Palaniuk Now On Top; Sunday Showdown Looms

By BassFan Staff

Brandon Palaniuk has had special days on the water before during tournaments. His B.A.S.S. Nation championship win ranks up there. So do his two Elite Series victories.

Today was one of those days and if not for a couple of lost fish, including one he says was possibly bigger than the 8-pounder he caught on day 1, it could’ve been something special.

“It was really close to the best day I’ve ever had,” Palaniuk said. “If I’d executed how I should’ve, I would’ve caught the 30 (pounds) I’ve been looking for all week.”

As it stands, his 24-07 bumped his total up to 72-00 through three days and gave him a slim 2-ounce advantage over Brent Ehrler, who had led after days 1 and 2 of the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest at Sam Rayburn Reservoir.

It’ll basically be a two-man race when the tournament concludes Sunday. Ehrler tallied 24-03 today, including a 6-04 kicker, and has 71-14.

Hank Cherry is the next closest competitor in 3rd, more than 10 pounds behind Ehrler. Cherry caught 19-09 today and will have 61-12 heading into the final day.

Jacob Wheeler tallied 16-05 and is 4th with 61-03 while Jason Christie, who finished 2nd at neighboring Toledo Bend last month, jumped 10 spots to 5th with a 20-09 stringer that gave him 59-11.

All 51 competitors caught at least an 11-pound limit today as Rayburn continued to churn out a prodigious number of keepers. The lake will get a day to rest on Saturday, at least from Elite Series anglers, as competitors will take part in a fan fest in Lufkin, Texas, before the 12 finalists return to the water to settle things Sunday.

Here's a look at the top 12 following the third day, with deficit margin from Palaniuk indicated by red numbers in parentheses:

1. Brandon Palaniuk: 72-00
2. Brent Ehrler: 71-14 (0-02)
3. Hank Cherry: 61-12 (10-04)
4. Jacob Wheeler: 61-03 (10-13)
5. Jason Christie: 59-11 (12-05)
6. Greg Vinson: 58-08 (13-08)
7. Jason Williamson: 58-00 (14-00)
8. Alton Jones Jr.: 57-02 (14-14)
9. Jordan Lee: 57-00 (15-00)
10. Cliff Crochet: 56-14 (15-02)
11. Kelley Jaye: 56-07 (15-09)
12. Gerald Swindle: 56-06 (15-10)

Elite Series rookie Alton Jones Jr., who caught the tournament’s biggest stringer on Thursday, made his first top-12 cut with a 17-01 bag today that put him in 8th. He’s coming off back-to-back triple-digit finishes at Toledo Bend and Ross Barnett Reservoir.

Kelly Jaye also made his first top-12 cut as he caught 16-06 today and is in 11th. Jordan Lee improved five spots and made the cut in 9th while reigning AOY Gerald Swindle jumped one spot to 12th to seize the last berth.

Randy Howell slipped from 4th to 20th today while Josh Bertrand (9th to 19th) and Russ Lane (10th to 22nd) also surrendered their spots among the top 12.

Rayburn has drawn rave reviews this week for the amount of fish that have been caught and the overall health of the fishery (cover, etc.). It’s a lake that suits most any style right now, but a good number of fish are still moving out so by Sunday, there’s a chance a fresh batch could be there waiting for the finalists.

There’s a chance of rain Saturday, but nothing significant and Sunday’s forecast is calling for partly cloudy skies and a light wind out of the northeast, which should open up spots that the leaders haven’t been able to tap into yet.

Palaniuk Had Chance at Mega-Bag

> Day 3: 5, 24-07 (15, 72-00)

Palaniuk’s bag today matched his day-1 total, but he knows it could’ve been an epic stringer.

“I had a 9-pound bass at my hand,” he said. “It was bigger than the one I had the first day, no doubt. It just broke off. It was weird because it’s not like she was pulling super hard. Between the cover and her teeth, she won.”

He also lost two others in the 5-pound class.

“All the stuff I’m fishing there’s tons of cover,” he said. “I’m fishing the nastiest stuff I can find. That’s why I knew executing would be the biggest challenge."

