Palaniuk's Long Run Produces 23-09 Stringer

By BassFan Staff

A day that Brandon Palaniuk had eagerly anticipated for the past 7 weeks unfolded about as well as he could've imagined. He's once again the day-1 leader at a Bassmaster Elite Series event, and as far as anyone can tell, there are no outdated culling laws on the books in New York or Canada that could call an early halt to his quest for victory at the St. Lawrence River.

If he doesn't win this time, it'll likely be another angler or Mother Nature who does him in.

The Idahoan was one of a handful of competitors who made the long run to Lake Ontario, and the journey paid off handsomely. He came back with a 23-09 sack that was nearly a pound and a half better than any of the other 98 pros managed on a prolific fishery that surrendered 95 limits – 37 of which weighed 18 pounds or more.

Yusuke Miyazaki grabbed the No. 2 slot with a 22-02 bag. Dennis Tietje, a Louisianan who's competing on a smallmouth-dominated venue for the first time, caught 21-09 to settle into the 3rd position.

Kevin VanDam, the sport's all-time leading money-winner who hasn't placed among the Top 12 in a regular-season Elite event in a year and a half, was 4th with 21-01. The 5th spot was a tie between Charlie Hartley and Randy Howell, each with 20-15.

Here's how the initial Top 12 breaks down, with deficit margin from the leader indicated by red numbers in parentheses:

1. Brandon Palaniuk: 23-09
2. Yusuke Miyazaki: 22-02 (1-07)
3. Dennis Tietje: 21-09 (2-00)
4. Kevin VanDam: 21-01 (2-08)
5. (tie) Charlie Hartley: 20-15 (2-10)
5. (tie) Randy Howell: 20-15 (2-10)
7. Cliff Pirch: 20-11 (2-14)
8. Aaron Martens: 20-10 (2-15)
9. Jonathon VanDam: 20-09 (1-07)
10. Brian Snowden: 20-05 (3-04)
11. (tie) Bradley Roy: 20-04 (3-05)
11. (tie) Chad Pipkens: 20-04 (3-05)

Palaniuk dominated the late-June event at the Mississippi River for 2 days, but inadvertently (and illegally) culled a fish in Minnesota waters on day 2. The disqualification of his second-day weight relegated him to a 77th-place finish and he's been zealous for redemption ever since.

The fact that his day-best weight was well shy of the 25-pound mark pretty much dispels any notion that it'll take a 100-pound-plus aggregate to win this event. It's a sure bet, though, that a bunch more smallmouths in the 4- and 5-pound class (a 5 1/2-pounder caught by Brian Snowden was the biggest of day 1) will keep coming to the stage.

Angler of the Year leader Edwin Evers boxed a solid 18-07 that put him in a tie for 25th place. If he stays in that vicinity or moves up, he'll be assured of taking a solid advantage into the season finale at Lake St. Clair in 2 weeks.

The day-2 weather forecast calls for isolated thunderstorms, a high temperature of 79 degrees and a westerly wind topping out at 7 mph. The wind speed remaining in or near single digits is critical for the anglers traveling to the big lake.

The field will be reduced to the Top 50 after tomorrow's weigh-in. Only the Top 12 will advance to Sunday, when the winner will be determined by highest cumulative weight.

Palaniuk's Run 'Wasn't Bad'

> Day 1: 5, 23-09

Palaniuk said he burned 75 gallons of gas running to Lake Ontario and back and he was forced to fuel up while traveling both directions.

"It was a fun day once I got there, but that's not just your average run," he said. "It wasn't too bad, though. There might've been a few 6-footers (waves), but that was the worst it got."

He made his first cast at 9:15, which was more than 2 1/2 hours after he departed the launch. He had all of his weight within an hour and a half.

All five fish that he weighed registered between 4 1/4 and 5 pounds. He opted not to reveal how he caught them, but said they came from water that was "pretty deep."

"I made the decision that I was going to go down there on Sunday, before practice started," he said. "I had six or seven maps spread out, trying to figure out where I was going to start the next morning, and the best-looking stuff I could find was in the lake.

"I caught them real good that day, and ever since then my goal has been to catch 23 pounds a day. I knew if I caught that, I might not win, but I'd at least stay in the hunt."

He's fully aware that winds could kick up seemingly out of nowhere at any time between now and Sunday afternoon to make his run more treacherous, but he's not overly concerned about that possibility.

"Honestly, if I knew I could get there and fish for 30 to 45 minutes, I'd do it. If it took me 3 1/2 hours of driving each way, I'd go in a heartbeat."

2nd: Two 5s for Miyazaki

> Day 1: 5, 22-02

Miyazaki also make a long run, but not all the way to the lake.

