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CLARENDON COUNTY, S.C. — The final day of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech finally started on time and went a lot better for most of the field. Stop 2 Presented by Star brite at Santee Cooper was pegged as one to watch, and today showed why, as 13 pros caught more than 25 pounds.

Leading after the first day, Aaron Yavorsky kept right on chugging, adding an even 32 pounds to his 35-4 to total up 67-4 and earn the win in style. Finishing second, Matteo Turano backed up his first day with 28-10 to also cross the 60-pound barrier with 60-3, and Cal Lane tallied up 59-7 on nine bass to finish third.

For the win, the 19-year-old Yavorsky takes home $100,000 and a REDCREST qualification. He also moves into the lead for 7Brew Angler of the Year – narrowly ahead of Brody Campbell. Pro Circuit action resumes in late March on the Tennessee River for Stop 3 Presented by Suzuki Marine on Wheeler Lake.

In terms of two-day cumulative weights on the Pro Circuit, Yavorsky’s winning total is actually the fifth-highest all-time. And the young pro has now qualified for both the Bassmaster Classic and REDCREST before his 20th birthday.

Those accomplishments aside, he fished very well this week, but he didn’t do anything crazy to win – a minnow on offshore targets is a pretty solid game plan in the prespawn.

“I did some research; I heard Marion is a little sketchy to run, so I went to Moultrie,” he said. “I fished the wind-protected side the first day and fished some grass, didn’t do good, and then found some brush and stumps that had fish. I caught a 6-pounder on my first one, and that was interesting. Day 2 was slick calm, and I got to ride around the whole lake – there really wasn’t much stuff, but I found a couple places that had some giants. I didn’t really know the potential, but I would throw and see a bunch of big ones chasing my bait.”

Throwing a 7-inch Sense Shindo Shad on a 4.4-gram head with an 8-pound leader and a 7-foot Fitzgerald Fishing spinning rod was the ticket for Yavorsky. With it, he attacked brush and stumps in and on the edges of ditches in 15 to 20 feet.

“Day 1, I pulled up to one pile and they were just stacked – I caught 35 [pounds] in like 30 minutes,” he said. “In practice, that same pile, I threw my bait over it and like 30 big ones came out. I tried catching them, and they wouldn’t eat – I think it was a timing thing.”

Day 2, Yavorsky had to move a lot more, and he burned a pretty solid chunk of his three-hours of sonar running from target to target.

“Today, I went there first thing and caught a 6-pounder, and they didn’t turn on,” he said. “I ran around, and I went back to that place – I probably had 24 or 25 (pounds) at the time – and I caught an 8 and a 6. In my last 15 minutes of ‘Scope, I hit a stump I had, and I caught one almost 7 to put me over 30 pounds.

“I knew I had to run and gun; it was my whole game plan,” he said. “But it does get to you – I made a run down to the south end today to fish one brushpile, and somebody was already there. I probably wasted 20 minutes making that run – it’s stressful.”

This week, Yavorsky thinks that not having too many options actually helped him – a windy practice and it being his first time to the lake allowed him to focus on the best things he found.

“I usually like to pre-practice places, and I feel like if I pre-practiced here, it might have hurt me,” he said. “If you don’t, you never really know, but I think it helped this week. I think I would have had too much stuff to run and check. This week, I had a nice amount of stuff, and I stuck with it.”

One of the last anglers to sign up for all six events on the Pro Circuit schedule, Yavorsky actually rode the waitlist for a while. After the first two events, it’s already looking like a great decision.

“When they released the schedule, I saw that Harris was first and Kissimmee had the championship,” he said. “I knew that I needed to try to get in this. I had already visited like half the schedule – it looked good. But it took me a little while to figure out if I would be able to afford expenses.”

Now, he’s leading the points, a champion and rolling after a whirlwind start.

“It really hasn’t sunk in yet,” he said. “After Harris, taking the lead on Day 1 and then just bombing, I was pretty hungry for this one. I practiced pretty hard, I stayed focused, I locked in. Hopefully I can do that all year.”

1. Aaron Yavorsky – 67 – 4 (10) – $100,0002. Matteo Turano – 60 – 3 (10) – $24,8003. Cal Lane – 59 – 7 (9) – $19,9004. Hayden O’Barr – 57 – 13 (10) – $17,9005. Brody Campbell – 55 – 0 (10) – $16,9006. Levi Thibodaux – 53 – 15 (10) – $15,9007. Austin Pemberton – 53 – 5 (10) – $15,0008. Banks Shaw – 52 – 3 (10) – $14,0009. TJ McKenzie – 49 – 14 (10) – $13,00010. Ethan Fields – 46 – 11 (9) – $12,000

The Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech takes the pros north to Santee Cooper for Stop 2 Presented by Star brite. Santee Cooper is the collective name for Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie, two sprawling reservoirs in a complex on the Santee and Cooper rivers. Based on big fish potential, it’s probably the most exciting event of the year, and while bags over 25 pounds may not come easy, they’ll certainly be present, and it wouldn’t surprise anyone to see a bag or two over the 30-pound mark.