The area that produced today was a spot he found a couple days ago and the fish started to congregate there yesterday.

“It’s one of those places they continue to show up at,” he added. “Today really surprised me with how many big ones are there.”

What’s better is he also hasn’t seen another competitor around there either.

“I really hope that everybody has the respect to leave it alone for two more days,” he said. “I’ll give them the waypoints on Monday, but I would hope they don’t (fish it). I laid off some stuff today because I had new spectator boats showing up today and felt like the less I showed more people, the better.”

As for what to expect come Sunday, he’s not sure. He’d like the winds to lay down so he can have free reign over all the areas he found in practice.

“I like that it says winds are going to be light and variable,” he said. “These fish are moving so much now, so I’m curious to see what Sunday brings. I have a lot of stuff I haven’t touched the last 3 days that I’d like to fish.

“I’m taking it hour by hour and playing the conditions and what I feel like the fish are doing. If I get something going, I may stick with it.”

2nd: Ehrler’s Special Spot Produced Again

> Day 3: 5, 24-03 (15, 71-14)

Ehrler capped off today with a 6-04 kicker late in the afternoon that helped him keep pace with Palaniuk. He uncovered a couple new tactics that could serve him well Sunday, but that remains to be seen.

Either way, he’s excited to see how this shakes out.

“It’s going to be interesting,” he said. “I learned a couple things today I think. Whether they pan out, I don’t know. I have a couple things that could potentially be pretty good.”

He continued to hammer areas with shallow grass and timing remains of utmost importance to the Californian, who’d love to capture the second big win of his career in Texas. Not that it would erase the sting of surrendering the lead on the final day of the Bassmaster Classic in March, but he’s currently in line to win a new Toyota Tundra if no one else catches a fish on Sunday that’s bigger than the 9-01 he caught Wednesday.

“I have one special spot where I’ve caught a bunch of big ones,” he said. “There’s one cast I can make and I’ve caught a 9, two 5s and two 4s there so far. I don’t know how many are there. If I can pull up and get one, great. If I can get two, I’ll have a chance at a big bag.

“It’s a spot where I think I won’t catch one the next time there. I can’t tell you why they’re there. It’s not different than anything around it.”

With a day off looming, he’s excited to be able to relax for a bit, but he’s concerned locals might infiltrate the spots he’s been fishing.

“It’ll be nice for the areas to rest, but the bad part is (losing) momentum and the guys who’ve been watching us for the last two days are probably gonna go out and fish,” he said. “That’s really bad. I don’t like that.”

When competition resumes Sunday, his goal is to catch as much as he can as it’s become apparent Palaniuk isn’t slowing down.

“I know where I need to fish. I don’t know if I can stretch it a little and gamble,” he said. “I firmly believe I’m around the fish to win, but I totally believe that Palaniuk can do the same thing. I could catch a 20-pound bag and he catches 22 and wins.”

3rd: No Complaints from Cherry

> Day 3: 5, 19-09 (15, 61-12)

Cherry has averaged more than 20 pounds per day, but is still a considerable distance behind the leaders. He’s not discouraged, though. He’s caught a pile of fish each day, but has lost at least one each day that would’ve given him considerably more weight.

“I’m not going to complain,” he said. “I had another big one break me off (today). The way I see it is if you catch 20 a day and get beat, you just get beat.”

He didn’t experience any significant changes today other than some local anglers in one area.

“Evidently, we started a jerkbait craze down here,” Cherry joked. “It was a little frustrating and they got in my head a little bit this morning.”

He eventually shook it off and got back into a groove of catching them on a suspending jerkbait. He’s looking forward to revisiting some areas Sunday that he hasn’t been back to since practice.

“I’ve saved two stretches where I haven’t been yet,” he said. “I didn’t have any big ones, but I fished through there without hooks and had what felt like a couple big ones bite me. I haven’t been able to go there with waves, but I’m going to go there and give it a shot.”

He’s not counting himself out despite the hefty deficit.

