By BassFan Staff
The 12-15 sack that Brandon Palaniuk brought to the weigh-in today at the Bull Shoals Bassmaster Elite Series in Arkansas knocked his tournament average under the 20-pound mark. Nonetheless, it was far more than the former Federation Nation National Champion from Idaho needed to complete a wire-to-wire march to his first tour-level victory.
North Carolinian Britt Myers finished as the runner-up with a 14-00 stringer today for a 66-08 total. It was easily his best showing in 6-plus years on the Elite Series and was his second straight among the Top 20 after he opened the season with a last-place effort at the St. Johns River.
Just 1 ounce back in 3rd was Alabama's Matt Herren, who caught 15-15 today for a 66-07 aggregate. Oklahoman Edwin Evers concluded his steady climb up the standings with a day-best 17-11 sack that gave him a 4th-place total of 66-00.
New Angler of the Year (AOY) leader Brent Chapman logged his second straight 5th-place finish after opening with a 4th at the St. Johns. He caught 15-15 today to conclude with 64-07.
Here's a look at the final numbers for the Top 12:
1. Brandon Palaniuk: 78-06
2. Britt Myers: 66-08
3. Matt Herren: 66-07
4. Edwin Evers: 66-00
5. Brent Chapman: 64-07
6. Cliff Pace: 63-01
7. Bobby Lane: 62-10
8. Scott Rook: 61-08
9. Derek Remitz: 60-13
10. Jason Quinn: 60-05
11. Mark Menendez: 59-05
12. Keith Poche: 58-03
The strongest wind of the event (pushing 20 mph at times out of the northwest) swept the lake today. It may not have had a negative effect on the bite, but it certainly made it more difficult for the anglers to go about their business. Weights were down substantially from the previous day as four anglers were unable to crack the 12-pound mark.
Only Myers, Herren and Evers ended up with more than the 65-07 total that Palaniuk had after day 3. In the simplest terms, the second-year pro was on better fish than anyone else.
Palaniuk had a limit by 9:00 today, but he said that didn't really put his mind at ease.
Chapman has a 23-point advantage over Randy Howell in the points race, which has switched to a 1-point-per-place system this year (99 for 1st, 98 for 2nd, etc.). Previous leader Skeet Reese fell to 6th after missing the 50-cut, where he's one slot ahead of four-time defending AOY Kevin VanDam (to see the updated standings, click here).
The circuit will take a week off before it completes the first half of the campaign at Tennessee's Douglas Lake May 3-6.
Palaniuk Back on Track
> Day 4: 5, 12-15 (20, 78-06)
Palaniuk finished 37th in the points during his 2011 rookie campaign and claimed the final Classic spot. He got off to a rough start this season, though, as finishes of 67th and 90th in Florida put him in the bottom 10% of the AOY chase.
"To come in here and get my mind right and do this after those two events, I don't know what to say," he said. "It was awesome. I don't think it's really hit me yet, but it feels good."
"I come from a place that's not known for bass fishing – Idaho is a long way from anywhere that has anything to do with tournament fishing, for the most part. The support I get from my family and friends and really the whole Northwest part of the country is unreal. And the entire Federation (Nation), coming through there like I did, it's a family and I get support all across the country."
He caught a barely legal 12-inch spotted bass on his fifth cast today and had a limit by 9:00. He knew at that point that Myers would need well over 20 pounds to threaten him. Still, his mind was not at ease.
"I never really felt comfortable all day. I had it in my head that I wanted 20 pounds before I'd feel good. The wind got real bad today and I left a little early from my area to make sure I got back in time. I kept fishing until the last minute, but I never upgraded after I left.
"It's just kind of a personal thing – I'm so competitive that I wanted to weigh the biggest bag every day."
He caught fat pre-spawners from the Sugar Loaf portion of the lake, focusing on flat gravel banks with brush. He cranked with a Rapala DT16 (blueback herring) and a Strike King 6XD (brown ghost craw).
Britt Myers caught a nice smallmouth in the day's final minutes to secure his 2nd-place finish.
“The fish were only a couple of hundred yards away from where they wanted to spawn. It was a quick 2- to 3-minute swim from where they wanted to hang and where they wanted to spawn. I honestly had the best area in the lake.”
Full details of his winning pattern will be published soon.
2nd: Late Bite Helped Myers
> Day 4: 5, 14-00 (20, 66-08)
Myers knew he was pretty much fishing for 2nd place today, and he grabbed that position thanks to a 3-pound smallmouth that he caught in the final minutes of the day.
"It was a really good finish, and the thing I like best about it is that I actually had the winning pattern – Brandon found an excellent spot," he said. "I'll take that confidence-builder and move on to the next event.
"To be honest, I thought this was going to be my year to have a great season. When I first started (in 2006) I'll admit I didn't know as much as I thought I did, but after 6 years of getting beaten up by these guys, I'm starting to come around. I had a bad first tournament, but I can deal with that. Having a 16th and a 2nd in the last two events, there's nothing wrong with that."
