When Brandon Palaniuk was on the weigh-in stage yesterday, he claimed that he didn’t know what he was going to do when at started Day 1 at Neely Henry Lake, he didn’t know what he was going to do when he started Day 2, and he didn’t know what he was going to do today. Here’s what he’s done: After a 54th-place finish (9 lbs.) on Day 1, he jumped 37 places to 17th on Day 2 with 14-4, and he’s the first angler with a limit this morning, which has him in the top 5 with 9-7 at 9 a.m. Clearly, what Palaniuk is doing is figuring out how to catch bass at Neely Henry.
The 2017 Angler of the Year is in contention for that title again. He came into this tournament ranked 7th in the AOY standings. He has posted three top 15 finishes – 14th at the St. Johns River and Lake Fork, and 7th at Pickwick Lake.