Idaho pro Brandon Palaniuk is one of the biggest stars in the sport with Bassmaster Elite Series wins, an Angler of the Year title, a huge social media following and plenty of fans. One thing that has eluded him so far is a Bassmaster Classic win, he's finished 2nd and 4th, but this year could be the year that he takes home the title when the anglers compete for the 2022 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell.
An Unpredictable Venue
Over his career, Palaniuk has been to Lake Hartwell a handful of times, including two Classics, where he finished 22nd and 53rd. He likes the lake but says it's a bit hard to guess how the fishing will play out because it changes so much.
"I've been there a few times and it's unpredictable because it's a little different every time I've fished it," he said. "You have a lot of options there, both largemouth and spotted bass. It will be a practice where I'll start with 30 rods rigged up and will try to narrow it down. I'll have to decide if I want to go for the bigger largemouth or the more plentiful spotted bass."
Palaniuk plans to try a variety of different baits, depth zones, and sections of the lake in practice to put together a plan.
"I'm going to sample it all and a lot of it will be dependent on the weather during the week," he said. "A warming trend will make it a heavy pre-spawn bite, but if it gets cold during the week, they still may be in a winter pattern and the deep spotted bass bite will be a better bet. I can't say for sure, but I think the odds of winning this event are much better with all largemouth or a mixed bag with a few good ones each day."
He's looking forward to a tournament on a lake that fishes big and where there are many options, especially after two straight events in Florida.
"Hartwell allows guys to spread out and it will be nice after fishing Florida, where everyone is on top of each other in the same areas," he added.
Cranking the Shallows
One technique that Palaniuk sees working on Lake Hartwell is a crankbait and he thinks it's a good option for either species.
"This will be more of a pre-spawn deal, and I'll be focusing on staging areas where there's a mix of largemouth and spotted bass," he said. "I'll lean on crawfish patterns because it's spring and they always do well in highland reservoirs this time of year. I'll be throwing flat-sided baits like the Rapala Ott's Garage Slim 06."
Palaniuk will fish the Slim and the DT-6, mixing them up based on the conditions.
"I'll always have a DT-6 tied on, but I like the bigger profile of the Slim at times," he said. "It also has a tighter action, and I can still fish it on heavier line like 15-pound fluorocarbon because it's a bigger flat-sided bait."
Jerkbaits May Be In Play
Palaniuk believes a jerkbait could be a good tool on Hartwell and he plans to look for fish relating to herring and those making their way to spawn.
"I'll be looking out deeper and also trying to catch the fish that are moving to the pockets," he said. "Even the fish that were out eating herring and are now coming to spawn still react well to jerkbaits because it looks like what they've been feeding on all winter."
Palaniuk's go-to jerkbait in this scenario is the Rapala Shadow Rap Deep in the mossback shiner color, a bait and color that he says works everywhere for him.
Deep Spotted Bass
If the spotted bass are still out deep and he thinks he can win with them, Palaniuk believes an underspin and Rapala Jigging Rap Ice Jig could be big weapons for him.
"I like the Size 9 Jigging Rap because it's 7/8-ounce and it gets down really quick to fish you see on your graphs," he said. "I always do well on the glow color and also Helsinki shad."
For the underspin bite, he'll be fishing a VMC Spin Jig Underspin in ¼ up to 3/8-ounce.
"I like the X-Zone Swammer on the heavier head and they have a new bait coming out called the Hot Shot Minnow that's great on lighter underspins. The Whiplash Shad is another good one to use."
Brandon Palaniuk is making his 10th Bassmaster Classic appearance and shooting for his first win. He's familiar with the playing field at Lake Hartwell and knows that keeping his options open is necessary as he begins to practice. He'll be willing to fish shallow or deep to find the winning bass.
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