Palaniuk's Plan & Perseverence

Brandon Palaniuk, B.A.S.S. photo by James Overstreet

No contingency plans complicated the thinking of Brandon Palaniuk at the St. Lawrence River. Gunning for a Bassmaster Classic bid, he fished the event as if it was the Classic, with an all-or-nothing style. The bass he believed could set him apart from the field and bring him the victory he needed lived in an area of Lake Ontario that was more than 100 miles from the launch site, and he committed to go after those fish every day, if he could get possibly there, no matter how rough a ride he'd have to endure or how little time he actually would have to fish each day.

The plan worked and worked exceptionally well. Palaniuk's 88-pound, 12-ounce four-day bag brought him victory with a 7 1/2-pound margin over Jonathan VanDam, who himself finished with 2 1/2 more pounds than anyone else in the field. Palaniuk needed only a solid final day because of the lead he had built through the first three days, but instead he put a huge exclamation point on the win with more than 23 pounds of beautiful Lake Ontario bronze.

Palaniuk caught most of his fish on a drop-shot rig, which he fished off steep points inside two major Lake Ontario bays. His primary bait was a green pumpkin Berkley PowerBait Twitchtail Minnow, which he fished on 8-pound-test Fireline Crystal with a 6-pound Berkley Trilene 100 percent fluorocarbon leader. Terminal tackle included a No. 2 Gamakatsu splitshot/dropshot hook and a 3/8-ounce tungsten dropshot weight.

I commend Brandon Palaniuk for crafting a plan he believed in and persisting, ignoring every voice around that said there were too many things that "could happed." He fully understood all those risks -- especially on the third morning when the winds were the worst -- but he also knew that with the quality of the fishery in so much of the river it would be tough to clearly separate himself from the pack without committing to the giant run for to those larger lake fish. He went for it all and got it and will be fishing in Guntersville in February instead of working the show floor. Well played!

Christie's Conundum

Jason Christie - B.A.S.S. Photo by James Overstreet

It's hard to not wonder what Jason Christie is thinking today as he works the smallmouth-rich waters of New York's St. Lawrence River.

On one hand he must be glad to have made the cut and earned a check for at least $10,000, and by theory at least to still be in contention to win the tournament. On the other hand, practice begins tomorrow morning for the Forrest Wood Cup, the FLW Tour championship that carries a top prize of 1/2 million dollars, and he's more than 20 hours drive away from the venue. And when it comes down to it, he's 20 places and more than 7 pounds back in a tournament where the guys in front of him have been absolutely whacking them, so he's chances of winning this weekend are pretty slim.

As of this morning, Christie was only a pound and a half out of the Top 12 cut. Were he to get a good bag today, he could easily move up just enough to be fishing again tomorrow. That would mean missing all of the first day of practice for the Cup and much of the second day, I would have to think. He's using the same boat for both events, so even if he could get an evening flight out, his boat wouldn't arrive in Louisiana for close to a fully day after it leaves New York. He has a friend helping with the driving, and last I knew he didn't know if he would fly or go with the truck and boat. I also don't know whether practicing in a different boat part of the time is a legal and legitimate option.

If today he were to catch them well enough to maybe make the 12 but didn't see himself legitimately in contention to win, I wonder if he'd even be tempted to cull a larger fish for a small one so he could get on the road. As a winner of another Elite Series event this year, he already had his Bassmaster Classic ticket punched. Meanwhile, the Red River, where the Cup will be held, is the sort of fishery where Christie seems to do the very best. Shallow, stained and thick with cover, it lends itself wonderfully to pitching a Wooly Bug, or bouncing a shallow Bomber or a spinnerbait off lots of cover. And again, it's the championship -- a career-changing event that's far bigger than the big check that comes with winning it.

I've not talked to Christie at all about any of this and honestly don't know him well, and I haven't read stories written since he made the cut that quoted him regarding his thought processes. It could be that he's far too competive to even think about the next event -- no matter what it is -- until he's done everything in his power to try to win the one he is fishing. I'm just curious what he's thinking about as he fishes today. Can he focus on catching smallmouths and trying to place as high as possible on the St. Lawrence, or is he strategizing Red River largemouths or mentally playing out every possible travel scenario even as he fishes for New York smallmouths?