By B.A.S.S. Communications Staff

OKEECHOBEE, Fla. — Compared to Friday’s phenomenal performance, Brandon Palaniuk had a slow Day 3. However, his previous heroics, paired with a solid third-round effort kept the Rathdrum, Idaho, angler atop the standings for the Bassmaster Elite Series event at Lake Okeechobee with a three-day total of 81 pounds, 1 ounce.

Palaniuk, a five-time Bassmaster Elite winner and two-time Angler of the Year, placed third on Day 1 with 23-7. A day later, he electrified the weigh-in by catching 34-10 – his personal best and the heaviest bag weighed in a Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee.

Carrying a lead of 9-12 into Saturday, Palaniuk caught 23 pounds and expanded his lead to an incredible 18-3 over Day-1 leader Greg DiPalma. He’s making no assumptions, but Palaniuk acknowledged a notable comparison to his first Elite Series trophy.

“What an unreal week it’s been,” Palaniuk said. “The very first Elite Series event I won (Bull Shoals Lake, 2012), they were dropping the water. It had dropped 7 feet in like two weeks, and I caught them on a deep crankbait.

“The water has been dropping here for almost seven weeks and I’m catching a lot of them on a crankbait. The irony in that is incredible.”

Palaniuk committed his day to the same spot he’s camped in since the start. Palaniuk’s running north of the takeoff site and fishing a canal off the Kissimmee River where a dam spillway creates feeding opportunities.

After catching his Day-2 mega-sack on aggressive moving baits, a slower third round saw him integrate a Neko-rigged green pumpkin Zoom Magnum Finesse Worm into his rotation. This, along with a Megabass Kanata jerkbait and a prototype Megabass crankbait produced his third day’s limit.

“I think pressuring the area for three days affected the fish,” Palaniuk said. “Three of us (also DiPalma and Tim Dube) beat on it pretty hard. I had some other opportunities; I just didn’t execute. I had one little window where I got them biting, but I just had too many missed opportunities.”

Explaining the obvious injury to his lower lip, Palaniuk pointed out another correlation to his first Elite win. During that Bull Shoals event, Palaniuk got a hook stuck in his finger and required an ER visit for removal.

Around 11 a.m. today he hastily scooped a fish that was barely hooked, and the awkward moment left the fish temporarily pinned to his face.

“One treble hook got stuck in my lip and one got stuck in my face,” Palaniuk said. “I had to take my face gaiter off and cut holes in it to get the treble hooks out. It was a little bit of a train wreck today.

“The hook in my lip wasn’t past the barb, so it popped right out. When the fish came up, she was one thrash from throwing the hook. I couldn’t stand that, so I’ll take a punch in the face.”

Palaniuk said he’ll devote his final day to the canal, but he’ll integrate lessons from his first three days. While he has moved throughout the canal, the key area is a high spot where fish move up to feed.

“Every day the wind has changed, so I’ve tried to adjust my angle,” Palaniuk said. “The biggest thing I’ve found is not blowing up on top of them.

“They’re not that deep, so they feel the boat presence. You’ll see them moving around, but they won’t bite, and they won’t set up correctly if you’re blowing up on top of them.”

Hailing from Millville, N.J., DiPalma opened with a Day-1 limit of 29-12, added 18-9 in the second round and earned his final-round berth with a Day-3 bag that went 14-9. For three days, he has started in the same canal as Palaniuk, but days 2 and 3 saw him include a spot 24 miles south into his game plan.

“I started in the canal today, got two keepers and then I ran to the same spot on the lake’s southwest side,” DiPalma said. “I literally put that fifth fish in the boat, and I said, ‘We’re going back.’

“I spent more time running than I did fishing today. As soon as I got back to the canal, I had maybe 20-30 minutes and I ended up catching a 6- or 7-pounder, which pretty much anchored my entire bag.”

DiPalma said his strategy centered on his final-round objective.

“I thought to myself, ‘It’s pretty important to make the Top 10, so I need a limit to, at least, make the Top 10,” he said. “I made the call to play it safe and then I went up there (to the canal) and got rewarded.”

David Gaston of Sylacauga, Ala., is in third place with 60-3. His daily weights were 14-11, 23-14 and 21-10.

Gaston has spent his time in the Indian Prairie Canal, where he’s mostly targeting prespawn fish that are coming out of the deeper channel and positioning along the riprap bank.

“You have to stick with that place all day because there are a lot of big fish coming,” Gaston said. “Everything has been on a 1/2-ounce ChatterBait in the black/blue and golden shiner colors with a boot tail or minnow-style trailer.

“I can catch them on a wacky rig, a Texas-rigged worm and sometimes a frog, but a ChatterBait is the only thing I can keep in my hand and get them to bite on the bank, or out there in 3-4 feet of water. I can cover the whole place and comb it over.”

