OKEECHOBEE, Fla. — The gift that kept on giving finally stopped giving. Thankfully, that gift had given enough for Brandon Palaniuk to cruise across the finish line with a four-day total of 95 pounds, 4 ounces in the Bassmaster Elite tournament at Lake Okeechobee.
“It’s so crazy how things happen for a reason,” Palaniuk said of a slow day that tested his resolve. “This morning, me and (seventh-place Greg DiPalma) were fishing next to one another and I watched him lose several big ones. I hate that and I love it, at the same time.
“I don’t wish that upon anyone, but if he would have caught those, I would have been sweating bullets. I could not get a bite, and then I just kept sticking with it and picking off one here and there.”
Starting strong with a third-place, first-round limit of 23-7, the pro from Rathdrum, Idaho, moved into the Day 2 lead by sacking up 34-10 — his personal best and the heaviest bag weighed in a Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee. That feat sent Palaniuk into Day 3 with a 9-12 lead over Day 1 leader DiPalma.
On Semifinal Saturday, the fish shied from the previous days’ pressure. Enduring a few painful losses and a close call that sent a big crankbait colliding with his face (no serious injury), Palaniuk caught 23 pounds and expanded his lead to an 18-3 advantage over Day 1 leader Greg DiPalma.
Palaniuk, a two-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year, endured a stingy Day 4 and sealed the deal with a final-round limit of 14-3. Edging John Garrett by 15-13 — the fourth-largest winning margin in Bassmaster Elite history and Palaniuk’s second double-digit win (also his first Elite win at Bull Shoals, 2012) — he collected the $102,000 top prize and his sixth blue trophy.
All week, Palaniuk has camped in a small stretch of the C-41A Canal, which flows southeast from Lake Istokpoga. The key location was a ridge with an adjacent trench passing between the high spot and the riprap bank.
“I think the biggest thing was this spot had deep water and spawning areas nearby and it allowed those fish to funnel through and replenish every day,” Palaniuk said. “The structure set up right for them to position and funnel into there.
“In the back of that trough was a flat that came off the bank. That created an area where those big females could get sun, and there was tons of bait that they could feed on.”
The final round started slowly for Palaniuk, as the early afternoon found him with only four fish for less than 10 pounds. Losing a key fish sent him huddling to his deck, but Palaniuk recomposed himself, got back to work and ended his day with a 5 1/2-pounder that crushed his Clutch The Boss glidebait.
After the first day’s weigh-in, Palaniuk noted that he cycled through a wide array of baits to determine what would trigger the fish. As the week went on, he dialed in a few key performers, including the Megabass Kanata jerkbait, a prototype Megabass crankbait and the hulking Megabass Big M 4.0.
He also caught fish on a KGB glidebait, a Neko-rigged green-pumpkin Zoom Magnum Finesse Worm, and an XZone Lures Muscle Back Craw punched through a hyacinth mat. Reviewing this week’s accomplishment, Palaniuk said marking a half dozen Elite victories has stoked his fire for future achievement.
“We’re not done yet,” Palaniuk said. “I’m 15 years into it; I figure I have at least that many more. I feel like we’re just getting started.”
Hailing from Union City, Tenn., Garrett finished second with 79-7. After tying Chris Zaldain for 62nd place on Day 1 with 10-8, Garrett bolted into 12th place with a Day 2 limit of 22-7. Adding 23-3 on Semifinal Saturday, Garrett rose to fourth before closing the event with a final limit of 23-5. Coming off a fourth-place finish at last week’s Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River, Garrett anchored his Day 4 bag with a 7-4.
“This Florida swing has been absolutely unbelievable,” Garrett said. “Most of the time when I’m in Florida I take a righthand turn, and I was supposed to take a left, but every decision I’ve made the past two weeks has been the right one.”
Garrett fished a black and blue Strike King Hack Attack Swim Jig with a Strike King Rage Scounbug trailer and a Texas-rigged black and blue Strike King Rage Bug. He used the former in shallow water to locate aggressive fish, while the latter handled his flipping duties in deeper spots.
Kyoya Fujita of Yamanashi, Japan, took third with 77-4. His daily weights were 18-0, 11-15, 25-13 and 21-8. Fujita did most of his work in the Rim Canal. On Day 4, he stayed east of the Taylor Creek area.
