Back stage at the Toledo Bend Elite Series on Sunday, Brandon Palaniuk and John Murray were ribbing each other.
Murray, a veteran of several decades of the national tournament circuits, had yet to cash in a major victory and he was giving Palaniuk a hard time for having won two Elite Series titles before turning 30 years old.
Palaniuk responded by saying Murray had won more boats than years he's been alive. It was all kindhearted and good-natured, but when Murray later clinched his first Elite Series victory, the moment got heavy for Palaniuk, an Idaho native who grew up reading about and following Murray's prowess in Western bass fishing circles.
"It was probably one of the coolest Elite Series wins that I've seen," Palaniuk said. "I have a lot of friends out here, but growing up, Murray was one of my heroes. He has always been a super good guy since I met him. Anybody in the industry would say that. He's one of those guys everybody was happy to see win. A guy like that, who has put in so much time and been doing it so long and hasn’t captured that title yet, it's probably a huge weight off his shoulders."
