Two of the anglers I spoke to for Phoenix Boats Bassmaster Radio’s Tenkiller preview were 2019 winner Carl Jocumsen, and Tenkiller local Jason Christie, who are pitted against each other in this event’s T-H Marine Pick ‘em Challenge, and both these guys are in the 50s in AOY points and needing to rally down the stretch to make the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic. Well, I feel like I am right there with them, after I crashed and burned at the Sabine last month!
I’ll get to that pick in a moment, but let’s get things started with
Match 1 between AOY leaders Jay Przekurat and defending champ Chris Johnston. These two northern anglers can catch ‘em anywhere in the country, so it’s tough to say one or the other has the advantage. In 2019, Chris’ brother Cory finished 3rd, while Chris missed the cut, which was odd. That same year, 20 year old Przekurat was winning an Open on nearby Grand Lake…as a Co-Angler! Maybe Cory shared a few spots with Chris? I’ll take Johnston here.
In Match 2, it’s Tucker Smith and Pat Schlapper, two guys that took Elite money out of the Lone Star state this season. Smith sits in 15th in the AOY standings and has been so consistent this season, it’s tough not to take him here, so I will.
In Match 3, Idahoans (Idahoans?) Brandon Palaniuk and Cody Meyer square off. These are two of the nicest guys on the tour, and Palanuik is coming of a disastrous finish at the Sabine. Brandon sits just outside the Classic cutline (I won’t say exactly where, in case he reads this, since he avoids points talk like the plague) but he knows he needs a good one…so I’ll ride with him.
Match 4 pits a couple of the hottest sticks out there, Patrick Walters and Kyoya Fujita. Fujita proved he is more that just a “Scoper” with a Top 5 finish at the Sabine, but Walters has been here before, and did pretty well in 2019…I’ll take Walters in this one.
Match 5 is the previously mentioned Bassmaster Radio special, Carl Jocumsen and Jason Christie. Carl found a magic tree to snag his 1st win in 2019, but alas, that tree may not even be there anymore! Christie says he could hit the lake with a .22, if it wasn’t for a hill between his house and the water! Familiarity can sometimes work against you, but it won’t for Christie…I’m rolling with him here.
Match 6 has a couple of my Tennessee homies in there, Robert Gee and David Mullins. Separated by only 9 points in the AOY, Mullins was 6th at Tenkiller in 2019, and coming off an 8th place finish at the Sabine. That’s good enough for me, I’ll take Mullins!
And in the final Match, it’s Bill Lowen and his jig against Taku Ito and whatever those funny looking things he throws out there are. Dice? Spiders? Random chunks of plastic with baby powder on them? Who knows! What we do know is they work, and they will work for the win in this paring as well.
So there you go. I was tempted to pull a Costanza and just go against every pick I made, but in the end, I need to trust myself! This is a winning week!