If you can’t get excited about this event, you might just not be that into bass fishing.

Santee Cooper isn’t an everyday destination for MLF, not like the Tennessee River lakes, but, there’s quite a bit of history there still.

Recently, in early February of 2024, Jacob Wheeler won a Bass Pro Tour event there with 15 bass for 47-4 on the final day. Notably, Justin Lucas caught five that went 37-3 in the Knockout Round – a pretty tremendous day. Last year in February, Brent Riley won a Phoenix Bass Fishing League event there with 35-3 (he was one of two pros to break the 30-pound mark) and in that event, Gary Pope tied the record for the biggest bass caught in BFL competition with a 13-6.

In some March events, Santee has also showed out, and it’s a more common time for big events to go there. The most recent in our case took place in the FLW days, and in 2014 Lindwood Thornhill won a Rayovac FLW Series event with 74-4 for three days and in 2016, Bryan Thrift won a Costa FLW Series event with 79-15, including a 30 sack on the final day.

Of course, March is generally going to offer better fishing than February, and warmer weather, but that’s no reason to be down on this event. While Santee can be moody, there’s no doubt it has giant fish in it, and this year could be a perfect time to hit it.

A guide on Santee and one of the standout rookies on the Pro Circuit this year, Kyle Austin has high expectations for this event.

“Right now, every species in the lake is thriving, and the eelgrass and the hydrilla has a lot to do with it,” he said. “We didn’t have a hurricane this year. The lake is in really good shape, the water is clear; there’s potential we’re going to absolutely wreck them.”

As is the case for any early-season event, especially somewhere without a robust deep bite, the weather will matter a lot.

“It all depends on the weather,” Austin said. “If it stays cold, it’s going to be very prespawn, there’s not going to be a lot of fish up. But if we get some rain, it gets muddy, and we get some warm weather, it’s going to be a spinnerbait, ChatterBait, up shallow prespawn beatdown.”

One key factor this year will be the grass in the lake, which is much more present than in years past. Now, Santee has a good amount of hydrilla and eelgrass offshore, which has added a dimension to the usual game plan of running cypress trees.

“It used to be more of a milk run lake,” Austin said. “But now with the grass, you can get in one area and stay all day. I don’t have the local advantage I used to, because of the grass. You can find one area in the grass that is the best spot in the lake that week.”

Still, regardless of the weather, the grass, or anything else, expect to see some big bass caught on big string.

“They’re going to weigh a lot,” Austin said. “I could see it taking 26 to 28 a day to win.”

When making predictions for the season, nearly every pundit had this one circled in red. So, buckle up for a good one.

You can follow the action at Stop 2 Presented by Star brite at Santee Cooper during both days of competition, Feb. 27-28, on MLFNOW! and stay locked to MajorLeagueFishing.com for on-the-water galleries, daily stories and more.

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. – Santee Cooper team members are prepared for the anticipated effects the winter weather may have on Santee Cooper’s service territory from Jan. 24 through Jan 26. Approximately 2 million South Carolinians depend on the state-owned electric and water utility as their power source, either directly or through the state’s electric cooperatives.

As of 4 p.m. today, Santee Cooper went to Operating Condition (OpCon) 2 alert status. This means a threat to Santee Cooper’s electric system is imminent or has occurred, but effects are limited or still uncertain.

Customers can report outages at stormcenter.santeecooper.com or 888-769-7688. For electric safety information, including generator and downed power line safety, visit https://www.santeecooper.com/community/electrical-safety/.

How You Can Help

Heating is responsible for much of the increased electricity used during extended cold weather. Heat pumps work harder and longer to make up the difference in temperatures, which increases electricity use. Cold and freezing temperatures also may cause your emergency heat, or heat strips, to activate, which uses more electricity.

Customers can take the following steps to help use less energy while staying comfortable in their homes:

“Santee Cooper appreciates the help of our customers as we work together during this winter weather event,” said Marty Watson, Senior Director, Commercial and Customer Service.

For more than 90 years, Santee Cooper has been serving the people of South Carolina. The utility is South Carolina’s largest power provider, and the ultimate source of electricity for 2 million people across the state. Through its affordable, reliable, and environmentally responsible electricity and water services, and through innovative partnerships and initiatives that attract and retain industry and jobs, Santee Cooper helps power South Carolina. To learn more, visit www.santeecooper.com and follow #PoweringSC on social media.