Palaniuk Touts Peace of Mind and Irregularities

Team Toyota pro is looking to capitalize on specific irregularities in the 2025 Champion Power Equipment Bassmaster Elite on Lake Okeechobee. 

The Florida swing is absolutely wild for Bassmaster Elite pros. With rapidly warming temperatures on the horizon and presumably a bunch of bass flocking to the shallows to spawn, Team Toyota pro Brandon Palaniuk is trying his best to take all three phases of the spawn into account this week on Lake Okeechobee.

One may think the bass would be on bed this time of year but according to Palaniuk, that may not be the case.

“This is not even close to bed fishing right now, in my mind,” Palaniuk said. “If you’re fishing in Florida in February, you have a mix of all three phases of the spawn and you need to be ready for all of them. If you land on the right group or wave of fish, you can  right in a hurry. But I don’t think it’s going to turn out that way in this event.”

Largemouth bass in this part of the world do things very differently than bass located in other states. Normally, you’d expect to see bass moving into pockets and coves by following contour lines; it’s almost like a rest stop along the highway. But when it comes to giant Florida bass, they’ll use grass lines and edges almost as some sort of contour and travel route.

“The largemouth in Florida tend to get very particular about where they like to set up,” Palaniuk said. “It can be a tiny depth change or something of the sort, but they get really focused on very key areas. It can be depth changes, bottom composition or even the specific type of grass. This is a huge lake and finding these key areas and nuances is extremely important.”

While you’d expect for these largemouth to be fairly predictable in nature, Palaniuk warns against this line of thinking.  Many anglers would think you could go through massive spawning flats with fast-moving baits, but he is a little hesitant about that strategy.

“You’d think that fast-moving reaction baits would be a big deal when it comes to locating fish but throughout all of my experience, that’s not usually the case,” Palaniuk said. “These Florida bass don’t always try to chase down a bait, especially during the spawn, so it can make for a challenging practice. While it makes sense efficiency-wise to throw moving baits during the practice period, sometimes you have to follow your gut and just pitch and flip around in order to locate the fish and get quality bites. I think that’s what makes Florida more challenging than other many other states and fisheries we visit.”

Irregularities in vegetation are a big part of Palaniuk’s bass-fishing plan. Just as bass might follow depth contours in other lakes, Okeechobee bass tend to follow small edge changes in vegetation.

“I’m looking for one type of grass that might be different than the others,” Palaniuk said. “So, if I’m in a pad field, I might look for eel grass or something different. If that vegetation line makes a turn, point or a pocket, I’m all about it. All of those characteristics make for an outstanding ambush point and a bass can suck itself in and ambush unsuspecting prey. They’re opportunistic feeders and want to use the least amount of energy possible to get their next meal.”

The correct mentality also proves to be a major aspect of Palaniuk’s game. He has long-been known as someone who’s a steadfast mental warrior. This doesn’t and has not changed with his approach to this tournament.

“When it comes to competing as this level, a giant difference can come in the form of your mental game and confidence,” Palaniuk said. “For me personally, I’m all about peace of mind and the fact that I’m towing my boat behind a Toyota Tundra, I’m absolutely positive that I won’t have any distractions throughout the season. Your boat needs to be right, your tow vehicle… everything has to be working perfectly. While I’m trying to catch these finicky Florida fish, I need as few distractions as possible.”

Will Palaniuk crack the Okeechobee code? We will see but one thing is for certain: He’ll be fishing irregularities in vegetation and trying his best to slow down and methodically fish for those big female Florida largemouth.