BASSTrakk shows Brandon Palaniuk in ninth place. What’s more important is the weight. The unofficial scoring has Palaniuk with 20 pounds, 5 ounces, or one of just three anglers to have cracked the 20-pound mark on Day 2.
What’s even better for Palaniuk is the load helps him regain momentum in the cast-by-cast race for Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year. BASSTrakk has Jason Christie in 13th with 15-15 and Jacob Wheeler has 15-12 for 17th place. So once again, the AOY standings are subject to change again, just one day after the tournament began.
It’s all part of a plan for Palaniuk, a known gambler who swings for the fences every single competition day of a given season. “I’m going to do things differently this week,” he told me earlier this week. “The only way of guaranteeing that I can win AOY is winning the next two events.”
So far so good. Palaniak has cleared the first hurdle towards staying in the hunt for the title. He is inside the Top 50 cut and climbing toward a Championship Sunday.