“I’m going to fish for a 10 and if I catch one of those, I make up that deficit with one fish,” he said. “Anything can happen.”

4th: Wheeler Might Go Deep

> Day 3: 5, 16-05 (15, 61-03)

Each day, Wheeler has had a 6-pounder or better counted among his five weigh-in fish. Today, that fish got away.

Still, he’s heartened by the fact he’s in contention for a top-5 finish solely because he’s fished only shallow areas for three days. He put in many hours idling offshore in practice, but the conditions haven’t allowed him to tap into them yet.

“I knew if I fished shallow, I probably didn’t have a chance to win, other than fishing grass,” he said, “but I knew I could come out with a good finish.”

He’s not surprised to find himself more than 10 pounds off the pace despite averaging more than 20 pounds per day.

“It’s just part of it,” he added. “I’d already anticipated that. I didn’t expect to win or anything. Fishing shallow, I knew I’d have to grind for every pound and if I did well every day, I had a chance to have a good tournament.”

He kept to his shallow flipping program today after catching a couple 3-pounders from a schooling spot.

On Sunday, he may go a different direction if the wind allows.

“I probably will switch it up a bit,” he said. “I can probably catch one 6-pounder where I’m at, but I can’t catch four. Thirty pounds is doable. I’m not going to be crazy because every point is valuable here, but it’s a high-risk, high-reward deal. I can stick with what I’ve been doing and catch 18 and finish 3rd or 4th, or I can change it up and try to catch 30 and be comfortable with whatever the outcome is.”

5th: Christie Sticking Shallow

> Day 3: 5, 20-09 (15, 59-11)

Christie has yet to lay his hands on a fish bigger than 4-15 this week. He hopes that changes Sunday.

“In Texas, to win you have to catch a 7- to 10-pounder or two or three of them,” he said. “I haven’t caught anything over 21 inches yet.”

He’s relied almost exclusively on baits he can cover a lot of water with, mainly topwaters.

“Everything I’m doing, I can reel it fast,” he said.

He hadn’t intended on fishing shallow prior to practice, but he’s yet to make a cast out deep this week.

“Today was a lot of more work than it had been,” he added. “I made a couple good culls in the last couple hours. Everybody thinks it’s fun to go the bank and catch fish, but my smallest was a 3-pounder. I didn’t catch a bunch of them.”

25th: Daniels Stuck To Bushes

> Day 3: 5, 17-00 (15, 53-06)

On the second day of practice, Mark Daniels Jr. went to the upper end of the lake and saw endless stretches of flooded bushes. It was a flipper’s paradise. He never had a reason to leave.

He averaged just 18 pounds per day and finished 25th, the third straight top-40 finish for the Elite Series rookie.

“It’s fishing strong right now, ridiculously strong,” he said. “I caught 30 bass a day. It was just a matter of getting through the smaller ones to get one over 3 pounds. That’s the task. The grade of fish I was catching, I couldn’t hang with the guys in the top 15.”

He knows he probably could’ve pursued other patterns in other parts of the lake, but he chose the stained water where he thinks some fish were still spawning. He flipped a Missile Baits D-Bomb under a 1/2-ounce weight on 25-pound Seaguar Flippin’ fluorocarbon line.

“It suited my style,” he said. “There were endless bushes to fish and I knew I could go there every day. I wasn’t sure what I’d be able to catch, but I knew I could be comfortable and that was really important for me.”

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 51 anglers, 51 limits.

