By Jonathan LePera
Special to BassFan
With two stops remaining on the 2022 Bassmaster Elite Series schedule, Brandon Palaniuk is poised to win his second Angler of the Year title. Yet, this sport is never short of drama and last-minute theatrics to keep things interesting. Though any angler in the Top 10 has a chance to surge forward and capitalize on the missteps of fellow competitors, mathematically, it appears to be a four-angler affair.
David Mullins currently trails Palaniuk by 41 points and, like Palaniuk, has yet to have a major misstep this season. John Cox trails by 51 points, with Brandon Lester 66 points out.
Smallmouth will dominate this week's stop at Lake Oahe With the Elites having made only one previous visit and at a different time of the year, the playing field seems level, especially since the launch is 110 miles north of where it was last time. The regular-season finale at Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wis. has the makings of a mixed-bag shootout, allowing anglers to fish their strengths.
Weights will should be tight at both events and for everyone except Palaniuk, the margin for error is miniscule.
Palaniuk Seeks Rare Feat
Florida had been Palaniuk's nemesis in the past, but leaving with a 20th-place finish at the St. John’s River positioned him for his run at a second points crown (he won the first in 2017). As Palaniuk reminisced about the season, it was scripted like his possible winning speech.
At Chickamauga, fishing was tough and he wasn’t on a definitive pattern, but junk-fished his way to a 12th-place finish. He pivoted and adapted every day, buckling down in one area.
“When I look back at it, how did I finish in 12th? I take away any of those bites, I finish in the 30s or worse. I was constantly trying to catch a little bit more,” Palaniuk said.
A 2nd at Lake Fork and a 7th at Pickwick made him realize that another AOY title was within reach.
“I had too many crazy things happen there,” Palaniuk said.
As his wife was pregnant with their first child and due at any time, Palaniuk never expected to finish the Pickwick tournament. On the way back to the launch on Day 1, with 5 minutes to fish, he pulled into a spot he’d found in practice that had yet to prove its worth. Two culls provided an extra 3 1/2 pounds before he raced to check inand arrived with 30 seconds to spare.
Known for rarely monitoring his points in the standings, that has less to do with superstition and more with strategy.
“When I don’t know the point gap, and when you are leading, the only way to guarantee the title is to win the next two events," he said. "I am not going to lay up. I'm going to look at potentially winning stuff. If you're not, you're wasting your time.
“I take it day by day. I catch as much weight as I possibly can every day”.
Palaniuk thrives under pressure and wants to earn his place in the sport.
“AOY, I am 100-percent thinking about it. There is a much shorter list of guys who have won two. When you've won one, whether it's an AOY or an Elite, and then you get close other times, and time passes, you begin to realize how hard it is to close those things out.
"AOY is another level. It’s not just four days of fishing; it’s nine weeks of hundreds of thousands of variables. Whoever wins the title is going to earn it.”
David Mullins is in contention for the AOY title for the second time iun 3 years.
Mullins Staying the Course
Mullins finished just three points behind AOY Clark Wendlandt in 2020, but tailed off last year before returning to form this season.
“Last year I started the season with a motor complication; I missed a whole day and never even got to weigh in. That set me back for the whole season, or I would have had a good year also if it wasn’t for that,” Mullins said.
He's had no such issues this year. Nonetheless, there is a burr in his saddle.
“Chickamauga (where he finished a season-low 45th) was won doing stuff I excel at. I had one of the best practices I’ve had there; I just didn’t follow through on it,” Mullins said.
Mullins seems unfazed that he’s again within striking distance of the AOY title.
“I don’t know how to fish any differently. But I’m a fierce competitor; I want to beat guys every time. I mind my own business, try to fish as hard as I can, treat everyone good and let the chips fall where they should.
"I’m mentally tough; that’s just my upbringing – we don’t get tore up about a lot of things. I don’t buck to pressure.”
He welcomes a slugfest to the end.
“It’s a four-horse race and Brandon is not going to give me an inch, and I am not going to give him an inch. We’ll battle it out as hard as we can; I don’t want to be given anything. You aren’t given stuff on this earth; you must earn it.”
John Cox's AOY chances were hindered by a couple of sub-par outings in New York.
Cox has Lunchbox Mentality
Cox has evolved from fishing paycheck to paycheck to become a pillar of consistency.
“I remember being at the gas station once, I had $6 left and I was like, am I going to buy the meatball sub from Subway or am I going to buy this 3/4-ounce Rat-L-Trap I need in the tournament? I remember starving that day. I remember that stuff; I don’t ever want to go back there,” Cox said.
He knows the Mississippi River well, but has no familiarity with Lake Oahe.
“The next two tournaments, you could catch them and just not catch a big one and finish in the back of the pack,” he said.
Cox considers himself fortunate to be in 3rd despite two missteps in New York (58th- and 68th-place showings). On the positive side, he tapped into the mayfly hatch at Pickwick Lake (5th) and banged out a 30-pound bag with an 11-pounder in the mix at the Harris Chain (7th). That followed a 4th-place finish in the season opener at the St. Johns River.
“It wasn’t a season where I just went out and caught them," he said. "I don’t think I’ve caught two fish from the same place yet. I’m excited, we got two left, and it could be really good. Mullins nor Palaniuk have had a bad one yet. Anything can happen and I can catch right up. We're going to start fresh; we're bound to start catching them.”
“It might come down to the final day at La Crosse and I might need to start fresh again because everything I've got isn’t working anymore. To deal with that kind of pressure, you just can’t learn the mental side of it fun-fishing. You have got to put your money down without having seen the water.”
Since he first saw the schedule, Cox thought he might have a shot at the AOY title.
“I fish to make each cut and make the final day. Our Day 3 has usually been our big day this year. I think any of those guys in the top 10 could get hot and do really well the next two and probably be the one who wins it. Hopefully, it will be us!” he said.
Brandon Lester has logged victories this year on both the Bassmaster Elite Series and in the Opens Series.
Lester in a Good Place
Lester kicked off the season with a Bassmaster Open win at the Kissimmee Chain that set the pace for the rest of the year and he won the Elite Series event at Pickwick in June. With 9 years of experience on the Elite Seres, he fishes tournaments as much as possible, viewing every outing as a necessary building block to success.
“I’m at a good place in life, on the water, trusting everything going on," he said. "I believe that everything that happens on the water happens for a reason. Every fish I ever lost, although it sucked at the time, guess what, I won an Elite trophy at Pickwick this year, and all those moments led me to that moment."
Lester attributes his strong season to time on the water, which has allowed him to trust his instincts. He’s more confident in his decision-making than in years past.
“If you stay the course, nine times out of 10, it will work itself out. If you trust your instincts and gut, it will come together,” he said.
Lester relishes in the ever-changing venues, weather and other variables that go into the decision-making process. He’s not going to fish the last two tournaments any differently – consistency is the goal. He’s aware he has an outside shot at winning the points title if other competitors stumble significantly, but points out there is plenty of good money still to be made outside of winning the title.
“Heading into these last two, I want to finish the year strong. This would be the only year I’ve cashed a check in every tournament I’ve fished, including the Opens."
