Brandon Palaniuk is a homerun hitter. Like most power hitters, he either gets ‘all of the ball’ or strikes out. He came to the Bassmaster Elite Series Mississippi River Rumble needing, desperately, to hit a homerun if he hoped to fish his 4^th consecutive Bassmaster Classic.

At the midway point in the event Palaniuk leads with a two-day total weight of 37 pounds, 7 ounces. In typical fashion, Palaniuk has not only claimed a lead, but has opened a wide gap (6 full pounds) between himself and his nearest competition, Aaron Martens. Much of that gap came in the form of today’s largest lunker which weighed 5 pounds, 9 ounces.

When he is on, Palaniuk is on.

And this week the 25-year-old is catching smallmouth, a species he is used to seeing in his native Idaho. Brownies didn’t figure into successful game plans when the Elites visited La Crosse, WI last summer but this year the water is clear and cool and the grass is sparse compared to the mats that provided a froggin’/flippin’ festival last year.

There must be at least a few flippin’ fish around though, as Tommy Biffle is 3^rd with 30 pounds – just 7 ounces behind Martens.

John Crews is 4^th with 28-8 and Todd Faircloth 5^th with 28-4.

Most pros saw their weights dip a little today. It took 23-5 to make the top 50 and collect a $10,000. Bill Lowen had 23-5 but was the first man out of the cut due to tiebreaker rules. Stephen Browning has the honors of launching tomorrow in the 50^th spot.

Weather played a role this morning. Winds of up to 40 mph and sideways rain delayed the launch until about 8 A.M. Conditions improved a couple of hours later but contestants still got wet, And boat rides were ‘sporty’ according to the pros.

Dean Rojas rides the waves. Photo by Darren Jacobson/B.A.S.S.