, Minor decided to fire a cast at a dock that caught his eye. It didn't take long to put more than 100 inches of bass in the boat, and by day's end he'd built a five-fish limit of 106.75 inches and the Day 1 lead. From there, he spent the rest of the afternoon validating his pattern, even pulling his bait away from fish to save them for Sunday....which never happened.
The Win that Arrived by Weather Report
That next morning didn't happen. High winds forced B.A.S.S. officials to cancel the second day of competition, and because Minor sat atop the standings, the cancellation made him the champion. The competitor in him wasn't thrilled, but the W was the W, and he didn't argue with the call.
Tournament Director Steve Owens explained that the decision came down to the safety of the entire field. Santee Cooper drew 214 anglers from across the country chasing a share of a $42,800 purse. With dangerous sustained and gusting winds that didn't ease overnight, calling it off was the responsible move. Minor agreed, admitting that with money on the line, not everyone has the sense to stay off rough water.
The Bait behind the Winning Flurry
Minor's weapon was the Hideup Coike Full Cast, a Japanese soft bait he worked in 3 to 8 feet of water. He wasn't ready to give away exactly how he was fishing it. Plenty of anglers still haven't cracked the code on the coike. The lure has been a staple in Japan for two decades but only caught fire on American circuits last year. Minor describes it as a cross between a wacky rig and a jerkbait, and his results suggest he's figured it out.
NK300 HD is a Winning Strategy Play
A day like Minor's is a case study in efficiency. When your first plan dies by mid-morning, the win goes to whoever can rule out dead water fastest and get back to fish without burning the clock. That's where the NK300 HD earned its keep. It let Minor cover Santee Cooper's sprawling, often-stubborn flats with purpose running offshore, working through unproductive stretches, and quietly eliminating the bad water until the right cast at the right dock did the rest. On a fishery that gave up nothing easy, the ability to keep moving and keep filtering was a winning tool.
Backing it up was his 12V 100Ah LoPRO lithium battery the unsung piece of the puzzle. Steady, clean power kept his forward-facing sonar locked in and crisp all day, and on Santee that mattered. Sharp FFS isn't just about finding fish; it's about reading them - how they're positioned, how they're reacting, and most importantly, separating the right-sized ones from the rest before you ever make a cast. In a tournament decided by inches, putting the bait in front of the correct fish is the difference, and reliable imaging is what makes that call possible.
A Season that Keeps Giving
The Santee win caps a consistent 2026 for Minor. He opened the year sixth on Florida's Kissimmee Chain in February, placed 12th at the 2025 Championship on lakes Chickamauga and Nickajack in his home state of Tennessee, and added a 13th at Caddo Lake/Lake Bistineau in north Louisiana in April.
The victory earned Minor a $10,550 first-place check and solidified a berth in the 2026 Newport Bassmaster Series Championship presented by Native Watercraft, set for Oct. 14–16 on Lake Murray. This is the first-ever standalone Bassmaster Kayak Series Championship after years of running during Classic week.
Rounding out the Top 5
The top five from the Santee Cooper system all punched championship tickets:
- Tennessee's Rus Snyders took second at 105.5 inches ($4,775)
- North Carolina's Will Lambert finished third at 104.75 inches ($2,975)
- Pennsylvania's Greg Polec placed fourth at 104.5 inches ($2,300)
- North Carolina's Cher Tou Thao rounded out the five at 100.25 inches ($2,200)
- Lambert also boated the event's big bass: a 24.5-inch largemouth caught early Saturday for a $500 bonus.