Fantasy Fishing: Labyrinthine river pt2

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Minnesota

For all you power fishing fans, we are back on a dirty and treacherous river again, hot off the event on the Tombigbee. From what I heard, these two river systems fish very similarly to one another. The Tombigbee was not the easiest to get about with the endless amount of shallow flats and stump fields. The Arkansas River has many of the same characteristics; however, the word is that average bags should be 2-3 pounds bigger.

I am very interested to see how live sonar will play in this event. Anglers have been utilizing it in unique ways and I believe that trend will continue. The other question is how stable the weather will be. A large amount of rain would completely change this fishery and turn much of it into chocolate milk.

I know there will be some surprise anglers in the Top 10 per usual and it should be a fun one to watch.

Let’s get into some picks!

Bucket A: EBARE

Dakota Ebare has been on a tear lately and is really riding the baby momentum that we’ve seen many times before. He’s coming off a 4^th at the Classic and a 2^nd from the similar Tombigbee. This one is closer to home and is right back up his alley. I could see him staying strong the rest of the year and making a run at AOY.

Solid secondary pick: Jordan Lee has been finishing better and better after a tough start on Guntersville. He is fresh off two Top 10s, and I think he will continue with a high finish in this one. He can shallow power fish with the best of them.

Bucket B: FEIDER

I want to see Seth Feider win one this year badly. He’s fishing good and there are definitely opportunities that set up well for him. I think he will keep the good streak going on the Arkansas River. He excels on grimy fisheries but usually gets around big ones. I hope to see some big flipping fish from the Feiderman.

Solid secondary pick: Wesley Gore is another river master and is fishing very strongly. He picks up on details that many miss and makes slight adjustments to give him an advantage. Gore has some really good momentum right now.

Bucket C: CHRISTIE

As good as picking Jason Christie seems, picking him on one of his home waters has been bad in the past. But the Arkansas River just sets up too well for him and he’s hungry to go back-to-back on Elite wins. If conditions do change, I think he could adjust better here than last year on Tenkiller.

Solid secondary pick: Luke Palmer is another Oklahoma native who loves shallow water power fishing. He had a good tournament on Tombigbee and will look to improve even further closer to home.

Bucket D: CARD

This bucket is a little bit of a shot in the dark for me. Not many have started the season hot and no one really sticks out to me. However, Brandon Card has done well in Oklahoma and excels in systems with brush and shallow cover. I could see him getting on a little deal by himself and climbing the leaderboard throughout the week.

Solid secondary pick: I’m going to go with JT Thomkins for my second pick. He has been consistent lately, and with scope on this event could be one of the ones to find something with that deal.

Bucket E: BROWNING

Beau Browning really needs to start catching them if he wants a chance at staying on the Elites next year. What better place to do it than one of his home fisheries? He has spent a lot of time here and should hopefully be able to leverage that experience. If Browning can get a little momentum going, he may be able to salvage his Elite career. I think the comeback starts at the Arkansas River.

Solid secondary pick: Greg Hackney is surprisingly in Bucket E after a slow start to the year. If he follows the Jason Christie program of bombing and then winning the next one, Hackney could be on track for a great finish this week.