This week’s big news for Alabamians worldwide – or at least those who yell “War Eagle” instead of “Roll Tide” — is that folk hero Bo Jackson has been suffering from unrelenting hiccups for nearly a year.
Bear with me fishing fans, this has something to do with this week’s derby at Lay Lake.
Thirty-five-plus years ago, on the night of November 30, 1987, Jackson celebrated his 25th birthday by crossing the country to the Pacific Northwest and steamrolling the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football. Most memorably, he was isolated on the impeccably coiffed Brian Bosworth, and ran both over and through the Boz on his way into the end zone. He “posterized” him, long before the term had a name.
Today, on behalf of an entire region of the country, Idaho pro Brandon Palaniuk tried to repay the favor, bringing his own powerful running style from the northwest to Alabama, despite weighing somewhere in the range of a buck forty. After Day One at Lay Lake he sits atop the standings, with 19 pounds 7 ounces. That’s 11 ounces ahead of runner-up Bryan New, and no less than 3 ½ pounds over all of a baker’s dozen of Alabama residents in the field.
Is it possible that this is part of a lifelong revenge plan? Palaniuk was 27 days old when Bo ran roughshod over the Hawks. They don’t call him the Prodigy for no reason – indeed, it seems highly possible, if not probable, that he’s been working to get back at Alabama for nearly the entirety of his life. He’s earned six B.A.S.S. wins across five states: South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas and two in New York, but if he can hold on for three more days, it’s time for him to further unleash his plan for world domination by conquering Bama, too.
As far as conspiracy theories go, it’s not “Lincoln’s secretary was named Kennedy and Kennedy’s secretary was named Lincoln,” but I’m still convinced.
Phil Knight, if you’re listening: Remember, Bo may be good at a lot of things, and is a dedicated outdoorsman, but BP knows tournament fishing.
Here’s what I saw and heard through my tinfoil hat today on Day One of the 2023 Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Lay Lake:
Speaking of football – After all of these years of wondering, it finally makes sense to me why noted orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews – whose patients included Bo Jackson (see above), Drew Brees, Michael Jordan and Triple H – set up shop in Alabama. With all of the swim jig shaking going on, having a clinic that fixes wrist, elbow and shoulder injuries nearby is a license to print money.
More football – You typically need a kicker or two to separate yourself from the field, and often a big bag consists of one giant, one or two decent fish and two or three small ones. Both New and Palaniuk had 5-pound class fish in their bags (including Palaniuk’s 5-14, the days’ Phoenix Boats Big Bass), but what really makes them stand out is the quality of their other fish. Palaniuk’s smallest, per BassTrakk, was 2-15. Five of those would’ve added up to 14-11, good enough for 9th place. New’s smallest, per BassTrakk, was 2-12. Five of those would’ve added up to 13-12, good enough for 12th.
A personal note – Lay Lake will always be important to my writing career, because the 2010 Classic was the first one I covered for B.A.S.S. It’s where James Overstreet and I learned from future champion Chris Lane that the Classic is indeed “the mother of all mothers.” You can’t say the name “Beeswax Creek” to any serious fishing fan without them knowing exactly which event you’re talking about.
Start early, stay late – Many anglers stated that the early bite will be the key to getting and staying healthy in this event, but the top two anglers got key bites late in the day. Bryan New, in 2nd with 18-12, caught four of his five weigh fish after 10:30, including one at 1:43 and one at 1:52. Palaniuk went three hours without a cull before making his final addition at 3:19pm.
Will’s welcoming committee – When rookie Will Davis Jr. ascended the stage, the crowd made more noise “than they made for the last 59 anglers combined,” said Dave Mercer. It included airhorns and all sorts of percussion instruments and native Alabamian cheers. The sheer volume put even longtime weigh-in shrieker Jennifer Lowen to shame, but in her defense she’s a one-woman band with no instruments.
What home field advantage – The fourteen pros who call Alabama home in this week’s field are spread out pretty evenly in the standings, with eight of them inside the cut. There are two in the top ten and another in 11th, but also four in 95th or worse.
Alabama first years — Local Rookies David Gaston and Will Davis Jr. entered today 2nd and 3rd in the Rookie of the Year race, 1 and 21 points behind leader Bryant Smith, respectively. They couldn’t have dialed up a better opportunity, especially since Canadian Cooper Gallant has held on (just 10 points behind Davis) and there’s still a big northern swing left to go where he’s expected to make a push. “The limit was the goal going into today,” said Gallant, who indeed weighed in five for 9-8, but is only in 71st. Meanwhile, Davis closed the gap, he sits in 7th, while Smith (tied for 29th) and Gaston (31st) more or less maintained their position compared to one another.
Cut Weight Math – Following the typical “double the weight and add a pound” guideline, today’s 11-6 cut weight means it’ll likely take a two day total of 23-12 to get to Saturday.
The Bell Curve – As Dave Mercer said, “the scoreboard’s going to be like a northern event because it’s going to be so tight.” Indeed, 30th place is 12-7, while 70th place is just under 3 pounds less. That means we’ll see a lot of movement tomorrow, as one or two bites – landed or missed – will make a huge difference for many anglers.
Tournament Director Emeritus Trip Weldon on his home state’s weather – “Nobody knew we were going to have summer in January.” Indeed, several anglers reported catching bedding fish. May 11 seems awfully late for that in Alabama, at least in any appreciable numbers.
According to Clent Davis, local knowledge can be a stumbling block – “I did the one thing I told myself not to do and that was try to fish the whole lake in eight hours.”
Bump and Grind – The last time I heard the word “grind” this much, Eric Nies was still in his prime. In case you missed them, here are a few grind and grind-related quotes from the stage:
- Chris Zaldain: “I typically like these grinder tournaments but this is a whole different level of grinding.”
- Scott Martin: “This is what you call a full first-class grinder right here.”
- David Fritts: “It’s probably going to get better. I just hope it gets better during the tournament.”
- Bill Lowen: “You’ve got to laugh or you’ll cry.”
