SC Upstate had 27 teams participating in our 2nd 2026 event on Lake Russell Feb 21, 2026.

This was a one day event, where we held our PreTournament meeting on the water prior to blast off.  The weather rolled in on us just as we began check in with some rain and a little "electrifying" flashes in the sky.  The FOM team checked in our guys as we waited for the storm to pass.  

There's a lesson already in our day.  God is in control, no matter how much we try to have everything go our way there are times that we must sit and wait as He does only what He can do.  Thank you Lord, for the reminder Sat morning that we can TRUST your provisions even when a storm is all around us.

Steve Cox, SC Upstate Chaplain, Delivered a powerful message on how we can STAND FIRM and BE MEN in our FAITH.  The ket verse was 1 Corinthians 16:13 which says "BE ALERT, STAND FIRM IN THE FAITH, ACT LIKE A MAN, BE STRONG."  As Christians we are called to be more than the average man, and to stand out.  It's easy to be passive, and treat our Faith as an add on in our life.  This verse reminds us that our Faith should be POWERFUL force in our life and it should drive us to LIVE for Christ in all we do.... even FISHING!!  

Steve shared a story that really hit me about a song.  The song was about a Father and Son that the Son declined a time to "GO FISHING" with his Dad and stated that there would be time to do that later.  As many of us have experienced, those missed opportunites haunt us after circumstances of life make it impossible take time for a loved one.  Where are your priorities?  Where does your time tend to be absorbed?  

Steve's challenge about our time was that just like missed moments with loved ones, we have missed moments with ENCOUTERING CHRIST.  We are called to BE ALERT and ACT LIKE A MAN when our moments allow for a true encounter with Christ.  Even standing on a boat in Lake Russell before a tx blast off we can encounter Christ.  As we closed in Prayer, and had a few minutes of reflection, we could feel the Holy Spirit moving in our hearts.

The blast off time was clear with no rain, but throughout the morning we had some off and on showers that later cleared out.  There were 114 bass that crossed our scales totaling over 320 lbs.

I would like to thank my VOLUNTEER SC Upstate CREW for their support on Sat.  From check in, meeting on the water, weigh site set up, and all the work that goes into having a great event, we couldn't do this without my TEAM!!  Thanks to ADAM, RYAN, STEVE, ELIJAH, LUKE, BRI, BILL, and ALAN for your support on Saturday.

Congratulations to our WINNERS!

1st Place:  CHRIS NELSON & KERRY PARTAIN- 21.66 lbs

2nd Place:  WESLEY & JASON SKINNER- 18.81 lbs

3rd & BF:  HUNTER HANNA & JUSTIN McCLEESE- 18.43 lbs with a BF- 6.82 lbs

3.16 CHALLENGE WINNER:  MASON WILLIAMS

Contact- Rodney Floyd @ 864-417-5804

Place	Team	Members	# Fish	Big Fish	Gross	Penalty	Net Wt	Points
1	38741	Chris Nelson Kerry Partain	5	5.51	21.66	0	21.66	200
2	29583	Wesley Skinner William Ashley	5	5.2	18.81	0	18.81	199
3	38455	Hunter Hanna Justin McLeese	5	6.82	18.43	0	18.43	198
4	38456	Reed Rooke Eli Cooke	5	3.94	17.05	0	17.05	197
5	23979	BJ Ballard Chastan Hanna	5	5.46	16.87	0	16.87	196
6	31666	Greg Smith Matthew Smith	5	4.34	16.47	0	16.47	195
7	38479	GL Compton Lane Clark	5	3.79	16.37	0	16.37	194
8	38457	Stephen Sprouse Matthew Sprouse	5	4.38	15.39	0	15.39	193
9	18417	Jonathan Botts Wayne Botts	5	3.32	15.03	0	15.03	192
10	38487	Brad Burdette Hank O’Shields	5	3.42	14.49	0	14.49	191
11	19348	Jason Burroughs Darren Ashley	5	3.56	14.01	0	14.01	190
12	32911	Chris Rhodes John Kinard	5	3.05	12.76	0	12.76	189
13	38458	Tony Holliday Jarrad Rees	5	4.26	12.69	0	12.69	188
14	19884	Randy Dickson Kevin Dickson	5	3.04	12.44	0	12.44	187
15	35604	Scott Craig Scott Craig	5	4.63	12.27	0	12.27	186
16	32934	Mark Williams Mason Williams	5	3.16	12.1	0	12.1	185
17	26649	Reggie Luper Aiden Luper	5	3.09	11.93	0	11.93	184
18	32936	Caleb Mason Tallis Morrison	5	2.41	11.88	0	11.88	183
19	38441	Adam Hendrix Brandon Free	5	2.96	11.83	0	11.83	182
20	38454	Greg Willimon Cameron Muse	5	2.5	10.88	0	10.88	181
21	26656	Todd Pearson David Strickland	5	2.95	10.85	0	10.85	180
22	17195	Michael Smith Micky Lusk	5	0	10.36	0	10.36	179
23	35602	Gregg Williams Grayson Williams	4	0	5.55	0	5.55	178
24	31263	Russell Clark William Bauman	0	0	0	0	0	177
25	38742	Josh Payseur Adam Harvey	0	0	0	0	0	177
26	29576	Dustin Ross James Weicker	0	0	0	0	0	177
27	38743	Luke McGuffin Joshua McGuffin	0	0	0	0	0	177
1st 21.66. CHRIS NELSON & KERRY PARTAIN 2nd 18.81 lbs WESLEY SKINNER & JASON SKINNER 3rd 18.43 lbs. HUNTER HANNA & JUSTIN McLEESE 3.16 CHALLENGE - MASON WILLIAMS