CLARENDON COUNTY, S.C. (Feb. 17, 2026) – The second regular-season Major League Fishing (MLF) Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech event of 2026 is set to visit Summerton, South Carolina, next week, Feb. 26-28, for a tournament on Santee Cooper Lakes – the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Stop 2 on Santee Cooper Lakes.
The three-day Pro Circuit tournament, hosted by Destination Clarendon, will feature 150 professional bass anglers competing for a top prize of up to $135,000. Anglers will take to Santee Cooper to catch their five biggest bass each day, and the winner will be determined by the heaviest three-day cumulative total.
“Clarendon County is excited to be able to host the Major League Fishing Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit event on Santee Cooper Lake,” said Walt Ackerman, Clarendon County Administrator. “This tournament will not only help to showcase Clarendon County as one of the premier fishing destinations in the country but also have a major economic impact for our local hotels, campgrounds, restaurants, and other businesses. We are proud to support this partnership and look forward to continuing to invest in opportunities that strengthen our economy while showcasing Clarendon County.”
A guide on Santee and one of the standout rookies on the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit this year, Kyle Austin of Ridgeville, South Carolina, 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.”
Anglers will launch at 7 a.m. ET each day from the John C. Land III Landing, located at 4404 Greenall Road in Summerton, South Carolina. Weigh-ins will also be held at the John C. Land III Landing and will begin at 3 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and weigh-in events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW!® live stream and coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The 2026 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech features a field of 150 professional anglers competing across six tournaments around the country, for a total purse of $3.8 million and valuable 7 Brew Angler of the Year (AOY) points to qualify for the Pro Circuit Championship, set for Sept. 18-20 on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimmee, Florida, and a coveted spot on the MLF Bass Pro Tour – the sport’s premier circuit.
In Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit competition, the full field of 150 pros compete in the two-day opening round on Thursday and Friday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 50 pros, based on their two-day cumulative weight, advance to the final round on Championship Saturday. The winner is determined by heaviest cumulative weight from all three days and they will be awarded the grand prize of up to $115,000. Forward-facing and/or 360-degree sonar is limited to only 3 hours of competition each day.
The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and Rob Newell will break down the extended action live all three days of competition from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET. MLFNOW! will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.
Television coverage of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech Stop 2 on Santee Cooper will air as a two-hour episode, premiering at 9 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Sept. 13 on Vice TV.
Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, Bubba, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PirahnO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.