Is there something better than “cut ice cream”?
That’s a question I’m sure the Palaniuk girls are asking right about now.
On a day when their dad caught the best tournament limit of his career, and rolled a pair of nines, on a lake that’s often been unkind to him, I think they’re in position to ask for something good. Two scoops instead of one, perhaps, or maybe sprinkles.
The once-Prodigy-now-father-of-two has a lead of nearly 10 pounds on Day 1 leader Greg DiPalma (2nd, 48 pounds 5 ounces), and a lead of nearly 20 on fellow past B.A.S.S. Nation champ Will Davis Jr. (3rd, 39-5). They’re entitled to dessert as well, but they’re both about one misstep away from seeing their chances of victory melt away on a hot Florida sidewalk.
Palaniuk has never won in Florida before. His only Top 10 here was in a Redfish event last year. He’s finished 14th, 15th and 16th on the St. Johns, and was 24th the last time the Elites visited Okeechobee. The time before that was a pivotal moment in his career, though. In the second tournament of the 2017 Elite Series season, he finished a worse-than-disappointing 105th, and then through sheer will – bolstered by four Top 5 finishes over the next six derbies – he claimed the first of two AOY trophies…so far. The Big O wasn’t quite his Achilles heel, but it certainly made the path forward much more difficult. Now he has a chance to get his revenge.
Here’s what I saw, thought, heard and speculated on a Day Two that saw a blooming Hall of Fame career move one step closer to that achievement:
Back in the Day – Watching Palaniuk compete amiably against (the law firm of) Dube, DiPalma & Davis reminded me not of some of the close quarters scuffles we’ve occasionally seen on the Elite Series, but rather of the 2011 New Orleans Classic, where most of the top finishers fished close together but without notable disputes in Lake Cataouatche. Palaniuk, a relative unknown fishing his first Classic, was amongst them. Ultimately, he came in fourth, bested by eventual winner Kevin VanDam, Hall of Famer Aaron Martens, and Derek Remitz. At the time he was the youngest of the young guns. Now he’s still the capital-P-Prodigy, but he’s simultaneously a grizzled veteran. He’s always played well with others. DiPalma is the only one amongst the four who didn’t qualify for the Elite Series through the BASS Nation.
Dube on His Crew, Channeling KVD – “We said, ‘This is the community.’”
Wins Mean Different Things to Different Anglers – Obviously, the win would mean a great deal to Palaniuk in terms of his season, his career and his bank account – especially after falling below the Classic cutline last year. As noted above, it would once and for all establish that he’s not at any disadvantage on Florida waters. It almost certainly would mean more to DiPalma, though. After a long slog just to get to the Elite Series, to date his top Elite finishes have been an eighth at the St. Lawrence and a 10th at Champlain. Now he’s sniffing a blue trophy, albeit from a 10-pound distance. Meanwhile, Palaniuk has a small score to settle with Davis, who won and beat BP by a mere 2 ounces at Lay Lake in 2023.
Willing it to Happen – Mid-morning, Palaniuk lamented that the bass beneath the spillway would not position themselves below the mats of vegetation. “What kind of pre-spawn Florida bass are you?” he asked. A moment later he lost a fish out in the open, then caught one from the very vegetation he’d seemingly dismissed.
Rolling on Twenties – Yesterday there were six bags of 20 pounds or more. With today’s shortened playing time and arguably tougher conditions, there were 10. Palaniuk is the only angler to top that mark twice. Three anglers have a bag of 20+ on one day and a bag of less than 10 pounds on the other.
Home Cooking – John Cox is the only angler with a Florida mailing address who made the Top 50. He’s in 6th place heading into Day 3.
Everybody Loves DDs – When David Gaston (5th, 38-9) brought his 11-8 giant to the scales, he told the crowd that “It’s the biggest fish I’ve ever weighed in.” That’s not entirely true – as Bassmaster.com documented, last spring he caught an 831.6 pound bluefin tuna off the coast of Alabama. It was, however, the biggest bass he’s weighed in, and the first double digit weighed in at Okeechobee in Elite Series history. It’s the 10th biggest bass in Elite Series events, bumping reigning Classic champ Justin Hamner’s 11-7 from Fork last year down to 11th. It’s the 75th double digit bass caught in the history of the Elite Series.
Cody Huff (29th, 28-7) – “Any cut in Florida is a good cut.”
First Years – Only two true rookies made the cut – Beau Browning in fourth and Paul Marks in 33rd.
Mercer on DiPalma’s Day One Catch of 29-12 – “He was frustrated he didn’t get 30.” To which Davy Hite replied: “It’s a bucket list thing.”
Sophomores – Seven of last year’s rookie class made the cut to Saturday and none of the other three finished worse than 67th. Trey McKinney leads them in seventh, down three spots from yesterday. Tim Dube fell one spot, from 10th to 11th. Thanks to a 22-7 limit, John Garrett rose from 62nd to 12th.
Jordan Lee (25th, 29-9) – “Luckily I have a lot of patience because I have a 3-year-old.”
We’re Not Related But We Dube Brothers – Despite falling one spot from yesterday, Tim Dube is still in solid position to notch the best Elite finish of his young career. Last year he was 36th at Toledo Bend and 28th at the Harris Chain, the lone Top 50s of his rookie campaign.
One Rod Todd – Greg DiPalma on the jig Tyler Williams (16th, 31-5) seems to fling everywhere: “When you get that much confidence in a bait it makes a big difference.”
Cut Weight Math – Yesterday’s 50th place weight of 12-1 meant that the cut to Saturday was likely to be 24-25 pounds. It actually fell off that pace and Buddy Gross slid in with 23-6. Evan Kung also had 23-6 but lost the tiebreaker. Alex Redwine finished 1 ounce behind them and Shane LeHew was 2 ounces back.
Keith Combs – “I’m not on much but I want to go fishing one more day.” He caught 3 pounds less than he did on Day 1 but slid into the cut in 46th with 24-2. This is his third cut in four Elite Series tournaments on Okeechobee.
Chris Zaldain (102nd, 13-2) – “The score is Florida two, Chris zero.” He can now focus on the upcoming hometown Texas Classic.
Bryant Smith – “I fished right over them yesterday.” He caught 8-3 yesterday and 21-7 today and moved up from 87th to 22nd.
Cliff Pace – “No offense to anyone, but I’ve hated Florida my whole life.” Today he may have found some love for the Sunshine State, as he caught 21-4 and moved from 61st to 15th.
Chris Johnston (21st, 29-11) – “I’m pretty sure I’m fishing a different lake than Palaniuk.”
Gerald Swindle (100th, 14-9) – “I feel like I’ve been double-dipped in dog poop and rolled down the road.”
One Day Wonder – Only six anglers other than Palaniuk have caught more than his Day 2 weight over the course of the first two days combined. Only 18 anglers other than Palaniuk and DiPalma have caught more than GDP’s Day 1 weight over the course of the first two days combined.
Stay tuned for two more days of bumper boats as we truly test the meaning of “no lead is safe.”
