Brandon Palaniuk didn’t hesitate when asked to predict how many pounds it would take to win, place and show, so to speak, at Lake St. Clair this week. “It will take 21 pounds a day to win, 16 to cut a check and 18 a day to make the top 12,” he said during the anglers’ meeting Wednesday.
As Day 1 begins this morning, those are good numbers to keep in mind: averages of 16 pounds a day to make the Top 51 cut after two days, 18 pounds a day to make the Top 12 cut after three days and 21 pounds a day to win. The last time the Elite Series was here in 2015, Todd Faircloth won with 84-7 — in other words, 21 pounds a day.
When asked about his prospects for today, Palaniuk said, “I could catch 25 pounds or I could catch 7 pounds. These fish move a lot, and I’ve got only one area that feels like the right ones and they’re grouped up. Otherwise, it’s just one here and one there.”