South claims Rayburn win in record-setting fashion

Another 34-pound stringer gives Texan blowout victory

February 21, 2026 By Staff Report

Pake South fell a little short of an ambitious goal, but along the way, he turned in a record-breaking performance to win the Sam Rayburn Bassmaster Open with a three-day total of 96 pounds, 15 ounces.

South’s tally broke the record for all-time heaviest winning total in a three-day Bassmaster event. Scott Martin set the previous mark on Feb. 3, 2024 by winning the Lake Okeechobee Openwith 90-6.

South, who hails from Winnsboro, Texas, and is in the midst of his rookie season on the Elite Series, finished the event with a 34-10 stringer, his heaviest of the week. His winning margin was 15-14 over Jace Lindsay.

“It was great; the lake impressed me this week,” South said. “I didn’t come into this one expecting to catch that much weight. I was expecting to have about 30 pounds a day, but to have back-to-back 34-pound days was a little bit more than I expected.”

South anchored his final limit with a 10-15 that bit shortly before 9 a.m. Knowing such quality lives in Rayburn, he said he had been looking forward to fishing this event since last fall.

“When the schedule came out last year, I said, ‘I’m gonna go try to win that one,’” South said. “I fished to win this week, not for points.”

For his efforts, South earned the $45,408 top prize. Anglers that compete in all four events of Division 1 or 2 receive an invitation to fish the 2027 Bassmaster Classic. Because South is not fishing a complete division, this event’s Classic berth goes to the Bassmaster Elite Series field.

Before the start of Day 3, South stated that he had his sights set on reaching the 100-pound mark. While that didn’t come to fruition, he still wrote his name in the record book.

“I saw the fish to break 100 pounds on LiveScope today,” South said. “This lake is impressive.”

Notably, the event also saw Day 1 leader Riley Harris catch the heaviest five-bass limit in Bassmaster Opens history — 36-15. Harris finished eighth with 67-10.

Spending all three days in Ayish Bayou, South stayed relatively close to takeoff and maximized his fishing time. Targeting prespawn bass, he fished a drain accessing a spawning flat and worked various depths up to 15 feet.

“It was clay bottom with stumps and shellbeds; anything that looked good,” South said. “It was kind of all over the place. Some of the fish would be swimming down the edges of the drain, some of them would be swimming right down the middle.”