He caught about 20 keepers today, the biggest a 3 1/4-pounder.
"I did lose one first thing this morning that was probably a 3 1/2, but it didn't matter when it was all said and done."
3rd: Nice Recovery for Herren
> Day 4: 5, 15-14 (20, 66-07)
Herren overcame a sluggish day 3 to post his best Elite finish since 2009.
"I had a good tournament," he said. "I wish I'd done a little better, but on the third day my fish left me and I did a pretty good job of running around and finding them again.
"I did all I could do and I don't have any regrets. I have to congratulate Brandon Palaniuk – he found one of those dream spots. While the rest of us were grubbing the bank, he had a sweet hole."
He estimated that he caught 50 fish today, including 30 keepers. His best was a 4-pounder and he didn't lose any that would've gone to the scale.
4th: Evers Enjoyed Himself
> Day 4: 5, 17-11 (20, 66-00)
Evers' bag was the biggest of the day by 2 3/4 pounds. He said it could've been much larger.
"I lost a bunch – I could've had 20 pounds," he said. "Some of them were just the normal fish you lose on a crankbait and some were spawning and they were just swiping at it.
Matt Herren estimated that he caught 50 fish today, including 30 keepers.
"It was a lot of fun catching all those fish and being able to run a pattern. It's a lake where you're not always fishing behind somebody – you can run new stuff every day and at the end of the tournament there's still more stuff to go fish."
He boated at least 25 keepers today, including a pair of 4-pounders.
5th: Chapman keeps Rolling
> Day 4: 5, 15-15 (20, 64-07)
Chapman said he can't recall ever leading the AOY race at any point during a season, but that's where he finds himself now.
"About the only way I can describe what's been happening is just, 'Wow,''' he said. "It's been a blast so far."
He caught about 15 keepers today, the biggest a 4-pounder. He lamented losing a couple of good ones on day 3 – a 3 1/2-pounder and one that was likely over 5.
"You're going to lose fish and as a whole, the way the season's gone, I can't complain. I knew winning wasn't a possibility today so I went out to have fun and let the cards fall wherever they were going to.
"We're not even halfway though the season, but (leading the AOY race) is still a good place to be."
Notable
> Day 4 stats – 12 anglers, 12 limits.
Day 4 (Final) Standings
1. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 20, 78-06 -- 99 -- $102,000
Day 1: 5, 21-09 -- Day 2: 5, 24-04 -- Day 3: 5, 19-10 -- Day 4: 5, 12-15
2. Britt Myers -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 20, 66-08 -- 98 -- $25,000
Day 1: 5, 14-15 -- Day 2: 5, 20-04 -- Day 3: 5, 17-05 -- Day 4: 5, 14-00
3. Matt Herren -- Trussville, AL -- 20, 66-07 -- 97 -- $20,000
Day 1: 5, 20-13 -- Day 2: 5, 17-00 -- Day 3: 5, 12-12 -- Day 4: 5, 15-14
4. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 20, 66-00 -- 96 -- $15,000
Day 1: 5, 16-08 -- Day 2: 5, 16-06 -- Day 3: 5, 15-07 -- Day 4: 5, 17-11
5. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 20, 64-07 -- 95 -- $15,000
Day 1: 5, 15-06 -- Day 2: 5, 18-15 -- Day 3: 5, 14-03 -- Day 4: 5, 15-15
6. Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 20, 63-01 -- 94 -- $13,500
Day 1: 5, 19-10 -- Day 2: 5, 12-07 -- Day 3: 5, 16-01 -- Day 4: 5, 14-15
7. Bobby Lane -- Lakeland, FL -- 20, 62-10 -- 93 -- $13,000
Day 1: 5, 17-11 -- Day 2: 5, 19-12 -- Day 3: 5, 13-06 -- Day 4: 5, 11-13
8. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, AR -- 20, 61-08 -- 92 -- $12,500
Day 1: 5, 14-02 -- Day 2: 5, 20-12 -- Day 3: 5, 14-12 -- Day 4: 5, 11-14
9. Derek Remitz -- Grant, AL -- 20, 60-13 -- 91 -- $12,000
Day 1: 5, 15-05 -- Day 2: 5, 14-03 -- Day 3: 5, 17-10 -- Day 4: 5, 13-11
10. Jason Quinn -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 20, 60-05 -- 90 -- $11,500
Day 1: 5, 17-05 -- Day 2: 5, 15-15 -- Day 3: 5, 13-13 -- Day 4: 5, 13-04
11. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 20, 59-05 -- 89 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 16-01 -- Day 2: 5, 15-00 -- Day 3: 5, 18-04 -- Day 4: 5, 10-00
12. Keith Poche -- Pike Road, AL -- 20, 58-03 -- 88 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 16-09 -- Day 2: 5, 14-02 -- Day 3: 5, 18-02 -- Day 4: 5, 09-06