"It was a good first day," he said. "I found five or six areas and I had 18 or 19 pounds a couple days in practice."

His all-smallmouth bag was headed up by a pair of 5-pounders.

"I lost a couple fish, but I don't know if they would've helped me or not. On one of them the rod was bending really good."

3rd: Tietje Fished Clean

> Day 1: 5, 21-09

Tietje, who logged the first Top-12 finish of his 3-year Elite Series career earlier this year at the Sabine River, landed every bite he got today. His bag contained a pair of 5-pounders.

"The way practice went, I thought I could catch 17 or 18 pounds without having a really big fish," he said. "What I realized after I started catching them today is I'm a poor judge of smallmouths.

"I actually did catch some big ones in practice and I probably had 20 pounds on a couple of those days."

He visited about half of the productive locales he found during practice.

"I still have some backup stuff, but I did hit my best stuff today. Some of my best places only gave me one fish, though. Those schools move in and out and I just need to keep myself in the right area."

4th: Hartley Went to Mouth

> Day 1: 5, 20-15

Hartley said he traveled very near to Lake Ontario, but never got out onto the big water. He fished in the vicinity of several other competitors who also caught strong bags.

"I had a good practice and I thought I could catch 20 pounds, but then everyone was talking like 20 wasn't really a big deal," he said. "A lot of people were saying you'd need 22 to 24 to do any good.

"I was happy with 20, but I figured I was going to be in like 50th place."

He had no qualms about revealing what he's doing – he's dropshotting in 30 feet of water.

"I spent all of my practice finding the rocks on top of the rock … just finding the sweet spots. I knew I was only going to fish one way. It's refreshing when you can spend the whole time looking for fish instead of having to try to figure out what the fish are biting."

He made three culls late in the day, replacing a 3 3/4-pounder with a 4 1/2 on the last one.

"I lost a couple of fish early in the day that seemed important at the time, but they way things turned out, they probably weren't."

87th: Inexperience Hurt Crochet

> Day 1: 5, 13-03

Cliff Crochet came into the event at No. 6 on the points list, but he'll need to do some serious work on day 2 to avoid falling well down into the double digits.

"I had a tough practice on the smallmouths and at a certain point I went and looked for largemouths," he said. "I found a few of them, but they turned out to be not that good of a deal.

"Today I went largemouth fishing and caught what it looked like I could catch, and then I went for smallmouths and caught one nice one. Nothing really came together."

He doesn't have much of a track record for catching smallmouths and that showed today.

"Most of it was just pure ignorance. When you can play to your strengths, you do that. When you can't, you pay for it.

"I caught some decent largemouths in practice and a 20-pound bag is possible if you have a perfect day. If everything isn't perfect, you end up with 10 or 11 pounds."

Notable

> Day 1 stats – 99 anglers, 95 limits, 1 four, 2 ones, 1 zero.

> Traveling to Lake Ontario, as Palaniuk did, was not a sure ticket to a massive bag. Others who made the journey included Bernie Schultz (tied for 25th, 18-07), B.J. Haseotes (42nd, 17-10), Dean Rojas (78th, 14-04) and Keith Poche (zero).

Weather Forecast

> Fri., Aug. 9 – Isolated T-Storms - 79°/57°
- Wind: From the W at 7 mph

> Sat., Aug. 10 – Sunny - 74°/50°
- Wind: From the W at 14 mph

> Sun., Aug. 11 – Partly Cloudy - 75°/52°
- Wind: From the WSW at 7 mph

Day 1 Standings

1. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 5, 23-09 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 23-09

2. Yusuke Miyazaki -- Forney, TX -- 5, 22-02 -- 98
Day 1: 5, 22-02

3. Dennis Tietje -- Roanoke, LA -- 5, 21-09 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 21-09

4. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 5, 21-01 -- 96
Day 1: 5, 21-01

5. Charlie Hartley -- Grove City, OH -- 5, 20-15 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 20-15

5. Randy Howell -- Springville, AL -- 5, 20-15 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 20-15

7. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 5, 20-11 -- 93
Day 1: 5, 20-11

8. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 5, 20-10 -- 92
Day 1: 5, 20-10

9. Jonathon VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 5, 20-09 -- 91
Day 1: 5, 20-09

10. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 5, 20-05 -- 90
Day 1: 5, 20-05

