Brandon and Tiffanie Palaniuk are anticipating the birth of their first child soon — real soon. Tiffanie’s due date is May 30 – the first day of practice for Brandon’s next Bassmaster Elite Series event, which is set for Pickwick Lake, June 2-5. No matter when Tiffanie gives birth, Brandon will be there.
“I may leave practice and come back to fish the tournament. Or I might catch 20 pounds on Day 1 and fly home,” said Palaniuk, explaining a couple of his options. His No. 1 priority is to be with his wife in Idaho for the birth of their first child.
It’s an interesting coincidence that Palaniuk moved into first place in the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings the week before he becomes a first-time father. The baby (It’s a girl!) could influence the final outcome of the AOY race. Clearly, if Palaniuk misses the competition at Pickwick Lake, he won’t be leading in AOY points after the tournament. However, the “new baby factor” on the Elite Series might propel him past any missed competition days. The latest example of the new baby factor, of course, is Lee Livesay, who has won both an Open and last week’s Elite Series event at Lake Fork since the birth of his daughter.
“Typically, dudes start crushing ‘em after they have a child,” Palaniuk said. “It’s a well-known pattern.”
Here’s where we are – five tournaments into a nine-tournament season. Palaniuk is crushing ‘em now. From the first tournament at the St. Johns River to last week at Lake Fork, he has finished 20th, 26th, third, 12th and second. He went into Lake Fork trailing AOY leader John Cox by 10 points; he came out of Lake Fork leading Cox, who is now in second place, by 20 points. Palaniuk has always had this thing about not wanting to know any details about AOY points during the season. He does know he’s leading now, but no other details, or so he claims.
“My assumption is it’s one point if I’m leading, and when I’m not, I assume it’s by 100 points,” Palaniuk said.
And speaking of 100 points, first place and 15th place in the AOY standings are separated by less than 100 points with four tournaments left – first Pickwick, then the St. Lawrence River (July 14-17), Lake Oahe (August 18-21) and the Mississippi River at La Crosse, Wis., (August 26-29).
Here are some recent examples of how quickly the fortunes of one angler can change in the Elite Series format, where the winner of each tournament earns 100 points and the scale slides down one point at a time based on an angler’s place in the final standings:
- Two new anglers entered the top 10 after Lake Fork, and both jumped from previously being in the 20s. Gerald Swindle made the biggest charge, moving up from 24th place to eighth thanks to his third-place finish. Caleb Kuphall went from 21st to ninth after finishing 16th at Fork. Both anglers had mediocre starts to the season but have put together three straight strong finishes. Swindle missed the cuts at St. Johns (52nd) and the Harris Chain (53rd), before finishing 17th at Santee Cooper, 30th at Chickamauga and third at Fork. Kuphall’s five tourney results, in order, were 47th, 87th, second, fifth and 16th.
- Matt Robertson has made the biggest two-tournament improvement. He was in 75th place in the AOY standings after finishing 78th at Santee Cooper. But a fourth at Chickamauga and 17th at Fork have moved him into 36th place in the AOY standings, inside the top 39 that automatically qualify for the 2023 Bassmaster Classic based on final AOY points for the season.
- Livesay and Shane LeHew made the biggest AOY one-tournament improvements at Lake Fork. Both gained 29 places in the standings. Livesay’s victory shot him from 71st place to 42nd. LeHew’s fourth-place finish moved him up from 69th to 40th.
See the full Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings.
