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Palaniuk Tops The Elites on Day 1

Category: Tournament

 Aug 8th, 2013 by OutdoorsFIRST 

Modified Aug 8th, 2013 at 12:00 AM

Deja vu all over again!!! Brandon Palaniuk from Rathdrum, Idaho is back on top of the Bassmaster Elite Series after Day 1 of the event out of the St. Lawrence River in Waddington, New York with 23 pounds 9 ounces of bass. The Berkley pro was famously disqualified at the last event held on the Mississippi River of LaCrosse, Wisconsin for accidently violating a culling rule while fishing on the Minnesota side of the river where it is illegal to cull. Palaniuk was crushing the competition at the time and was set up to win and gain a berth to the Bassmaster Classic next February to be held on Lake Guntersville out of Guntersville, Alabama.

No DQ’s this time for Palaniuk.

	Brandon Palaniuk leads after Day 1 at the Elite Series on the St. Lawrence River. Photo courtesy Bassmaster.com

“I’m not fishing over in Canada, so there are no disqualification worries this tournament,” said Palaniuk. “I am running over 200 miles round trip, though. I’m fishing in Lake Ontario. It is a long run, but worth it.”

Weather will dictate Palaniuk’s fortune.

“I dealt with some 6-foot waves early in the day,” said Palaniuk. “They settled down. It would be perfect if I have weather like today for next three days. I mean, just the weather. It was beautiful.

“As far as the fishing, if I can make it back to where I fished today, I feel like I have a chance to win. My goal before the tournament was to catch 23 pounds per day. I did that today. I’m not fishing any crazy technique. I caught them pretty quick today. I had keepers on my first two casts. I had my weight in about 90 minutes.

“I am fishing an area that I feel has a lot of big fish. I’m not sharing it with anyone, so there won’t be any issue with someone else getting there first. I need to get there to win. I’m not fishing for points. I need to win to make it to the Classic this year.”