Fantasy: Bet big or go home

When it comes to the final regular-season event of 2015, it's time to pull out all the stops.

The Chesapeake Bay introduced some very tough August fishing to the best anglers in the world at the last stop on the Bassmaster Elite Series trail. Some pros described the fishing as “brutal,” and I bet many Fantasy Fishing players would say the same thing. Picking a great team on the bay was no easy task.

I had ups, but I had some big downs as well. Bill Lowen was a great pick, as he finished second to Aaron Martens, but I also had two anglers finish 88th and worse. My thought going into every event is to build a great team from top to bottom and try to be consistent overall. Most times I try and pick five guys who will make the 50-cut, but for the Plano Bassmaster Elite on Lake St. Clair, I’m pulling out all the stops and taking more risks than I have all season.

Instead of conservative and dark horses, I’ll be selling out or using house money anglers.

Bucket A: Lucas

Sell out for: Lucas

Every Elite angler wants to cash a check or even notch a win, but when the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year title is dangling oh-so close and almost out of reach, anglers will go the extra mile to try and get it.

Justin Lucas is that angler with almost nothing to lose at this point. He is unofficially in the Classic and needs to close a 69-point AOY gap between Aaron Martens and himself if he wants a shot at the title next month. Lucas should sell out for a big week here because, in reality, who wants to be second?

House money: Martens

The Chesapeake Bay was supposed to be the event where anglers could maybe grab some points back from Martens, but yet he led wire-to-wire and won by almost 8 pounds. Now the Elite Series heads to a body of water that he may have won on in 2013 if not for loose bolts on his boat because of the rough water. It is a realistic possibility for Martens to go back-to-back here now that Edwin Evers showed us weeks ago that it is achievable.

I’ll take Justin Lucas here. I’m hard-pressed to bet against Aaron Martens in a smallmouth tournament, but I could see some risks out of Lucas that could pay off big time. Like I said before, does it matter if you’re second or fourth in Angler of the Year? Lucas wants this one bad.

Bucket B: Swindle

Sell out for: Card, Bertrand

Need to make up points in one of the last events of the season? Roll the dice then and take Brandon Card. The Tennessee angler has had a fantastic season and is on pace to make the Bassmaster Classic. He has shown his abilities on smallmouth waters in recent years, and you certainly could gain some points with his low ownership percentage.

Josh Bertrand isn’t a bad option here as well.

House money: Swindle

You know what you can expect from Gerald Swindle each and every week. Coming off a fourth-place finish, he might be able to keep the ball rolling into another good event. The big question with some of the anglers who are almost clinched for the Classic is if they will risk a long run for the reward of a big bag of bronzebacks. I think Swindle will fish by the seat of his pants because we’ve seen how well he has done that in past years.

I’ll take Swindle on St. Clair.

Bucket C: B. Hite

Sell out for: B. Hite

Brett Hite has quietly climbed out of the early-season hole he was in. He has three finishes worse than 88th, but he also had a third at Kentucky Lake and a 13th at Lake Guntersville. This past week at the Chesapeake, Hite notched a 24th, which gave him a big boost in the standings. Hite is 57th in the AOY standings and only 12 points from making the Top 50. I would regard Hite as being one of the best anglers in pressure situations because he stays very cool and collected. Expect him to have a great event and jump into the AOY Championship on Sturgeon Bay.

House money: Chad Pipkens

I call Pipkens “house money” because there are those anglers who excel when the Elite Series heads North, and he is one of those anglers for sure. With good finishes in the last two events and even a seventh-place finish in the Northern Open on Oneida, Pipkens does well up North. I think Pipkens and many others will head to Lake Erie and take the high-risk, high-reward chance.

I’ll take Brett Hite here.

Bucket D: Remitz

Sell out for: Remitz

If history is on Derek Remitz’s side, he should prosper here. In his last three tournaments on St. Clair or Erie, Remitz has had three Top 25 finishes. That includes the 2013 Elite event on St. Clair, the 2013 Open on Erie and the 2014 Open on St. Clair. He is a low-percentage pick because of some anglers who accompany him in Bucket D.

House money: Mueller, Omori, Wellman

Numerous other pros in Bucket D are proven smallmouth anglers, and it makes the decision complex. Nate Wellman is from Michigan and is a top-notch smallmouth angler, while newcomer Paul Mueller has just as much experience, but in Connecticut on the East Coast. Takahiro Omori is known as a shallow water angler, but this year he has excelled by fishing deep in certain events, with great finishes in the Bassmaster Classic, Lake Havasu and even the last time the Elites fished at St. Clair in 2013.

I’ll gamble on the Wolverine, Derek Remitz.

Bucket E: Kiriyama

Sell out for: Clunn

Rick Clunn collected a 20th-place finish in 2013 here, and I think he can do it again to end his season strong. It’s so difficult to predict who will get their best finish of the season each and every week, but I think Clunn can best his 39th at the St. Lawrence.

House money: Kiriyama

Kotaro Kiriyama won on Lake Erie in 2008 and cashed in with a sixth-place finish in 2013. Kiriyama is a good deep-water finesse angler, and I think he could find his groove on the vast water in Detroit.

I’ll take a chance on Kiriyama to find comfort on St. Clair and Erie.