The SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee proved to be a heavyweight showdown with a bit of a twist. While the main lake typically prevails at this famed fishery, Tyler Rivet made his way up the Kissimmee River and found his way to the winner’s circle.
As far as Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing is concerned, going with the high-percentage anglers didn’t pan out quite like one would expect. No angler that was the highest selected in each Bucket finished higher than 35th place, so going with the lower-percentage pros worked out well.
Let’s get into the best and worst Fantasy Fishing picks from Lake Okeechobee.
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The overall winner of the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee was (“sperrault”), who selected three of the five picks that would have made up the perfect roster. Overall Rank: No. 1, Total Points 1,454.
BUCKET A: Brandon Palaniuk
BUCKET B: Brandon Cobb
BUCKET C: Brandon Card
BUCKET D: Clark Wendlandt
BUCKET E: Steve Kennedy
The perfect Fantasy Fishing roster for the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee would have been:
BUCKET A: Drew Cook
BUCKET B: Brandon Cobb
BUCKET C: Logan Latuso
BUCKET D: Clark Wendlandt
BUCKET E: Steve Kennedy
Total: 1,500
BUCKET A: COOK
As he has traditionally done during his Elite Series career, Drew Cook got off to a hot start in the first event of the season. The Georgia pro finished 10th, scoring 260 Fantasy points. He was selected by 7.7% of players.
Second best selection: Elite Series veteran Gerald Swindle just missed out on making the final day with an 11th-place finish. The Alabama pro scored 257 points and was selected by 7.6% of players.
Lowest scoring angler: Keith Poche scored just 67 points in the first event of the season and was selected by 1.4% of players.
BUCKET B: COBB
Brandon Cobb made a major charge on Day 2 of the event by weighing in the biggest bag of the tournament. The two-time Elite Series champion scored a whopping 375 points and was selected by just 2.4% of players.
Second best selection: It’s not very often that you see the tournament champion end up being the second-best selection, but that was the case with Tyler Rivet. Despite being selected by just 0.6% of players, Rivet notched his first Elite Series win and scored 305 points.
Lowest scoring angler: Cole Sands didn’t have the start he hoped for in his first Bassmaster Elite Series event. The Elite Series rookie scored just 71 points while being selected by 0.6% of players.
BUCKET C: LATUSO
Elite Series rookie Logan Latuso showed out in his first event with a fourth-place finish. The Louisiana pro scored 285 points while being selected by only 0.4% of players in Bucket C.
Second best selection: Carl Jocumsen notched his first Top 10 in the state of Florida with a sixth-place finish. The Australian native scored 276 points for the 2.6% of players who selected him.
Lowest scoring angler: Caleb Sumrall had a tough event at Lake Okeechobee. The Louisiana pro scored 81 points and was selected by 1.5% of players.
BUCKET D: WENDLANDT
After missing the final two events of the 2022 season, Clark Wendlandt bounced back strong to start this season with a second-place finish. The Texas pro scored 295 points and was selected by 2.8% of players.
Second best selection: Kyle Welcher bounced back after a tough season in 2022 with a 13th-place finish to open the 2023 season. The Alabama pro was selected by 18.3% of players and scored 251 points.
Lowest scoring angler: Larry Nixon didn’t have the return to B.A.S.S. that most expected. Unfortunately, the veteran angler scored just 69 points and was selected by 2.0% of players.
BUCKET E: KENNEDY
Steve Kennedy held the lead heading into the final day, but he had a tough Championship Sunday on the Big O. The Elite Series veteran still finished fifth and scored 285 points. He was selected by 17.8% of players.
Second best selection: Despite being the lowest selected angler in the Bucket, Ed Loughran finished just outside the Top 10, and was the second-best pick. Loughran was selected by just 0.3% of players and scored 254 points.
Lowest scoring angler: Matty Wong didn’t get it going at Lake Okeechobee. The second-year Elite pro scored 100 points and was selected by 2.6% of players.
