Palaniuk extends lead in fishing event
From news services
DETROIT - Following the first day of competition, Brandon Palaniuk of Rathdrum claimed that paying attention to the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings was negatively affecting how he approached each day.
He hasn't checked the points in a couple of months. He's been swinging for the fence ever since.
His fresh approach is clearly working to his advantage because he weighed 20 pounds of smallmouth bass to retain the lead going into today's championship round in the Plano Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair. His three-day total was pushed to 64 pounds, 5 ounces, keeping exactly 2 pounds between him and the second-place angler, Todd Faircloth.
"I started my day in the same place where I managed to catch three nice fish and one that I hoped to cull out later," said Palaniuk, the former Lakeland High and North Idaho College wrestler.
He hooked, fought and boated all four bass on Bassmaster Live, an innovative video service that lets visitors to Bassmaster.com watch the leaders fish in real time.
"I left a little earlier, based on what I learned from the past couple days," Palaniuk said. "It seems that the bite is shut off by noon, and I knew there were quality fish in St. Clair that could help me wrap up a limit."
Palaniuk believes that to seal the victory today, he'll need his hot spot near Lake Huron - a 50-minute boat ride from Lake St. Clair - to produce another limit of 4-pound bass.
Coming in under the radar to take over second, Faircloth weighed five bass for 21-11 Saturday, including the Bass Pro Shops big Bass of the day, a 6-3 smallmouth. He has a three-day total of 62 pounds, 5 ounces.
James Elam is in third place with a three-day total of 61 pounds, 8 ounces. He said he plans to grind it out on a spot that he's been sharing with Palaniuk since Thursday.
"The fishing is slow and takes a great deal of concentration on that particular spot," Elam said. "However, the fish that I do catch there are big, and it's time to go for broke. I'm pretty confident the tournament will be won on this particular spot. Brandon has been very cordial and willing to share the water, it'll be interesting to see how it plays out."