Perhaps the most anticipated newborn in the history of the Bassmaster Elite Series has arrived. Kora Marie Palaniuk entered the world on June 6, 2022 at a happy and healthy 8 pounds, 3 ounces — one full week later than her expected due date of May 30.
When little Kora would make her arrival was one of the leading storylines of the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Pickwick Lake. Soon-to-be papa Brandon Palaniuk was sitting in the driver’s seat of the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year race, and he had made his intentions perfectly clear that he would be headed home the fastest way possible as soon as the call came in that things were progressing for wife Tiffanie.
“I knew there was only one decision to make,” said Brandon. “And that was that I was going to do everything possible to be there when the time came. Whether that was flying out during practice or during the tournament, we were going to pivot and make that decision whenever that happened.”
Thus, the timing of Kora’s birth was almost certainly going to have some major implications on the AOY race. But the calls kept coming throughout the week with no real news to report from Rathdrum, Idaho, where the Palaniuks live. So Brandon kept his head down and did his best to focus on the task at hand, inevitably finishing the event in seventh in the tournament and retaining his AOY lead.
“I called her when I walked off stage Sunday. I asked how she was feeling, if anything was really happening. And nothing was really developing. So we both thought about it and talked about it and ended up making the decision that Kyle and I would just take off and drive.”
With the camper packed and on the tail end of a productive but grueling week on the water, Brandon and his cameraman Kyle Vandever (who’s more like a brother at this point) hit the road with both rigs and set out on the 31-hour haul back home.
“We got north of St Louis and pulled over at like midnight. We slept for five hours and got back on the road and just kept driving. That’s when all of a sudden, things started to happen.”
Though the delivery had been delayed a week at this point, once the ball started rolling, it picked up steam quickly.
“I just kept talking to Tiff throughout the day and things just kept getting more intense and progressing. I was in Eastern Montana still and she called me and said, ‘I’m going to have to go to the hospital.’”
For those who have never driven through Montana, there are some stretches where cell service is more than a bit spotty. Now Brandon was faced with the frustrating question of whether to keep driving and risk not having service to get updates, or to push on through and hope he could reach the other side of one of those bad service stretches. They chose to keep rolling and fortunately made it through.
“We just kept driving. She called me back and by the time they got to the hospital, she was already 9 cm dilated. I probably wouldn’t normally talk about that, but that’s how tough she is and she deserves credit for how tough she is.”
Brandon and Kyle rolled on until the call finally came from Tiffanie, while the two were still about nine hours out, that the baby was coming, and it was go time.
“That was hard. We kept driving and driving and I was thinking maybe things will hold out and I’ll make it just in time. Then I got west of Billings and got a FaceTime call.”
So Palaniuk pulled over on the side of the road, still about eight hours out, and watched the scene unfold from the other side of the a screen as his wife gave birth to their first child.
“Thanks to modern technology, as much as we hate it sometimes, I was able to be there as much as possible and FaceTimed through the whole thing.”
When the call came through, everyone thought they were down to the last few pushes. But baby Kora stalled one last time, and the helplessness Brandon must have felt sitting on the side of the road still some 500 miles away had to be excruciating. Still a drop in the bucket, no doubt, compared to the pain Tiffanie was going through on the other end of the line.
“Tiff did everything unmedicated, natural. It ended up being like an hour longer, and I just sat there on the side of the road.”
Tiffanie powered through and both baby Kora and mama came out on the other side healthy. Brandon expressed his gratitude to the nurses, midwives and Tiffanie’s mom, who were all there and “were awesome.” But not being able to be there was devastating for Brandon.
“At first, when she told me I wasn’t going to make it, it crushed me. I felt terrible. Not as much for the baby’s sake as bad as that sounds. I knew Kora was not going to remember if I was there or not. But the most important thing to me was being there for Tiff. I felt terrible about that.”
But the roller coaster of emotions Brandon had ridden over the last couple weeks continued to go from valley right back to peak.
“It didn’t take very long for me to get over that and switch gears to, ‘I just want both of them to be healthy.’”
Brandon’s wish was granted, and he was able to breathe a sigh of relief as the action slowed down on the other end of the line.
“I got to see pretty much the whole process. I got to see them put her on her chest. And I was like, ‘Holy cow that kid looks exactly like me when I was little.’”
Brandon soaked up the moment as best he could over the phone. And he was glad that he had someone to celebrate with in Kyle.
“As much as it sucked not being there physically. It was kind of a cool story and moment for all of us. I’m inside the truck, Kyle’s outside the truck filming. And when it was all said and done, it was so much better that I wasn’t there on the side of the road by myself. I had someone to celebrate with. I just got out of the truck and gave him a huge hug.”
So there they were, two guys embracing on the side of the road, around midnight in somewhere Montana while the passing 18-wheelers were no doubt rubbernecking to try to see what was going on with this wrapped boat, truck and camper pulled off the interstate. The moment passed, and it was time to get back on the road.
“We ended up driving 28 hours straight from St Louis to the hospital. I have to give credit to Kyle, he’s never driven like that before. But that’s the kind of team player he is. And that’s definitely the longest straight stretch I’ve ever done.”
Brandon and Kyle did all they could to get back home in time, rolling on about five hours sleep from the time they got up well before daylight on Championship Sunday till the time they rolled back into town Tuesday morning. And though they didn’t make it in time for the delivery, Kora and Tiffanie have no doubt been within eyesight of Brandon the majority of the time since.
“I believe that everything happens for a reason, even if we don’t see it in the exact moment. But at some point, there will be a moment in our lives where we look back and realize why it all happened the way it did.”
That moment may come in a couple months on a stage in La Crosse, Wis., by way of Brandon’s second Angler of the Year title. With just three Elite Series events remaining, team Palaniuk holds a pretty good lead in this $100,000 race — one he’d be in fifth place in had the Palaniuks chosen to play it safe and Brandon forgone the event.
With Brandon’s professional fishing career being the main source of income for he, Tiffanie, now baby Kora and cameraman Kyle, there was a lot riding on their decision to fish or not to fish at Pickwick Lake, including a $19,000 check Brandon picked up for his seventh-place finish at Pickwick. But the responsibility Brandon feels to compete as best as possible doesn’t even stop there.
“It’s not just me, just Tiff, or just Kora or Kyle. It’s also all my sponsors. Because that AOY race and my tournament performances, those have an impact on their businesses. And I understand that, and they understand that. But at the same time they were also a 100% supportive of my decision either way.”
Having built a career around a strong team and a group of sponsors that feel more like family than financial partners, Brandon is poised and ready for this next chapter in his life, building a family. And he’s going to keep that family together as team Palaniuk rolls out in a couple weeks headed for the next Elite in New York.
“I’m looking forward to the rest of the season. It’s going to be different, but I’m excited about it. It’s the whole reason we have the camper. It’s the whole reason we waited until later in my career. There’s no way I’d leave them.”