The beauty of Santee Cooper

A fisherman is seen on the first day of the Bassmaster Elite Series on lakes Marion and Moultrie. More than 80 of the world's best bass anglers took to the waters on Thursday at John C. Land III Sport Fishing Facility as part of the four-day series. According to Emily Harley, BASS communications manager, the first-place prize is $100,000 with the total purse for the event at more than $700,000. Forty anglers will move on to compete on Saturday. Anglers launch from the facility each day at 7:05 a.m. with the official weigh-in beginning at 3:20 at the facility. On Day 4, Sunday, just 10 anglers will take to the massive lakes for a chance to take home the top honor. Live coverage of the event can be found on Bassmaster.com and ESPN3. Weigh-ins will be aired on Bassmaster.com (www.bassmaster.com). Carl Jocumsen was in the lead at the end of the day Thursday with five fish weighing in at 25 lbs. and 8 ounces. Visit https://m.bassmaster.com/leaderboard/tournaments/2020-bassmaster-elite-santee-cooper-lakes to see all results.

PHOTO BY ANDY CRAWFORD / B.A.S.S.