Lee Livesay 90th place at Lake Fork? Ben Milliken 84th? Stetson Blaylock 100th??? Surely if those guys can crash and burn, I can do the same, and I did, going 2-5 for last week’s T-H Marine Pick ‘em Challenge! So I am doing an opposite Easton Fothergill thing…Easton completely bombed the 1st 2 tournaments of the year, then won the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic, and has finished in the Top 10 of the last 3 Progressive Bassmaster Elite events.
I crushed Florida, had a decent Classic, and have tanked the last 3 events, so it’s on to the Sabine River, and a strong 2nd half of the season! For the record, still in the 91.4 Percentile, so I am now coming after the 8.6 % that are ahead of me!
In Match 1, a couple of past Sabine Champions match up, Jason Christie and Brock Mosley. Mosley has run all over this place, from the launch in Orange, TX to Houston, while Christie has run about as far up the river as possible…I’m going to take Oklahoma (Christie) and his spinnerbaits over Ole Miss in this one…
Match 2 pits the guys at the top of the AOY battle, Jay Przekurat and Will Davis, Jr. These guys finished 40th and 39th, respectively, at the Sabine in 2023, so no real advantage there. Jay is on a heater, but I have a feeling Davis gets him here, with Jay maintaining the AOY lead when it’s over.
Match 3 pits the Tin Boat Titans, Bill Lowen and John Cox. In 2023, Cox basically doubled Lowen’s total for the event, finishing in the money, while Dollar Bill got no dollars…I’ll take Cox this week as well.
In Match 4, we get the Flippers, Greg Hackney and Seth Fieder, both whom have a good track record at the Sabine. They come into this year’s event off an 11th and 10th place finish at Fork. Hackney won here in 2018, while Fieder has finished as high as 6th in past events on this river. For the love of all things Bassmaster Live, I hope we have cameras on these guys on Day one, with Greg giving his home spun tips (“You know what I mean…”), and Fieder landing fish with a dart hanging from his lips! I’ve got Seth in this one.
Match 5 gives us roommates Paul Marks and Tucker Smith, coming off back-to-back 1-2, 2-1 finishes, and back-to-back weeks on Bassmaster Radio! They both showed some good versatility in those 2 events, even though the scope was in play. The point of the Sabine will be showcasing an entirely different skill set, a set I think they both have in their tool chest. I will go with Smith here, by the smallest of margins…
Match 6 gives us Multi Media stars Ben Milliken and Mike Iaconelli, and I love both of these guys, but honestly, will either make the weekend? I thought Ben had a real chance to contend for the win last week, and this does not exactly seem to be his type of fishery. How many Milliken shows have you seen, looking for 2-pounders flipping shoreline? Mike is from the Northeast, has had great success on tidal waters, and grinder-type events…he’ll take this one…
And finally, in Match 7, these two guys…Lee Livesay and Stetson Blaylock, looking to bounce back from a horrific event at Lake Fork, where, I am certain, I was not the only one picking them in their pairings! So now they get each other, as they deserve. Livesay bested Stets by about a pound and a half at the Sabine in 2023, but is having a much better year than Blaylock, still in the Top 20 in the AOY race, even with the 90th place finish at Fork. I’ll take Lee in this one.
I feel like I am going 7-0 with these picks! Let’s win together…Good luck!