“I fished the canal because I practiced in the lake and everything had changed (from his previous visit in 2023),” Fujita said. “I found my fish on Livescope and fished a jighead minnow with a Jackall Driftfry and Deps Sakamata Shad.
David Gaston of Sylacauga, Ala., won the $2,000 award for Big Bass honors with an 11-8. Gaston’s catch is the largest fish caught at Lake Okeechobee in Bassmaster Elite history. That fish also ranks as the 10th-biggest and the 75th double-digit bass in Elite Series history.
Bernie Schultz of Gainesville, Fla., won the $1,000 BassTrakk Contingency award. Garrett won the $1,000 award for leading the Progressive Angler of the Year standings. Palaniuk won the $2,000 Monster Bag award for his Day 2 limit of 34-10.
Garrett leads the Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 204 points. John Cox of Debary, Fla., is in second with 191, followed by Gaston with 183, Bill Lowen of Brookville, Ind., with 182 and Will Davis Jr of Sylacauga, Ala., with 182. Evan Kung of Pickering, Canada, leads the Elite Series Rookie of the Year standings with 143 points. Davis Jr also took home an additional $3,000 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program, while DiPalma earned $2,000 for being the second-highest placing entrant.
As part of the Yamaha Power Pay program, Palaniuk earned an additional $4,000 while Garrett claimed an additional $1,500 for being the second-highest placing entrant. Fujita and Gaston both earned $1,000 for being the third- and fourth-highest placing entrant, respectively.
2025 Bassmaster Elite tournament at Lake Okeechobee 2/27-3/2
Standings Day 4
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 20 95-04 104 $102,000.00
Day 1: 5 23-07 Day 2: 5 34-10 Day 3: 5 23-00 Day 4: 5 14-03
2. John Garrett Union City, TN 20 79-07 103 $21,500.00
Day 1: 5 10-08 Day 2: 5 22-07 Day 3: 5 23-03 Day 4: 5 23-05
3. Kyoya Fujita Yamanashi CA JAPAN 20 77-04 102 $15,000.00
Day 1: 5 18-00 Day 2: 5 11-15 Day 3: 5 25-13 Day 4: 5 21-08
4. Will Davis Jr Sylacauga, AL 20 76-05 101 $13,000.00
Day 1: 5 26-02 Day 2: 5 13-03 Day 3: 5 14-01 Day 4: 5 22-15
5. Bob Downey Detroit Lakes, MN 20 73-02 100 $11,750.00
Day 1: 5 11-15 Day 2: 5 21-13 Day 3: 5 17-11 Day 4: 5 21-11
6. David Gaston Sylacauga, AL 20 68-04 99 $14,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-11 Day 2: 5 23-14 Day 3: 5 21-10 Day 4: 5 08-01
7. Gregory DiPalma Millville, NJ 18 67-04 98 $11,000.00
Day 1: 5 29-12 Day 2: 5 18-09 Day 3: 5 14-09 Day 4: 3 04-06
8. Trey McKinney Carbondale, IL 20 65-09 97 $10,300.00
Day 1: 5 21-00 Day 2: 5 14-07 Day 3: 5 13-12 Day 4: 5 16-06
9. Jacob Foutz Charleston, TN 19 59-05 96 $10,200.00
Day 1: 5 13-11 Day 2: 5 19-01 Day 3: 5 17-07 Day 4: 4 09-02
10. Jason Christie Dry Creek, OK 17 54-05 95 $11,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-08 Day 2: 5 20-12 Day 3: 4 15-12 Day 4: 3 04-05
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PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Day
1 Gregory DiPalma Millville, NJ 08-10 $500.00
1 Brandon Cobb Greenwood, SC 08-10 $500.00
2 David Gaston Sylacauga, AL 11-08 $1,000.00
3 Jason Christie Dry Creek, OK 07-11 $1,000.00
4 Will Davis Jr Sylacauga, AL 07-04 $500.00
4 John Garrett Union City, TN 07-04 $500.00
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PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
David Gaston Sylacauga, AL 11-08 $2,000.00
RAPALA CRUSHCITY MONSTER BAG
Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 34-10 $2,000.00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 93 498 1261-13
2 95 497 1253-05
3 47 245 679-07
4 7 45 145-14
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242 1285 3340-07