Cue up the fat lady.
Start spreading the news.
Goodnight, Irene.
Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye.
Except we still have one more day to fish. So what I’d watch for, if I were you, is not whether Brandon Palaniuk will win the Champion Power Equipment Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee. (Spoiler alert: He will). It’s not what his winning margin will be. (Safe prediction: It’ll be big).
Instead, observe whatever jockeying goes on in the standings below him, because when we look back at the 2025 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series season upon its completion, someone will have made a move tomorrow that will have either earned them money or cost them money. I’m not just talking about this week’s checks, but rather AOY position and possibly a Bassmaster Classic berth. If you take out the top three, everyone else is pretty close, especially sixth through 10th. It’s the tournament within the tournament and a giant bag will go a long way, just as a lost fish could be crippling.
I watched in awe today as Brandon Palaniuk amassed his third giant bag and increased his lead, but I was even more impressed by his demeanor. He’s the sport’s consummate current ambassador, the heir to KVD in that respect – perhaps even nicer, but just as dedicated to stepping on your neck.
The outcome may seem predetermined, but I’m still excited to see what happens tomorrow. Here’s what I learned on Day 3:
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough — The gap between Palaniuk in first and Greg DiPalma in second is 18-3. Only four anglers other than Palaniuk have averaged that much each of the first three days of competition. The gap between Palaniuk and third place angler David Gaston is 20-14. The only angler other than Palaniuk who has averaged that much per day is DiPalma. If DiPalma produces his average weight for the week so far, a single keeper would likely push Palaniuk over the top.
20/20 Club – Palaniuk is the only angler who has topped the 20-pound mark all three days. If he’d caught his lowest daily weight (23 pounds today) all three days, he’d still have a lead of over 6 pounds. No one other than Palaniuk has weighed in over 15 pounds all three days. Only two other members of the field topped 20 twice – David Gaston (3rd, 60-3) and John Garrett (4th, 56-2).
Back on Track – Last year at this time fans and pundits like me were watching Kyoya Fujita’s (5th, 55-12) nascent career with awe. Through his first 10 Elite tournaments, he’d earned six Top 10 finishes with two wins. Then things tightened up for the young Japanese pro. Through nine more Elite Series events, ending with last week’s event on the St. Johns, he failed to make another Top 10. He had several Top 20s, but that wasn’t what we’d come to expect. Now, he’s back, sitting in fifth after catching a day’s best 25-13 today. Frankly, I didn’t expect it to happen on a known power fishing venue, especially one where he’d finished 79th in 2023 during his hot streak. He’s the first Japanese angler to make a Top 10 since Taku Ito won last year at Smith Lake – a hiatus that included Lake Champlain, the St. Lawrence River and St. Johns River.
One-upmanship – Assuming that he wins, Palaniuk will pass Jason Christie (9th, 50-0) in number of Elite tournament wins. Both currently have five.
Aim High — John Cox: “If we’re going to catch 20, we might as well catch 25.” He caught 11-6 today and ended up 11th, just 3 ounces outside the Top 10 cut. He was the top finishing Floridian at each of the first two Elite events of the season.
Saturday Night’s All Right for Fighting – John Garrett doesn’t necessarily take the weekdays off, but so far this year he’s been a Saturday superstar. Of course, last week he had a tournament-best 31-6 on Day 3 to move up from 38th to second heading into Championship Sunday. Today he had 23-3, his best bag so far, and moved up from 12th to fourth after ending Day 1 in 62nd. “If we could start on Day 3 every time, that would be perfect,” Garrett told Dave Mercer onstage. He should be careful what he wishes for, however, because when he won last year at the Harris Chain, Day 3 was his lowest weight. He had 19-3 that day. His best day was Day 1, when he had 24-2. He led that event start to finish.
Rookie Struggles – Beau Browning (16th, 47-9) was the top-finishing rookie at this event. Through two Elite Series tournaments, no rookie has made it to Day 4. Last year, that only happened once – at the fourth event of the year, on the St. Johns River. They averaged over two members of their cadre in the Top 10 and had four of them make it in two of the season’s first three tournaments.
Turn it Up – Maybe it’s the way they were miked, but Paul Mueller’s (21st, 44-2) reels sounded louder than Jennifer Lowen at a weigh-in.
Nighttime is the Right Time – John Cox: “One of these days we should start late and go until dark and see this place really fire up.”
We’re With the Band – Cliff Pace (13th, 48-10): “I haven’t got to do this for like five years….There’s people here.” His last regular season Elite Series podium appearance was in August 2018 at the St. Lawrence River.
Closing Time – Brandon Palaniuk, at 1:15 after landing a 6-pounder: “The pre-spawners showed back up.”
Fashion Accessory – Seigo’s umbrella.
One Short – Jason Christie is the only angler in the Top 10 who did not weigh in a limit each day. He had four bass for 15-12 today. The next highest-finishing angler who did not weigh in 15 bass this week was Cooper Gallant in 36th place with 37-5. If Christie had caught just one more 3-pounder today, it would have moved him up three spots, which could turn out to be critical points.
Lee Livesay — “I’m good at screwing up one day.” His first day catch of 9-12 put him in 71st, but he rallied to rise up to an eventual finish of 22nd thanks to subsequent limits that weighed 19-13 and 14-1.
What Goes Up – Only one angler in the Top 10 has seen his weight go up every day: John Garrett.
Must Come Down — Two anglers in the Top 10 have seen their weights go down every day: Greg DiPalma and Trey McKinney (10th, 49-3).
Best in Show – This is David Gaston’s first Elite Series Top 10, and will therefore be his best finish. His prior best was a 12th at Santee Cooper in 2023. Short of an outright disaster, DiPalma is primed to have his best Elite finish – his prior best was eighth at the St. Lawrence in 2019. Bob Downey (7th, 51-7) and Jacob Foutz (8th, 50-3) have previous bests of second and third, respectively. The six other members of the Top 10 all have at least one Elite win.
Channeling A-Mart – Taku Ito (20th, 44-2) offered up a Japanese cat imitation onstage. He did not offer Mercer a magic soft drink, as he did last week when he promised it would turn the emcee into Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Coffee Talk – As Greg DiPalma caught an estimated 7 pound bass with 20 minutes left to go, he and leader Brandon Palaniuk carried on a casual conversation. Once BP saw the fish, he remarked, “I guess you’re coming back tomorrow.” He said it without an ounce of malice or despair, but he had to have known that if DiPalma hadn’t topped the 2-pound mark for an individual fish today, he might’ve felt compelled to seek greener pastures elsewhere tomorrow. Palaniuk’s lead may be big enough that it won’t matter, but if things tighten up cohabitation may be the downfall of one or both of them.
Only the Lonely – DiPalma to Palaniuk a few minutes later: “You’d probably have 120 pounds if you had it to yourself.” He still might. I’ve stopped being surprised by such achievements. Realistically, though, another 20-pound bag gives him his second Century Belt. If he achieves that feat, it’s almost certain he’ll be the only one.
