Elite

Palaniuk pounces ’em on Pickwick

Follow along with current AOY leader Brandon Palaniuk as he brings 'em in Day 1 of the 2022 Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Pickwick Lake!

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Photography by
Andy Crawford
Brandon Palaniuk went into the first day of the 2022 Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Pickwick Lake leading the Angler of the Year, and he already was catching fish when we caught up with him 20 minutes after blast-off.
It wasn’t a huge bass, but it was a start to the day.
Fellow Elite angler Chad Pipkens was fishing mere yards away, focusing on the same school of bass — and he also found success early.
Palaniuk and Pipkens were positioned on top of an offshore bar, casting into the deeper water off the shoulder of the ledge.
Palaniuk was relying heavily on his electronics to ensure he wasn’t wasting time with his casts.
There were obviously plenty of bass on the side of the bar. Both anglers caught numbers of fish, and every now and then a keeper bass would be in the mix. Here, Pipkens sets the hook on a fish that required more of a battle to land.
This was the first smallmouth the anglers caught.
Palaniuk rotated through lures as he sought to fool bass he saw on his electronics into biting.
A drop shot did the trick.
Again, catching bass wasn’t the issue early in the day: Catching keeper bass proved to be the challenge.
Palaniuk would use his rod to show him the perfect angle for a cast to bass seen on his electronics.
Palaniuk and Pipkens coordinated with each other to ensure they could both work the ledge effectively.
And every few casts one of them would get a bite.
This one proved to be a decent keeper for Palaniuk. Still not a huge bass, but solid enough that it didn’t have to be measured.
Another bite for Pipkens, but will it keep?
Yep. This made his third keeper in the livewell.
Not to be outdone, Palaniuk was quickly fighing a bass.
And this fish went in the livewell.
It was a seesaw morning, with first Palaniuk and then Pipkens setting the hook.
Number four for Pipkens.
The school fed in cycles, but when one angler caught a bass the odds were the other would also set the hook. This was the case for Palaniuk just after Pipkens landed his fourth bass.
This definitely helped the cause, and Palaniuk had his limit. But the bass over 3 pounds hadn’t showed up yet.
Finally, the school seemed to disappear. Palaniuk said he wasn’t seeing much on his electronics, and a few minutes later Pipkens pulled up his trolling motor headed out.
Palaniuk wasn’t far behind.
The Idaho pro moved less than a mile to the end of another offshore bar. Again, he cast from shallow to deep, targetng bass he saw on his electonics.
He was hooked up within 5 minutes of arriving at his second spot.
And this bass had more shoulders to it, prompting a celebratory whoop from Palaniuk as he swung it over the gunnel.
That bass allowed Palaniuk to make a big cull.
Again, he looked at his electonics to identify a bass and lined up the cast.
And was quickly setting the hook.
Palaniuk’s body language indicated this was a good bass.
The angler didn’t take any chances with the bass, carefully scooping it into the boat.
And celebrated the 4-pounder, which pushed his limit to over 13 pounds.

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