Weather Forecast

> Sun., May 21 – Partly Cloudy - 82°/66°
- Wind: From the NE at 5 to 10 mph

Day 3 Standings

1. Brandon Palaniuk -- Hayden, ID -- 15, 72-00 -- 110
Day 1: 5, 24-07 -- Day 2: 5, 23-02 -- Day 3: 5, 24-07

2. Brent Ehrler -- Newport Beach, CA -- 15, 71-14 -- 109 -- $500.00
Day 1: 5, 25-06 -- Day 2: 5, 22-05 -- Day 3: 5, 24-03

3. Hank Cherry Jr -- Lincolnton, NC -- 15, 61-12 -- 108
Day 1: 5, 23-08 -- Day 2: 5, 18-11 -- Day 3: 5, 19-09

4. Jacob Wheeler -- Indianapolis, IN -- 15, 61-03 -- 107
Day 1: 5, 21-07 -- Day 2: 5, 23-07 -- Day 3: 5, 16-05

5. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, OK -- 15, 59-11 -- 106
Day 1: 5, 20-13 -- Day 2: 5, 18-05 -- Day 3: 5, 20-09

6. Greg Vinson -- Wetumpka, AL -- 15, 58-08 -- 105
Day 1: 5, 21-02 -- Day 2: 5, 21-15 -- Day 3: 5, 15-07

7. Jason Williamson -- Wagener, SC -- 15, 58-00 -- 104
Day 1: 5, 18-09 -- Day 2: 5, 23-15 -- Day 3: 5, 15-08

8. Alton Jones Jr. Lorena, TX -- 15, 57-02 -- 103
Day 1: 5, 13-07 -- Day 2: 5, 26-10 -- Day 3: 5, 17-01

9. Jordan Lee -- Grant, AL -- 15, 57-00 -- 102
Day 1: 5, 22-10 -- Day 2: 5, 16-13 -- Day 3: 5, 17-09

10. Cliff Crochet -- Pierre Part, LA -- 15, 56-14 -- 101
Day 1: 5, 23-01 -- Day 2: 5, 18-14 -- Day 3: 5, 14-15

11. Kelley Jaye -- Dadeville, AL -- 15, 56-07 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 21-09 -- Day 2: 5, 18-08 -- Day 3: 5, 16-06

12. Gerald Swindle -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 56-06 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 21-14 -- Day 2: 5, 17-13 -- Day 3: 5, 16-11

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 4.

13. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 15, 56-06 -- 98 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 19-13 -- Day 2: 5, 16-02 -- Day 3: 5, 20-07

14. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 15, 56-05 -- 97 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 22-03 -- Day 2: 5, 14-03 -- Day 3: 5, 19-15

15. David Mullins -- Mt Carmel, TN -- 15, 55-12 -- 96 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 19-08 -- Day 2: 5, 17-07 -- Day 3: 5, 18-13

16. Micah Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 15, 55-11 -- 95 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 17-08 -- Day 2: 5, 18-07 -- Day 3: 5, 19-12

17. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 15, 55-06 -- 94 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 14-08 -- Day 2: 5, 19-11 -- Day 3: 5, 21-03

18. Ish Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 15, 55-03 -- 93 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 18-07 -- Day 2: 5, 16-05 -- Day 3: 5, 20-07

19. Josh Bertrand -- Gilbert, AZ -- 15, 55-02 -- 92 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 17-03 -- Day 2: 5, 23-07 -- Day 3: 5, 14-08

20. Randy Howell -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 54-13 -- 91 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 23-15 -- Day 2: 5, 19-13 -- Day 3: 5, 11-01

21. Bradley Roy -- Lancaster, KY -- 15, 54-08 -- 90 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 20-01 -- Day 2: 5, 18-04 -- Day 3: 5, 16-03

22. Russ Lane -- Prattville, AL -- 15, 54-05 -- 89 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 20-07 -- Day 2: 5, 20-01 -- Day 3: 5, 13-13

23. Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 15, 54-03 -- 88 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 18-11 -- Day 2: 5, 17-04 -- Day 3: 5, 18-04

24. Dustin Connell -- Clanton, AL -- 15, 53-06 -- 87 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 16-08 -- Day 2: 5, 19-05 -- Day 3: 5, 17-09

25. Mark Daniels Jr. -- Tuskegee, AL -- 15, 53-06 -- 86 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 17-03 -- Day 2: 5, 19-03 -- Day 3: 5, 17-00

26. Bobby Lane Jr. -- Lakeland, FL -- 15, 52-14 -- 85 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 11-14 -- Day 2: 5, 24-09 -- Day 3: 5, 16-07

27. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 15, 52-13 -- 84 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 16-08 -- Day 2: 5, 19-01 -- Day 3: 5, 17-04

28. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 15, 52-08 -- 83 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 17-08 -- Day 2: 5, 16-06 -- Day 3: 5, 18-10

29. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 15, 52-04 -- 82 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 16-05 -- Day 2: 5, 20-06 -- Day 3: 5, 15-09

30. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, OK -- 15, 52-01 -- 81 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 16-07 -- Day 2: 5, 17-04 -- Day 3: 5, 18-06

31. Robbie Latuso -- Gonzales, LA -- 15, 51-11 -- 80 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 19-09 -- Day 2: 5, 16-03 -- Day 3: 5, 15-15

32. James Elam -- Tulsa, OK -- 15, 51-09 -- 79 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 20-06 -- Day 2: 5, 18-04 -- Day 3: 5, 12-15

33. Luke Clausen -- Otis Orchards, WA -- 15, 51-08 -- 78 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 13-11 -- Day 2: 5, 19-02 -- Day 3: 5, 18-11

34. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, AR -- 15, 51-08 -- 77 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 17-15 -- Day 2: 5, 16-02 -- Day 3: 5, 17-07

35. Ott DeFoe -- Knoxville, TN -- 15, 51-07 -- 76 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 20-15 -- Day 2: 5, 13-15 -- Day 3: 5, 16-09

36. Clent Davis -- Montevallo, AL -- 15, 50-14 -- 75 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 17-12 -- Day 2: 5, 19-13 -- Day 3: 5, 13-05

37. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 15, 50-11 -- 74 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 18-05 -- Day 2: 5, 16-13 -- Day 3: 5, 15-09

38. Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, AR -- 15, 50-06 -- 73 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 20-14 -- Day 2: 5, 15-02 -- Day 3: 5, 14-06

39. Jacob Powroznik -- North Prince George, VA 15 -- 50-00 -- 72 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 12-11 -- Day 2: 5, 20-02 -- Day 3: 5, 17-03

40. Drew Benton -- Panama City, FL -- 15, 49-00 -- 71 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 13-15 -- Day 2: 5, 19-12 -- Day 3: 5, 15-05

41. Randall Tharp -- Port St. Joe, FL -- 15, 48-13 -- 70 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 16-06 -- Day 2: 5, 16-04 -- Day 3: 5, 16-03

42. Matt Lee -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 48-07 -- 69 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 19-11 -- Day 2: 5, 15-00 -- Day 3: 5, 13-12

43. Britt Myers -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 15, 48-00 -- 68 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 20-00 -- Day 2: 5, 13-01 -- Day 3: 5, 14-15

44. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 15, 48-00 -- 67 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 14-14 -- Day 2: 5, 17-06 -- Day 3: 5, 15-12

45. Brandon Coulter -- Knoxville, TN -- 15, 47-10 -- 66 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 14-02 -- Day 2: 5, 22-08 -- Day 3: 5, 11-00

46. Jonathon VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 15, 47-08 -- 65 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 14-08 -- Day 2: 5, 18-03 -- Day 3: 5, 14-13

47. Marty Robinson -- Lyman, SC -- 15, 47-07 -- 64 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 14-10 -- Day 2: 5, 17-14 -- Day 3: 5, 14-15

48. Kelly Jordon -- Flint, TX -- 15, 47-00 -- 63 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 17-01 -- Day 2: 5, 17-13 -- Day 3: 5, 12-02

49. Justin Lucas -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 46-06 -- 62 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 16-11 -- Day 2: 5, 17-01 -- Day 3: 5, 12-10

50. Chris Lane -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 45-04 -- 61 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 18-05 -- Day 2: 5, 13-15 -- Day 3: 5, 13-00

51. Fred Roumbanis -- London, AR -- 15, 44-07 -- 60 -- $11,000.00
Day 1: 5, 14-08 -- Day 2: 5, 18-07 -- Day 3: 5, 11-08