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Guntersville and Grand lakes couldn’t be more different – the first is flat-bottomed and loaded with grass; the latter, steep-sided and devoid of vegetation. Nonetheless, 2013 Bassmaster Classic Runner-Up Brandon Palaniuk will be slinging many of the same crankbaits in this year’s Classic on Guntersville as he did last year on Grand.
“You can always catch fish on a crankbait!” says the popular young Rapala and Storm pro. “When the water’s cold like that, it’s tough to beat a hardbait with treble hooks.”
Indeed, BassGold.com tournament-history data confirms that numerous top-5 finishes in February tournaments on Guntersville came by fishing in or around vegetation with crankbaits.
Palaniuk threw Rapala DTs and Storm Wiggle Warts en route to his 2013 Classic runner-up finish on Grand Lake last winter. Those could definitely be in play this year on Guntersville, he says. So too could lipless crankbaits like Rapala Rippin’ Raps and Rattlin’ Rapalas, or shallow-running crankbaits like the new Storm Arashis.
Although the Guntersville Classic has been on Palaniuk’s mind “for about eight months now – it hasn’t really left my thought process,” he says, preparing tackle and game-plans in the months and weeks leading up to the Feb. 21-23 Classic requires an open mind, because long-range forecasts are not very specific.
“I’m going into it with a really open mind and I’m going to just fish the moment and try to figure out that week what the biggest fish in that body of water are doing,” he says.
Such was his approach in last year’s Classic as well. “It had remained cold, but conditions were changing very quickly,” Palaniuk explains. “I caught my fish almost a different way each day, even though they were in the same areas. That could be the case again this year. Or those fish on Guntersville, they could move a long ways. I don’t have any preconceived notions about what should be happening.”
With that approach, Palaniuk’s greatest asset may well be a fact that others could see as a liability – he’s spent only six days total on Guntersville, a fishery that other competitors live on, have numerous top-10s on, or both. Before the pre-practice period on Guntersville closed at midnight on New Years Eve, Palaniuk spent a few days in early October “driving around, just mostly familiarizing myself with the lake,” he says. “But I don’t have the history that a lot of the guys have on it. Really, I’m going into it fairly blind.”
Been there, done that.
Before almost winning last year’s Classic, Palaniuk had spent little time on Grand Lake, his interviewer reminds him.
“This is true,” he says, grinning. “I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve that I might try when I get there. But we’ll just leave it at that for now.”
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