Inside Elite Boats: Brandon Palaniuk

Welcome to another edition of Inside Elite Boats this time featuring eight-time Bassmaster winner and two-time Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year Brandon Palaniuk from Rathdrum, Idaho!

Palaniuk showcased the 2026 Skeeter FXR20 he ran during his 15th season of competition on the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series.

At the bow Palaniuk ran a 52-inch Minn Kota Ultrex Quest during the 2026 Northern Swing when this gallery was shot.

The double straps included keep the trolling motor secure in the rough water.

A staple that Brandon always keeps on the trolling motor is his Humminbird Mega 360.

Also attached to the trolling motor is his Humminbird Mega LIVE 2 forward-facing sonar transducer.

Mounted at the bow are two Humminbird Apex Units.

The Humminbirds are mounted on a PROcise Outdoors Dek-It Mounts Dual Low Pro mount.

Also at the front Palaniuk keeps a sticker in memoriam of longtime service crew member and friend Joby Smith who suddenly passed away this year.

Our favorite part of the tour is opening all the lids and seeing what goodies hide inside. This time we get to see what Palaniuk keeps in the boat during smallmouth season.

Inside the rod compartment he keeps a plethora of Alpha Angler rods. The 25 to 30 rods and reels are all protected with The Rod Glove Neoprene rod sleeves.

Bassmaster photographer Andy Crawford stopped during the photo shoot to get a photo of his own.

Palaniuk guesses the winning weight for the 2026 St. Lawrence River event at 101 pounds, 2 ounces.

Back to the rod compartment, Palaniuk pulls out his favorite smallmouth rod. An Alpha Angler DSR 6-foot, 10-inch medium fast he uses to drop shot not only up north but around the entire country.

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In the center compartment , there’s just about anything needed for a smallmouth derby.

The first thing that caught my eye selfishly was this giant box of jerkbaits where he stores his Megabass Vision 110+1 jerkbaits.

Here’s a look at both his deep jerkbait box and regular jerkbait box. I would say an angler’s dream is to have two boxes this loaded full. He says this isn’t even close to the total amount he keeps with him.

He shows off his favorite one which was a jerkbait he collaborated on to design the color called “Kasumi Phantom.” It’s his first collaboration color with Megabass.

Up next is his terminal tacklebox that he is most proud of.

This is the BKK OCD Tackle Storage System Fully Loaded.

His go-to and favorite hook smallmouth fishing is this BKK No. 1 Dropshot hook.

Up next he keeps this Amp’d Marine box on the side where he stores a selection of jigheads and treble hooks.

A look at how he stores his treble hooks.

His new favorite treble hook currently … the BKK Armor Point Hyperlatch Quad Urchin treble.

Another box that caught my eye was this box full of Megabass Karashis.

A closer look at the Karashi box.

“My favorite is this little translucent pink and orange one.”

Another Amp’d Marine box hanging over the main compartment.

Brandon keeps his X Zone Lure stashed in the main compartment off to the side. He shows off two of his favorites for smallmouth fishing.

A look at where he stores the soft plastics he is going to use for the day.

He also keeps a good handful of X Zone Lures Adrenaline Craws handy.

“There’s a few things I keep in that side compartment all the time. A couple colors of Adrenaline Craws and Deception Worms are always in there.”

As mentioned previously, here’s a staple that never leaves the boat … X Zone Lures 6-inch Deception Worm.

I had to know what was in the box …

“Take a picture of these bad boys. This is the bait that I won Okeechobee with, and these are the finished product of the prototype I was working on. Maybe these will be out when this gallery comes out,” said Palaniuk.

“You got to have a thing of sharpies in the boat. You just never know when you might have to color a bait up.”

He keeps just about every color of sharpie in the bag.

In the other rod locker he keeps more soft plastics and life jackets.

Hiding away in there is a little bag of soft plastic swimbaits and Megabass Magdrafts I saw…

In the day box in front of the console he keeps extra Seaguar fishing line, fizz needles, dyes and some other soft plastics.

