Palaniuk to compete in Bassmaster Elite Series

COEUR d'ALENE -

Brandon Palaniuk, of Rathdrum, is one of 112 anglers nationwide - and the only one from Idaho - who will be touring on the 2014 Bassmaster Elite Series.

For Palaniuk, 26, it is his fourth year on the elite tour. In 2014, it is a nine-event and $6.3 million circuit.

"Everyone starts back at zero," Palaniuk said Monday. "It's an even playing field for Angler of the Year and every tournament."

Among the events on the tour, he said he's looking forward to fishing the Delaware River, in Pennsylvania.

"That's one not a lot of guys have a lot of prior experience on," he said.

He's also looking forward to the Cayuga Lake event in New York.

"It sounds like the lake sets up a lot like Lake Coeur d'Alene," he said. The fish live in a similar environment to Coeur d'Alene, with a lot of docks, clear water and grasses similar to Coeur d'Alene.

The toughest part of the tour? Traveling.

"The closest event is like 1,500 miles - one way," he said.

He drives to each event, logging about 50,000 miles per year on fishing-event related travel. It comes to about 300 days per year on the road, starting in January.

For the 2014 Bassmaster Elite Series, the 112 anglers make it the largest field since the inception of the elite series in 2006.

"Not only is this the largest field we've ever had, but it may be the strongest," said tournament director Trip Weldon. "It's loaded with talented, world-class anglers."

Forty-three of the Elite anglers will kick off the 2014 season by competing in the Bassmaster Classic Feb. 21-23 at Birmingham and Lake Guntersville, Ala.

The entire field will compete in eight Bassmaster Elite Series events beginning with the opener March 13-16 on Lake Seminole, Ga., and including stops on the St. Johns River, Fla.; Table Rock Lake, Mo.; Toledo Bend Reservoir, La.; Lake Dardanelle, Ark.; Lake Chickamauga, Tenn.; the Delaware River, Pa.; and Cayuga Lake, N.Y.

The Chickamauga event June 12-15 features a $1 million payout, and it's part of a fan festival in Dayton, Tenn., billed as "BASSfest."

The elite season ends with the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship tournament in which the Top 50 anglers in the points rankings will compete for a share of the $900,000 Angler of the Year purse.