Palaniuk Stays Steady, Christie Moves Up

By BassFan Staff

Brandon Palaniuk added seven points to his lead in the Bassmaster Angler of the Year race by catching a 21-04 bag on day 1 of the AOY Championship at Mille Lacs Lake in Minnesota. He came in just 3 ounces lighter than that on day 2, but saw his cushion reduced by 10 points with one day remaining in the season.

If he hadn't caught a huge fish with just minutes left in the day, he likely would've lost his advantage altogether.

Palaniuk dropped only one place in the tournament standings on Friday, but Jason Christie moved up nine with a 22-09 haul that put him in 19th. Those two will start Sunday's final round separated by 12 points in the chase for the AOY crown, with Jacob Wheeler another five points back.

Keith Combs caught his second straight 24-15 stringer and leads the event with a 49-14 total. He's 2-10 in front of James Elam, who boxed 23-15 for a 47-04 total.

Clifford Pirch tied Combs for the top stringer of the day and climbed to 3rd with a 47-01 aggregate. Wheeler (24-05 on Friday), Jonathon VanDam (22-13) and Matt Lee (23-11) were deadlocked in the No. 5 position with 46-15.

Here's a look at the top 12 in the tournament standings, with red numbers in parentheses indicating deficit margins from the leader:

1. Keith Combs: 49-14
2. James Elam: 47-04 (2-10)
3. Clifford Pirch: 47-01 (2-13)
4. (tie) Jacob Wheeler: 46-15 (2-15)
4. (tie) Jonathon VanDam: 46-15 (2-15)
4. (tie) Matt Lee: 46-15 (2-15)
7. Jordan Lee: 46-00 (3-14)
8. Skeet Reese: 45-12 (4-02)
9. (tie) Luke Clausen: 45-01 (4-13)
9. (tie) Russ Lane: 45-01 (4-13)
11. Mark Daniels Jr.: 44-13 (5-01)
12. Seth Feider: 44-09 (5-05)

The sun and calmness of day 1 gave way to dark, drizzly skies and a stiff breeze, but the weather change seemingly had little effect on the lake's big smallmouth. For the second consecutive day, 29 of the 50 competitors brought at least 20 pounds to the scale.

Pirch and Reese were the only newcomers to the top 12. Reese, who came into the event needing to move up several places to qualify for the 2018 Classic, weighed 24-02 on day 2 and has jumped from 41st to 34th in the points standings (the current Classic cut-off is 38th).

The field will take Saturday off to participate in fan-oriented activities before returning to the water on Sunday. The final-day weather forecast calls for partly cloudy skies, a high temperature of 62 degrees and wind from the west that should reach 10 mph.

Late Bruiser Saves Palaniuk

> Day 2: 5, 21-04 (10, 42-05)

Palaniuk said he caught only about half the number of keepers (10) that he did on day 1. His final fish, which weighed nearly 6 pounds, boosted his stringer by about 3 pounds and salvaged an otherwise difficult day.

"I really struggled all day," he said. "The weather didn't help – I couldn't be as efficient as I was yesterday. I was getting some bites, but not the good, solid 4-pound bites.

"I was fortunate to catch that giant on my last drop."

He broke off three fish on day 2 – something that didn't occur at all the previous day.

"That was kind of weird – I think they just got me around a bigger rock and cut (the line) off. Who knows how big they were."

He said he'll welcome the off day, as he's not focused on one locale, but rather bouncing around to dozens.

"Last year I was concentrating on one area and those fish disappeared. This year I'm running a ton of different stuff and I don't know where in my lineup of waypoints I'm going to catch them.

"The day off should allow the fish to set up a little better and the weather will be nasty, so I doubt there'll be a bunch of locals out there beating on them. That should be a good thing."

Christie Needs Some 5s

> Day 2: 5, 22-09 (10, 43-01)

Christies jump in the standings was precipitated by a bag that surpassed his previous day's haul by about 2 pounds.

"I got some bites that were a little bigger, but I still haven't caught anything real big – I haven't seen anything over 5," he said. "I feel like to have a chance on Sunday I'm going to need four or five of those. If it's meant to be, it'll happen."

He went through 15 to 20 keepers and didn't lose anything that would've aided his cause. He's plying mid-depths and employing standard smallmouth tactics.

"I'm fishing a big area, like 4 or 5 miles, but I've only got five or six spots in that area where I think I can catch some. I just have to hit them at the right time.

"Having the day off, maybe the fish will regroup, and I need to regroup, too. Maybe the wind will shift and more fish will come in, or the ones that are there might leave."

Wheeler has Little Left to Gain

> Day 2: 5, 24-05 (46-15)

Wheeler put a sizable dent in his points-race deficit, but will need both Palaniuk and Christie to backslide in order to claim the AOY in his first year on the circuit.

"I've dug myself too much of a hole," he said. "I took a gamble at St. Clair that didn't pay off – I know I could've picked up 10 points there, but I felt like I needed 20 points. It always comes down to strategy and when it doesn't work, that's just part of it.

"I've had a great year and I don't have any regrets. Now I'm just trying to fish a full day, every day, and not leave anything out there on the water."

He said he caught 30 keepers on day 2 and 14 of them were in excess of 4 pounds – he culled a 22-pound stringer. He compiled most of his weight in the initial hour.

"I just put my head down and tried to catch them as quick as possible, and I had 22 pounds by 7:45. I mixed it up and caught some cranking, some shallow on a swimbait and some out deep on a dropshot.

"I've got multiple things going on and a certain times they're biting one thing and at other times another."

Combs Worked Harder

> Day 2: 5, 24-15 (10, 49-14)

Combs' weight was identical to day 1, but the day transpired differently.

"I was on that good school yesterday morning and caught them real early," he said. "Today I caught some right off the bat, but it wasn't as intense. I kind of had to work for them.

"I caught more fish today later in the day, but I didn't make any upgrades. From 9 o'clock on I only culled up a few ounces."

He handled about a dozen keepers, the biggest of which weighed 5-05.

"Yesterday I laid off a lot of stuff that I thought would be really good today, but most of it wasn't. Some of the places that were good in practice didn't have fish on them and that was surprising.

"I'm hoping that a couple areas will replenish on the off day. One of two things is going to happen – they'll totally leave or they'll regroup. I'm hoping it's the latter."

Elam in Good Shape

> Day 2: 5, 23-15 (10, 47-04)

Elam has moved up to 29th place in the AOY standings – well inside the Classic cutoff. He says he's unaware of his position, though.

"I haven't looked," he said. "I know I'm in a good place right now, but I've got to catch them one more day. I bombed in the last two tournaments (103rd at Champlain and 97th at St. Clair), so I knew I had to stomp them here.

"There's no use looking (at the points list) because it really doesn't matter. I need to keep catching them the best I can."

So far he's relied on one good school of fish that he's sharing with another competitor. He boated 10 keepers on day 2 and the five he took to the stage all weighed were all in the 4 3/4-pound class.

"I've got one other place that I drove over on the first day and there was nobody there, so I just kept going. I don't know if the fish are still there, but it's my only solid backup."

Notable

> Day 2 stats – 50 anglers, 50 limits.

> For full tournament standings, click here.

Weather Forecast

> Sun., Sept. 17 – Partly Cloudy - 62°/45°
- Wind: From the W at 10 mph