Barb’s Best Fizz needle is the only fizz needle you’ll ever need up north smallmouth fishing. A must-have in the boat. “I’m not a drug addict; I just keep a lot of fizz needles.”

A little selection of Seaguar Tatsu lays away in the day box.

“Since I tend to have culling errors, I keep these DD26 Cull ID Tags here mounted on my step so I don’t forget how many fish I have in the live well.”

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The Amp’d Marine box is underneath the step to the front deck.

Here he keeps a handful of stuff for his daughters to go fishing whenever they want.

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One thing I noticed Brandon keeps in the boat that a lot of other pros don’t is this DHUKR tool to unhook those deeply hooked smallmouth.

In the passenger-side day box he keeps spare DD26 knobs, sunglasses, silicone putty for his GoPros, a handful of towels and other whatnots.

His Leupold Desoto sunglasses are a must-have everyday on the water.

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The extra DD26 knobs …

One feature he uses a lot is this DD26 Spool Stix Line Winding System.

It fits a bulk spool of Seaguar Tatsu very nicely.

Now on to the console.

Hang on tight, Brandon!

“This is my favorite part of the whole boat,” says Palaniuk of his windshield.

“This is artwork from a St. Jude’s patient by the name of Maelle. Skeeter took this console and kept it at their booth during the Bassmaster Classic, and everyone who donated any dollar amount to St. Jude got to sign this console. I think they raised a couple thousand bucks and gave it all to St. Jude. I asked if I could run the console for the rest of the year and then auction it off this fall.”

He keeps the QR code for Love Bass Stop Cancer to donate right on the side — easy to scan.

Also at the console is the Taddo Design Custom Mount Action Pole.

At the dash are two Humminbird Apex 13s. One side is used for mapping, and the other side is used for Down Imaging, 2D and Side Imaging.

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He keeps those units on a PROcise Outdoors Dek-It Mount Dual Dash Mount.

Behind the steering wheel are DD26 Billet Blinker Trim Handles.

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Also behind the steering wheel is his Minn Kota Raptor switch to easily put the Raptors up or down.

Another display to the right of the steering wheel displays temperature, engine status and more.

Another must-have in the boat is the Yeti Gallon Jug.

“This thing is legendary.”

A wide view of the cockpit in the Skeeter FXR.

A look inside the boat’s cooler after a day of practice …

In the rear compartments he keeps more tackle along with some clothing.

A Sitka jacket in the back for those cool rides out or back in to the boat ramp.

Palaniuk kept very little tackle in the rear during the 2026 St Lawrence River Elite event. Here he just kept a box of swimbaits and crankbaits.

A look inside his Skeeter livewells.

“These mats are super cool that come from Skeeter. You put them in instead of having to run pool noodles. Rough water smallmouth fish care 101.”

Here’s a Mustang Survival life jacket he has worn all year with his name on it. Mustang passed these out at the 2026 Bassmaster Classic.

In the other side of the boat he keeps a pile of tools, towels, spare batteries and one of the most impressive SD card boxes I have ever seen.

“These are all the Humminbird Lake Master cards I have had over the years. Also in the bottom are just different random waypoints saved on cards.”

Brandon said there are SD cards from all the way back in 2012 in here.

The battery and rear compartment is home to his Impulse Lithium batteries.

First up in the rear compartment is his spare prop.

“I run two 12-volt 160AH to power my Yamaha and run all of my accessories and fish finders. The two 36-volt 60AH are trolling motor batteries.”

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A closer look at the batteries.

He also has a spare tray in the rear where he keeps a prop wrench and extra trolling motor prop.

All the switches for power.

Also, the rear compartment is home to his Minn Kota Raptor pumps.

And one of the most intriguing things I noticed in the boat was that he plumbs a temperature probe in his livewell. He can watch the temperature of his livewells on his Humminbird units.

“On the One-Boat network you can select on any data source, so up front on my front graph I will select the livewell temperature. If I am up front fishing and I start to see that livewell temperature rise, I can go add ice,” said Palaniuk.