Gaston said the key to his presentation is to keep his bait low and grinding it along the rocks.

Gaston is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with an 11-8.

Sunday’s takeoff is scheduled for 7 a.m. ET at C. Scott Driver Park. The weigh-in will be held at the park at 3 p.m.



Day 3 Standings

1. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 15, 81-01 -- 104
Day 1: 5, 23-07 -- Day 2: 5, 34-10 -- Day 3: 5, 23-00

2. Gregory DiPalma -- Millville, NJ -- 15, 62-14 -- 103
Day 1: 5, 29-12 -- Day 2: 5, 18-09 -- Day 3: 5, 14-09

3. David Gaston -- Sylacauga, AL -- 15, 60-03 -- 102
Day 1: 5, 14-11 -- Day 2: 5, 23-14 -- Day 3: 5, 21-10

4. John Garrett -- Union City, TN -- 15, 56-02 -- 101
Day 1: 5, 10-08 -- Day 2: 5, 22-07 -- Day 3: 5, 23-03

5. Kyoya Fujita -- Yamanashi, JAPAN -- 15, 55-12 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 18-00 -- Day 2: 5, 11-15 -- Day 3: 5, 25-13

6. Will Davis Jr -- Sylacauga, AL -- 15, 53-06 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 26-02 -- Day 2: 5, 13-03 -- Day 3: 5, 14-01

7. Bob Downey -- Detroit Lakes, MN -- 15, 51-07 -- 98
Day 1: 5, 11-15 -- Day 2: 5, 21-13 -- Day 3: 5, 17-11

8. Jacob Foutz -- Charleston, TN -- 15, 50-03 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 13-11 -- Day 2: 5, 19-01 -- Day 3: 5, 17-07

9. Jason Christie -- Dry Creek, OK -- 14, 50-00 -- 96
Day 1: 5, 13-08 -- Day 2: 5, 20-12 -- Day 3: 4, 15-12

10. Trey McKinney -- Carbondale, IL -- 15, 49-03 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 21-00 -- Day 2: 5, 14-07 -- Day 3: 5, 13-12

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on Day 4

11. John Cox -- Debary, FL -- 15, 49-00 -- 94 -- $7,000
Day 1: 5, 12-06 -- Day 2: 5, 25-04 -- Day 3: 5, 11-06

12. Jordan Lee -- Cullman, AL -- 15, 48-11 -- 93 -- $7,000
Day 1: 5, 15-04 -- Day 2: 5, 14-05 -- Day 3: 5, 19-02

13. Cliff Pace -- Ovett, MS -- 15, 48-10 -- 92 -- $7,000
Day 1: 5, 10-09 -- Day 2: 5, 21-04 -- Day 3: 5, 16-13

14. Scott Canterbury -- Odenville, AL -- 15, 48-04 -- 91 -- $7,000
Day 1: 5, 17-12 -- Day 2: 5, 07-04 -- Day 3: 5, 23-04

15. Tyler Williams -- Belgrade, ME -- 15, 47-14 -- 90 -- $7,000
Day 1: 5, 14-06 -- Day 2: 5, 16-15 -- Day 3: 5, 16-09

16. Beau Browning -- Hot Springs, AR -- 15, 47-09 -- 89 -- $6,500
Day 1: 5, 13-00 -- Day 2: 5, 25-12 -- Day 3: 5, 08-13

17. Wes Logan -- Springville, AL -- 15, 46-12 -- 88 -- $6,500
Day 1: 5, 15-03 -- Day 2: 5, 13-12 -- Day 3: 5, 17-13

18. Hank Cherry Jr -- Lincolnton, NC -- 15, 46-06 -- 87 -- $6,500
Day 1: 5, 13-12 -- Day 2: 5, 18-07 -- Day 3: 5, 14-03

19. Bryant Smith -- Roseville, CA -- 15, 45-02 -- 86 -- $6,500
Day 1: 5, 08-03 -- Day 2: 5, 21-07 -- Day 3: 5, 15-08

20. Taku Ito -- Dalton GA -- 15, 44-02 -- 85 -- $6,500
Day 1: 5, 13-13 -- Day 2: 5, 10-05 -- Day 3: 5, 20-00

21. Paul Mueller -- Naugatuck, CT -- 15, 44-02 -- 84 -- $6,000
Day 1: 5, 19-15 -- Day 2: 5, 13-11 -- Day 3: 5, 10-08

22. Lee Livesay -- Longview, TX -- 15, 43-10 -- 83 -- $6,000
Day 1: 5, 09-12 -- Day 2: 5, 19-13 -- Day 3: 5, 14-01

23. Jake Whitaker -- Hendersonville, NC -- 15, 43-04 -- 82 -- $6,000
Day 1: 5, 13-15 -- Day 2: 5, 17-04 -- Day 3: 5, 12-01

24. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, AR -- 15, 43-03 -- 81 -- $6,000
Day 1: 5, 20-12 -- Day 2: 5, 09-06 -- Day 3: 5, 13-01

25. KJ Queen -- Catawba, NC -- 15, 43-03 -- 80 -- $6,000
Day 1: 5, 14-00 -- Day 2: 5, 12-14 -- Day 3: 5, 16-05

26. Paul Marks -- Cumming, GA -- 15, 42-11 -- 79 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 14-15 -- Day 2: 5, 12-00 -- Day 3: 5, 15-12

27. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 15, 41-02 -- 78 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 09-01 -- Day 2: 5, 20-14 -- Day 3: 5, 11-03

28. Cody Meyer -- Eagle, ID -- 15, 41-01 -- 77 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 20-03 -- Day 2: 5, 08-12 -- Day 3: 5, 12-02

29. Tyler Rivet -- Raceland, LA -- 15, 40-12 -- 76 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 13-05 -- Day 2: 5, 10-15 -- Day 3: 5, 16-08

30. Jay Przekurat -- Plover, WI -- 15, 40-04 -- 75 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 17-04 -- Day 2: 5, 07-08 -- Day 3: 5, 15-08

31. Kyle Patrick -- Cooperstown, NY -- 15, 40-02 -- 74 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 16-09 -- Day 2: 5, 10-02 -- Day 3: 5, 13-07

32. Logan Parks -- Auburn, AL -- 15, 39-11 -- 73 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 11-14 -- Day 2: 5, 11-15 -- Day 3: 5, 15-14

33. Chris Johnston -- Otonabee, ON -- 15, 39-02 -- 72 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 16-12 -- Day 2: 5, 12-15 -- Day 3: 5, 09-07

34. Kyle Welcher -- Valley, AL -- 15, 38-15 -- 71 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 17-06 -- Day 2: 5, 11-13 -- Day 3: 5, 09-12

35. Brandon Cobb -- Greenwood, SC -- 15, 38-08 -- 70 -- $6,000
Day 1: 5, 16-11 -- Day 2: 5, 10-10 -- Day 3: 5, 11-03

36. Cooper Gallant -- Bowmanville, ON -- 13, 37-05 -- 69 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 19-15 -- Day 2: 3, 04-10 -- Day 3: 5, 12-12

37. Bryan New -- Leesville, SC -- 13, 37-03 -- 68 -- $5,500
Day 1: 3, 06-00 -- Day 2: 5, 18-09 -- Day 3: 5, 12-10

38. Timothy Dube -- Nashua , NH -- 11, 37-03 -- 67 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 18-03 -- Day 2: 4, 14-13 -- Day 3: 2, 04-03

39. Matty Wong -- Honolulu, HI -- 13, 37-01 -- 66 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 19-07 -- Day 2: 3, 08-10 -- Day 3: 5, 09-00

40. Cody Huff -- Ava, MO -- 15, 36-15 -- 65 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 14-14 -- Day 2: 5, 13-09 -- Day 3: 5, 08-08

41. Caleb Kuphall -- Mukwonago, WI -- 15, 36-11 -- 64 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 14-08 -- Day 2: 5, 13-07 -- Day 3: 5, 08-12

42. Patrick Walters -- Eutawville, SC -- 15, 36-02 -- 63 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 16-13 -- Day 2: 5, 12-12 -- Day 3: 5, 06-09

43. Ray Hanselman Jr -- Del Rio, TX -- 15, 36-01 -- 62 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 12-10 -- Day 2: 5, 12-04 -- Day 3: 5, 11-03

44. Bryan Schmitt -- Deale, MD -- 15, 35-02 -- 61 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 09-08 -- Day 2: 5, 14-02 -- Day 3: 5, 11-08

45. Hunter Shryock -- Ooltewah, TN -- 15, 33-09 -- 60 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 11-11 -- Day 2: 5, 13-00 -- Day 3: 5, 08-14

46. David Mullins -- Mt Carmel, TN -- 14, 33-07 -- 59 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 11-05 -- Day 2: 5, 12-13 -- Day 3: 4, 09-05

47. Drew Cook -- Cairo, GA -- 15, 33-03 -- 58 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 13-11 -- Day 2: 5, 12-01 -- Day 3: 5, 07-07

48. JT Thompkins -- Myrtle Beach, SC -- 15, 32-08 -- 57 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 14-15 -- Day 2: 5, 10-12 -- Day 3: 5, 06-13

49. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 15, 31-08 -- 56 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 13-11 -- Day 2: 5, 10-07 -- Day 3: 5, 07-06

50. Buddy Gross -- Chattanooga, TN -- 15, 30-14 -- 55 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 08-15 -- Day 2: 5, 14-07 -- Day 3: 5, 07-08