Fantasy Fishing: Time to rebound

Written by

Chase Sansom

If anyone is keeping track of my Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing results this year you already understand this article’s title. And you definitely understand to be cautious when considering my picks. I think my bad luck with Fantasy Fishing came as a curse when I started writing columns for the website. So, I am going to blame all of my Fantasy Fishing misfortune on our Vice President of Digital Jim Sexton and Kyle Jessie who suggested I write columns this year. Only kidding.

Even though I’ve had some bad finishes in the last three tournaments, I’m hoping maybe working the event on the water might change my luck. Sounds good, so I am going to believe it might give me a chance. I’m very excited to get to Lake Murray this week to cover the event on the water, and I think as far as a coverage standpoint goes, we are going to see some pretty remarkable stuff. I have my fingers crossed for some topwater bites, seeing a couple of guys catch a few bedding fish and maybe a big swimbait catch or two.

There are going to be a lot of different things going on at Murray, I would imagine. From prespawn fish to spawning fish and postspawn fish, this should give all the anglers the opportunity to pick their poison and run with it. It’ll be interesting to see which phase of the spawn is going to work out better and who can take advantage of each phase.

For the first two Elite events of the season, I was convinced they would be dominated up shallow. Boy was I wrong. I love the forward-facing sonar fishing myself, but I think I am ready to see a tournament won up in the dirt this season. So, as I’m sitting here writing, I have the expectation this tournament will be won up shallow. Hopefully this time it actually comes to fruition.

Without further ado, let’s jump into my picks and hopefully rebound my Fantasy Fishing season.

BUCKET A: JOHN COX

If you are going to bet on a shallow-water angler, it might as well be John Cox. Assumingly there are going to be fish both spawning and getting ready to spawn, Cox is one pick you can count on to find them up shallow somewhere. With no recent tournament history on Lake Murray, Cox did fish another professional tournament there a few years back giving him a little bit of knowledge of the lake.

Alternate: Shane LeHew

BUCKET B: DREW BENTON

When you look through Bucket B and you are trying to decide who might be the best at catching spawning fish, the one name that sticks out is Drew Benton. You give Benton the opportunity to catch spawning fish and most likely he is going to take advantage of it. Also, it doesn’t hurt that he just came off a top five in the Bassmaster Classic. He has a lot of momentum going his way.

Alternate: Patrick Walters

BUCKET C: JAKE WHITAKER

While I don’t know Jake Whitaker extremely well, I am pretty aware of his strength with finesse fishing, and I think that could play huge on Murray. When I think of Whitaker I think of spinning rods, weightless stickbaits and light line. You add in a good mix of spawning fish to that and Whitaker could end up with a great finish at the event.

Alternate: Kenta Kimura

BUCKET D: BRANDON LESTER

Brandon Lester might not be the sneakiest pick in Bucket D, but his odds of getting inside the Top 50 cut are pretty high. All things considered, Lester’s strong suit is shallow fishing, and his last two finishes have been Top 10s, so he has some good momentum rolling into Murray. He had an uncharacteristic tournament at Lake Seminole that threw a lot of guys off as well, but look for Lester to rebound at in South Carolina.

Alternate: Justin Atkins

BUCKET E: BRYAN NEW

Bryan New being at 70% player percentage in Bucket E might not be the most ideal pick if you are trying to separate yourself to rocket up the leaderboard, but if you’re in a situation like myself, I hate to gamble on someone else and lose more points. With New, you could expect to find him inside the Top 50 cut after Day 2 considering he spends a fair amount of time on Murray.

Alternate: David Williams