11. Bradley Roy -- Lancaster, KY -- 5, 20-04 -- 89
Day 1: 5, 20-04

12. Chad Pipkens -- Holt, MI -- 5, 20-04 -- 88
Day 1: 5, 20-04

13. Kotaro Kiriyama -- Moody, AL -- 5, 20-02 -- 87
Day 1: 5, 20-02

14. David Walker -- Sevierville, TN -- 5, 19-10 -- 86
Day 1: 5, 19-10

15. John Murray -- Phoenix, AZ -- 5, 19-09 -- 85
Day 1: 5, 19-09

15. Gerald Swindle -- Warrior, AL -- 5, 19-09 -- 85
Day 1: 5, 19-09

17. Kevin Short -- Mayflower, AR -- 5, 19-08 -- 83
Day 1: 5, 19-08

18. Josh Bertrand -- Gilbert, AZ -- 5, 19-05 -- 82
Day 1: 5, 19-05

18. Kevin Hawk -- Guntersville, AL -- 5, 19-05 -- 82
Day 1: 5, 19-05

20. Bobby Lane -- Lakeland, FL -- 5, 19-04 -- 80
Day 1: 5, 19-04

21. Jeremy Starks -- Scott Depot, WV -- 5, 18-13 -- 79
Day 1: 5, 18-13

22. Derek Remitz -- Grant, AL -- 5, 18-12 -- 78
Day 1: 5, 18-12

23. Hank Cherry -- Maiden, NC -- 5, 18-10 -- 77
Day 1: 5, 18-10

24. Michael Iaconelli -- Pitts Grove, NJ -- 5, 18-09 -- 76
Day 1: 5, 18-09

25. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 5, 18-07 -- 75
Day 1: 5, 18-07

25. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, TX -- 5, 18-07 -- 75
Day 1: 5, 18-07

25. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 5, 18-07 -- 75
Day 1: 5, 18-07

28. J Todd Tucker -- Moultrie, GA -- 5, 18-06 -- 72
Day 1: 5, 18-06

29. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 5, 18-05 -- 71
Day 1: 5, 18-05

29. Ott DeFoe -- Knoxville, TN -- 5, 18-05 -- 71
Day 1: 5, 18-05

31. Michael Simonton -- Fremont, OH -- 5, 18-03 -- 69
Day 1: 5, 18-03

32. Greg Vinson -- Wetumpka, AL -- 5, 18-02 -- 68
Day 1: 5, 18-02

33. Brandon Card -- Caryville, TN -- 5, 18-01 -- 67
Day 1: 5, 18-01

33. Timmy Horton -- Muscle Shoals, AL -- 5, 18-01 -- 67
Day 1: 5, 18-01

33. Casey Scanlon -- Shawnee Mission, KS -- 5, 18-01 -- 67
Day 1: 5, 18-01

36. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 5, 18-01 -- 64
Day 1: 5, 18-01

37. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, OK -- 5, 18-00 -- 63
Day 1: 5, 18-00

38. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, CA -- 5, 17-15 -- 62
Day 1: 5, 17-15

39. James Elam -- Tulsa, OK -- 5, 17-14 -- 61
Day 1: 5, 17-14

40. Billy McCaghren -- Mayflower, AR -- 5, 17-13 -- 60
Day 1: 5, 17-13

41. Andy Montgomery -- Blacksburg, SC -- 5, 17-12 -- 59
Day 1: 5, 17-12

42. BJ Haseotes -- Centerville, MA -- 5, 17-10 -- 58
Day 1: 5, 17-10

43. Cliff Prince -- Palatka, FL -- 5, 17-09 -- 57
Day 1: 5, 17-09

44. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 5, 17-07 -- 56
Day 1: 5, 17-07

45. Matt Greenblatt -- Port St Lucie, FL -- 5, 17-06 -- 55
Day 1: 5, 17-06

46. Boyd Duckett -- Demopolis, AL -- 5, 17-05 -- 54
Day 1: 5, 17-05

46. Morizo Shimizu -- Osaka JAPAN -- 5, 17-05 -- 54
Day 1: 5, 17-05

48. Grant Goldbeck -- Boerne, TX -- 5, 17-04 -- 52
Day 1: 5, 17-04

49. Alton Jones -- Lorena, TX -- 5, 17-03 -- 51
Day 1: 5, 17-03

49. Fred Roumbanis -- Bixby, OK -- 5, 17-03 -- 51
Day 1: 5, 17-03

51. Russ Lane -- Prattville, AL -- 5, 17-01 -- 49
Day 1: 5, 17-01

52. Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 5, 17-00 -- 48
Day 1: 5, 17-00

53. Kurt Dove -- Del Rio, TX -- 5, 16-15 -- 47
Day 1: 5, 16-15

54. Terry Scroggins -- San Mateo, FL -- 5, 16-11 -- 46
Day 1: 5, 16-11

55. Jason Williamson -- Aiken, SC -- 5, 16-10 -- 45
Day 1: 5, 16-10

56. John Crews -- Salem, VA -- 5, 16-09 -- 44
Day 1: 5, 16-09

56. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 5, 16-09 -- 44
Day 1: 5, 16-09

58. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 5, 16-09 -- 42
Day 1: 5, 16-09

59. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 5, 16-07 -- 41
Day 1: 5, 16-07

59. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, AR -- 5, 16-07 -- 41
Day 1: 5, 16-07

61. Davy Hite -- Ninety Six, SC -- 5, 16-06 -- 39
Day 1: 5, 16-06

62. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 5, 16-05 -- 38
Day 1: 5, 16-05

63. Britt Myers -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 5, 16-03 -- 37
Day 1: 5, 16-03

64. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, AR -- 5, 16-02 -- 36
Day 1: 5, 16-02

65. Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, AR -- 5, 15-15 -- 35
Day 1: 5, 15-15

66. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, AR -- 5, 15-14 -- 34
Day 1: 5, 15-14

67. Paul Elias -- Laurel, MS -- 5, 15-12 -- 33
Day 1: 5, 15-12

68. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 5, 15-10 -- 32
Day 1: 5, 15-10

69. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, OK -- 5, 15-08 -- 31
Day 1: 5, 15-08

70. David Smith -- Del City, OK -- 5, 15-04 -- 30
Day 1: 5, 15-04

71. Rick Morris -- Lake Gaston, VA -- 5, 15-03 -- 29
Day 1: 5, 15-03

71. Nate Wellman -- Newaygo, MI -- 5, 15-03 -- 29
Day 1: 5, 15-03

73. Shaw E Grigsby Jr. -- Gainesville, FL -- 5, 14-14 -- 27
Day 1: 5, 14-14

74. Chris Lane -- Guntersville, AL -- 5, 14-13 -- 26
Day 1: 5, 14-13

75. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 5, 14-12 -- 25
Day 1: 5, 14-12

76. Gary Klein -- Weatherford, TX -- 5, 14-10 -- 24
Day 1: 5, 14-10

77. Jamie Horton -- Centerville, AL -- 5, 14-08 -- 23
Day 1: 5, 14-08

78. Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu City, AZ -- 5, 14-04 -- 22
Day 1: 5, 14-04

79. Ish Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 5, 14-03 -- 21
Day 1: 5, 14-03

79. Chris Zaldain -- San Jose, CA -- 5, 14-03 -- 21
Day 1: 5, 14-03

81. Fletcher Shryock -- New Philadelphia, OH -- 5, 13-13 -- 19
Day 1: 5, 13-13

82. Zell Rowland -- Montgomery, TX -- 5, 13-11 -- 18
Day 1: 5, 13-11

83. Matt Herren -- Trussville, AL -- 5, 13-09 -- 17
Day 1: 5, 13-09

83. Pete Ponds -- Madison, MS -- 5, 13-09 -- 17
Day 1: 5, 13-09

85. Marty Robinson -- Lyman, SC -- 5, 13-07 -- 15
Day 1: 5, 13-07

86. Kevin Ledoux -- Choctaw, OK -- 5, 13-04 -- 14
Day 1: 5, 13-04

87. Cliff Crochet -- Pierre Part, LA -- 5, 13-03 -- 13
Day 1: 5, 13-03

88. Kelly Jordon -- Palestine, TX -- 5, 12-12 -- 12
Day 1: 5, 12-12

89. Jared Miller -- Norman, OK -- 5, 12-10 -- 11
Day 1: 5, 12-10

90. James Niggemeyer -- Van, TX -- 5, 12-06 -- 10
Day 1: 5, 12-06

91. Matt Reed -- Madisonville, TX -- 5, 12-05 -- 9
Day 1: 5, 12-05

92. Casey D Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 5, 12-03 -- 8
Day 1: 5, 12-03

93. Kenyon Hill -- Norman, OK -- 5, 10-15 -- 7
Day 1: 5, 10-15

94. Kelley Jaye -- Dadeville, AL -- 5, 10-03 -- 6
Day 1: 5, 10-03

95. Jason Quinn -- Rock Hill, SC -- 5, 10-01 -- 5
Day 1: 5, 10-01

96. Jami Fralick -- Martin, SD -- 4, 09-07 -- 4
Day 1: 4, 09-07

97. Chip Porche -- Bixby, OK -- 1, 01-14 -- 3
Day 1: 1, 01-14

98. Scott Ashmore -- Broken Arrow, OK -- 1, 01-05 -- 2
Day 1: 1, 01-05

99. Keith Poche -- Pike Road, AL -- 0, 00-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 00-00