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Brandon Palaniuk would have had the lead at 9:30 this morning if he hadn’t lost a fish that threw his spoon on a jump near the boat. He wasn’t fazed by the miss, saying, “We’re going to have a shot at this, I think.” He had only two keepers, but one is a 5-pound, 14-ounce bass. He trailed leader Lee Livesay by 3 1/2 pounds to start the day. The margin has shrunk to a pound on this significantly cooler, overcast day at Lake Fork.
No matter what happens today, the 2017 Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year is going to be leading the 2022 Progressive Angler of Year standings after five events in this nine-tournament season. John Cox, who was leading coming into this tournament, finished 32nd yesterday. His AOY points are set at 422. Based on his second-place finish after Day 3, Palaniuk has 442 points. That number won’t be official until his place in the final standings is complete today, but he could finish 10th and still be in first place heading into Event No. 6 at Pickwick Lake in 10 days.
