Brandon Lester currently leads this event according to BassTrakk, with Brandon Palaniuk hot on his heels. Looking to the far right, their current Progressive Angler of the Year positions are also indicated as 3rd and 1st respectively, based on their performance on the water up to this moment. John Cox still sits between the two in the AOY race, sitting back in a respectable 23rd for the event currently.
Cox is a phenomenal fisherman, and he’s proven he can catch them anywhere anytime… shallow. Cause that’s his game. He is a fantastic shallow water angler. But, as we get further into the season, the majority of the fish will be leaving Cox and headed to deeper water where anglers like Palaniuk and Lester await. So it stands to reason, the AOY race is really tightening up to be a battle of the Brandons down the stretch.
All that being said, Cox has almost survived two of his toughest challenges of the year, Elites on Fork and Pickwick which were predicted to be and have shown to be predominately deep events. On the northern swing, Cox will have his work cut out for him, but he’s faired well on the St Lawrence in big events before, and there are plenty of big bass shallow on the Mississippi River. Who knows what to expect from Oahe, but I wouldn’t start betting against Cox there either. He’s one of the most dangerous anglers on tour when it comes to just showing up and fishing blind, as the majority of the anglers will have to do at Oahe this year with very little known about that venue.
It’s going to be an interesting AOY race to follow down to the end. The guys in the top 3 right now are so steady, it’s hard to envision a scenario where they all three stumble. One of them will likely walk away with the title at the end of the year, and Palaniuk looks the most poised to do so with an impressive lead of 49 points over Cox and 66 over Lester. Palaniuk hasn’t had to use his mulligan yet this year, with his worst finish being 26th at the Harris Chain. Backing that up with a 20th at the St John’s River, 3rd at Santee Cooper, 12th at Chickamauga and 2nd at Fork, Palaniuk is having a ridiculously consistent year, especially considering he’s sitting in 2nd at Pickwick as we approach the midway point of the event.
It’s Palaniuk’s to lose right now, and he’s dodged the biggest bullet on his radar so far, the timely birth of his first child which was scheduled for 5 days ago on Memorial Day. That would have caused him to miss this event, with great joy and zero regret according to Palaniuk. But, the baby is hanging tight with mom-to-be Tiffanie still for the moment. And Palaniuk is making the most of his opportunity to compete here this week, adding even more cushion to his lead so far.
