Brandon Palaniuk was the first angler out yesterday, so he’s the last angler due in today at 4:30 Central. Meaning he has nearly two and a half hours to fish and get back to the ramp. He’s currently in 52nd place on BassTrakk with three fish for 6-8 on the day, just a pound and a half back of the current 47th place cutline.
With Chris Johnston and Brandon Lester in the top 10 here on the Mississippi River currently, Palaniuk almost certainly has to make the cut to fish tomorrow. This means he has to catch another good one or two more keepers to sneak in. If he can get into tomorrow, finishing 47th would be enough to knockout Johnston, even if the Canadian hammer wins this week.
Though they would finish the year in a tie in the event if Palaniuk finishes 47th and Johnston wins, Palaniuk would win the tie breaker by having the most weight throughout the season. The same tie breaker would give Palaniuk the AOY title over Lester should the two finish the year dead even. To prevent this, Palaniuk needs to finish 37th or better here, making even a win not enough for Lester to take him out.
