Brandon Palaniuk hasn’t been optimistic about his chances since practice began at the Harris Chain. So he was surprised when he weighed one of the 11 bags of 20-plus pounds on Day 1. His 5-bass limit of 21-0 had him in a tie for 7th place. Two big fish late were the key to his success. Palaniuk dropped to 18th place on Day 2 with a limit of 12-6.
“I culled three times at 3:30 on three casts,” he said. “My check-in time was 4:00, and I was not in this lake. It was a little stressful.”
Palaniuk estimated those three culls added about 3 pounds to his weight.
“I’m going to switch it up and try in a different place (Saturday),” Palaniuk said. “I’m still trying to figure it out.”
That hasn’t happened yet. Palaniuk had only one keeper weighing 1-4 at 10:30 this morning. It has dropped him into 38th place on BassTrakk. But this is an all-day test, and every one of the 47 anglers has a chance to qualify in the top 10 for Championship Sunday. After two days, only 6 pounds, 5 ounces separated 10th place (34-15) and 47th place (28-10).