Rathdrum's Palaniuk takes lead in Bassmaster Elite event

From news services

OKEECHOBEE, Fla. —  Big Florida bass are notorious for making you wait for their feeding windows. 

Brandon Palaniuk of Rathdrum knows the game, and his patience paid huge dividends with a phenomenal day that moved him atop the leaderboard for the Champion Power Equipment Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee with a two-day total of 58 pounds, 1 ounce.

Palaniuk, the five-time Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series winner and two-time Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year, placed third on Day 1 with 23-7. Following a 90-minute Day 2 fog delay, Palaniuk returned to the canal spillway he fished a day earlier and sacked up 34-10 — his personal best and the heaviest bag weighed in a Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee.

Palaniuk, the former Lakeland High and North Idaho College wrestler, heads into Semifinal Saturday with a lead of 9-12 over Day 1 leader Greg DiPalma.

“This is the most epic day I’ve ever had — pure insanity,” Palaniuk said. “I caught seven bass today.”

Palaniuk’s mega sack comprised two bass over 9 pounds, along with a 7 1/2, a 4-0, and one nearly 3 1/2.

“It was an absolute incredible day,” Palaniuk said. “It’s not like I caught a bunch. I had seven bites all day; I just had the right ones. All week I’ve been saying, ‘High hopes, low expectations.’

“That’s kinda carried me through, and I may live and die by that this week. Tomorrow, it’ll be the same thing. I’m in an area that has big ones, but it depends on if they show up or not.”

Returning to a Day 1 hotspot is nothing new, but Palaniuk’s tale defined persistence and confidence. Repeating the first day’s scenario, Palaniuk shared a key stretch with DiPalma, Will Davis Jr and Tim Dube.

The difference — a much slower start. Palaniuk caught a 4-pounder at 9 a.m. on a Megabass Kanata jerkbait, but the next two hours were lean.

Late morning found Palaniuk’s neighbors exploring other sections of the spillway canal and ultimately relocating, but he was too impressed with what he saw on his sonar screen. All alone when the late-morning light switch flipped, Palaniuk amassed the majority of his weight in about an hour and a half.

“Patience was a big thing,” Palaniuk said. “I knew I was inside the (Top 50) cut and I didn’t have anything else on this body of water that compared to that.

“I think having as tough of a practice as I did made it easier to stay. What else am I gonna do? I stuck it out and I was able to cycle through baits and figure out some different things that I didn’t figure out yesterday.”

On a day when many anglers opted for slower, coaxing techniques, Palaniuk stepped on the gas and challenged the fish to catch his moving baits. Going big and bold, he also caught fish on a prototype Megabass crankbait and a Megabass Big M 4.0.

Coming off the worst season of his professional career, in which he missed the cut for the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic, Palaniuk said this week’s success has brought much-needed encouragement.

“The thing I’ve learned in life is that a lot of my greatest moments come after my hardest times,” Palaniuk said. “The hardest times are usually followed by the greatest moments if you’re willing to push through.

“When I won my first Angler of the Year title in 2017, I finished 105th on (Lake Okeechobee), so to have the first two days that I’ve had now is pretty special. There’s definitely a little fire to make it happen this week.”

DiPalma, from Millville, N.J., is in second place with 48-5. After topping the Day 1 standings with 29-12 — the event’s second largest bag — he added a Day 2 bag of 18-9.

Davis, of Sylacauga, Ala., is in third place with 39-5. His daily weights were 26-2 and 13-3.

Today’s takeoff is scheduled for 4 a.m. PT at C. Scott Driver Park. The weigh-in will be held at the park at noon.

Bassmaster LIVE will be streaming on Bassmaster.com, and coverage will also be available on FS1 today from 5-8 a.m. and Sunday from 5-7 a.m. 

Information: Bassmaster.com/how-to-watch/