Yamaha pro and Toyota Bonus Bucks member Brandon Palaniuk is leaning on his extensive smallmouth experience and steadfast mindset as he heads to St. Lawrence River for the last Elite Series tournament of the year.
We’re at the tail end of the annual smallmouth swing of the Elite Series and few others are looking forward to the St. Lawrence River event more than Yamaha pro Brandon Palaniuk. If you were to search his tournament finishes for just a few minutes, you’ll quickly understand why he’s so excited to get to one of the best smallmouth fisheries in the country. The man is a smallmouth stud and he simply can’t wait to get to lay it all on the line in the proverbial Promised Land.
“I always get so excited when we come up north,” Palaniuk said. “I absolutely love smallmouth fishing and clear water; it reminds me of home in Idaho. To be honest, I love the big water, too. It’s intimidating to some folks but I’ve learned through the years how to manage and navigate it safely and efficiently. I’ve won a few of these derbies before and it’s a good confidence booster going into this event knowing that I might have what it takes to win.”
As far as his feelings go towards smallmouth bass, Palaniuk has strange relationship with them. They’re fun with they’re biting but when they’re not, it can really mess up a tournament day.
“I love everything about smallmouth bass until things go sideways,” Palaniuk said. “Sometimes they jump off even though you did everything right. Other times, they can just totally disappear from an awesome area you found in practice just a few days before. They’re curious, hard-fighting fish and when you can find them, they normally bite. But again, it’s always a game of hit-and-miss when you go to them on tournament day. They can totally leave an area and you’re done. You start back at square one again.”
The decision between long runs and short runs is a very unique dynamic of the St. Lawrence River event. While many anglers factoring in AOY points will choose to stay closer to the launch site throughout the tournament, Palaniuk is not afraid to make the big run to Lake Ontario in search of a 30-pound bag.
“I absolutely love big water,” Palaniuk said, “The biggest reason I run a Yamaha outboard is because we frequent places with big water. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in my career is that you have to have confidence in your equipment. There’s a chance that I’ll be running 100 miles each way during the St. Lawrence tournament and I would not make those runs and take those chances without being totally certain I can get back safely.”
Despite a disappointing finish on Lake Champlain, Palaniuk remains optimistic going into the final event of the year. He believes his execution has been good this year but as we wrap up the tournament season, he wants to focus on the mental side of his fishing more than anything else.
“I’ve always believed that tournament fishing was a mental thing,” Palaniuk said. “But I think it really hit home this year for me. Whether you’re having a great tournament or a really bad one, it’s important to stick with things and grind it out. You have to hang on to any small wins you might get throughout the course of a tournament or season. You’re going to lose so much in this sport. Heck, KVD is the winningest angler in our sport and he has still lost more than he won.Perspective is important. Even if you had a bad tournament, if you climbed from 90th in the AOY standings to 54th, that’s a big win and you should be proud of yourself for it.”
Once Palaniuk parks his Toyota Tundra at the St. Lawrence River, it will be all business for the superstar pro. He’ll shake the cobwebs off from the previous Champlain tournament, get his mind refocused, love on his family and get ready to battle with some giant smallmouth. He’s no stranger to the ups and downs of this game and he’ll be ready for whatever Mother Nature may throw at him.
