Brandon Palaniuk of Hayden, Idaho, holds on to first place in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year race on the first day of the 2017 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship held on Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota, with 903 points.
Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.

September 14, 2017

ONAMIA, Minn. — It’s rare for an angler to finish 19th in the first round of a major tournament and end up totally setting the buzz for the event.

It’s rarer still for that angler to seem totally satisfied with his performance.

But after catching 21 pounds, 4 ounces of smallmouth bass and placing 19th Thursday, Brandon Palaniuk seemed to sense he was closing in on the goal he set before this week’s Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship — and that was to win his first career AOY title.

His 19th-place finish on Mille Lacs Lake — combined with a 26th-place finish by his closest AOY competitor Jason Christie (20-8) and a ninth-place showing by Tennessee pro Jacob Wheeler (22-10) — kept Palaniuk in the AOY lead by a margin of 22 points.

The three-time B.A.S.S. winner from Hayden, Idaho, is now just two more solid days away from the biggest accomplishment of his pro-fishing career.

“I was hoping to catch 23 pounds a day,” Palaniuk said. “I figured that would be enough to give me a chance to win the actual event this week — and if I win, the AOY will take care of itself. So now, I just have to go out and catch 25 (Friday) to even it out.”

Palaniuk started near the launch site at Eddy’s Resort, but he rarely stayed in one spot long as he culled his way up to 21-4.

“I ran a lot,” he said. “I just hopped from place to place to place. I’m trying to fish the highest-percentage areas I can, and I haven’t found any one place where I felt confident there was a big school where I could go in and catch them like I did the last time we were here.”

Though there was some talk during practice that the fishing at Mille Lacs had slowed down a little since it burst onto the national scene during last year’s AOY Championship, the lake showed out again Thursday. It was ranked No. 1 in the nation on Bassmaster Magazine’s 100 Best Bass Lakes list this year.

The Top 29 anglers — more than half of the 50-man field — caught at least 20-4, and only four anglers failed to break 15-0.

Christie, who came into the day trailing Palaniuk by 15 points in the AOY Standings (811-796) caught 20-8 and finished 26th in the daily standings. He actually lost ground in the AOY race and is now trailing Palaniuk by 22 points, 903-881.

“Compared to the practice I had, I really had an okay day here today,” Christie said. “I just didn’t catch any of those great big ones — that 5 1/2-pounder or 5 1/4 that you really need to make up a lot of ground here.”

Christie said he weighed in five fish that were in the 4 1/2-pound range — and he was glad to have them.

“I was a little bit worried about even catching one,” he said. “In the position I’m in this week, if you get out there and start worrying about not catching one, you start moving around a lot. Catching a few early kind of settled me down.”

Wheeler’s ninth-place finish left him 23 points back of Palaniuk, but it moved him to within one point of Christie (881-880) in the race for second place.

“This is exactly what I needed,” Wheeler said. “A lot of people have been saying this is a two-man race between Brandon and Jason. But realistically, if you have one bad day on this lake, you’re in 40th place.

“So, this was exactly what I needed. I just need to go out and do it a couple of more times.”

Alabama angler Dustin Connell finished 24th Thursday with 20-9 and took the lead in the Toyota Bassmaster Rookie of the Year standings with 765 total points. New York pro Jamie Hartman fell to second, and despite finishing in 48th place on the first day of competition is only one point behind with 764 for ROY.

Unlike the last two years, there will be prize money and a trophy awarded to the angler who has the best three-day weight during the AOY Championship.

Texas angler Keith Combs grabbed the early lead in that race Thursday with a bag of 24-15. Michigan angler Jonathon VanDam was second with 24-2, and Pennsylvania angler Dave Lefebre was third with 23-7.

The full field will fish again Friday and Sunday to determine the AOY Championship and the event winner. Daily takeoffs will be held each day at 6:50 a.m. CT from Eddy’s Resort, and daily weigh-ins will be held at 3:45 p.m. at Grand Casino Mille Lacs.

The field will take a break Saturday for Bassmaster University. Anglers will be conducting seminars and greeting fans near the weigh-in stand at Grand Casino Mille Lacs in conjunction with the Bassmaster Elite Series Outdoors Expo. Companies such as Toyota, Huk, Power-Pole and Berkley will be onsite featuring their latest products. Fans will be able to enjoy free boat and motor demo rides from Skeeter, Yamaha, Nitro, Triton and Mercury. There will also be arts and crafts and food vendors and activities for kids.

All venues are free and open to the public. The expo will begin at 11 a.m. CT. For more information and a full list of activities, visit Bassmaster.com/news/attend-toyota-bassmaster-angler-year-championship.

The championship is hosted by Grand Casino Mille Lacs.

 

Angler Points Lbs-Oz
1 Brandon Palaniuk Hayden, ID 903 324- 2
2 Jason Christie Park Hill, OK 881 314- 9
3 Jacob Wheeler Harrison, TN 880 327-15
4 Jordan Lee Grant, AL 825 312- 3
5 Casey Ashley Donalds, SC 815 310- 2
6 Edwin Evers Talala, OK 804 295- 8
7 Ott DeFoe Blaine, TN 803 314-10
8 Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 787 306-14
9 Keith Combs Huntington, TX 771 301-11
10 Dustin Connell Clanton, AL 765 308- 0
11 Jamie Hartman Newport, NY 764 301- 2
12 Brent Ehrler Redlands, CA 760 301- 0
13 Seth Feider Isle, MN 753 297- 8
14 Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo, MI 750 300- 0
15 Aaron Martens Leeds, AL 744 285- 4
16 Mark Daniels Jr. Tuskegee, AL 729 294- 1
17 Todd Faircloth Jasper, TX 726 297-13
18 Gerald Swindle Guntersville, AL 724 294-10
19 Matt Lee Guntersville, AL 723 293- 5
20 Bobby Lane Jr. Lakeland, FL 722 287-10
21 Clifford Pirch Payson, AZ 717 286- 4
22 Russ Lane Prattville, AL 708 296- 7
23 Mark Davis Mount Ida, AR 701 301- 5
24 Cliff Pace Petal, MS 700 294- 4
25 John Crews Jr Salem, VA 698 290- 3
26 Luke Clausen Otis Orchards, WA 693 264-15
27 Bradley Roy Lancaster, KY 684 290- 2
28 Brandon Coulter Knoxville, TN 682 291-15
29 James Elam Tulsa, OK 682 289-11
30 Randy Howell Guntersville, AL 680 298- 8
31 Alton Jones Lorena, TX 679 279- 0
32 Micah Frazier Newnan, GA 673 289- 6
33 David Walker Sevierville, TN 672 279- 1
34 Hank Cherry Jr Lincolnton, NC 669 285-14
35 Jesse Wiggins Cullman, AL 664 290-10
36 Skeet Reese Auburn, CA 660 271- 0
37 Josh Bertrand San Tan Valley, AZ 658 284- 9
38 Dave Lefebre Erie, PA 658 282-15
39 Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 657 282- 6
40 Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 649 284- 0
41 Jason Williamson Wagener, SC 646 285- 1
42 Kelley Jaye Dadeville, AL 646 284- 2
43 Jonathon VanDam Kalamazoo, MI 644 280-12
44 Jacob Powroznik North Prince George, VA 634 272-14
45 Ish Monroe Hughson, CA 633 271-14
46 Michael Iaconelli Pitts Grove, NJ 627 278- 9
47 Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 625 275- 1
48 Adrian Avena Vineland, NJ 621 278- 0
49 Mike McClelland Bentonville, AR 616 279- 9
50 Brock Mosley Collinsville, MS 610 267-14