Palaniuk on Top, Connell Edges Evers for Final Spot in Elimination Round 2
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – From lines in to lines out, the day belonged to Brandon Palaniuk during Elimination Round 2 of the Bass Pro Shops Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley. Ten anglers broke down Henderson Bay on Lake Ontario on a sunny July day but only six are moving on to the Sudden Death Rounds: Brandon Palaniuk, Randall Tharp, Mark Rose, Casey Ashley, Takahiro Omori and Dustin Connell.
Palaniuk Passes the Rest
The Idaho pro grabbed the top spot on SCORETRACKER® with 16 bass for 44 pounds, 6 ounces. Palaniuk felt extremely comfortable fishing in Henderson Bay, a place that got him a win on Lake Ontario back in 2013.
Although he ended up distancing himself from second-place Randall Tharp by 6-14, Tharp had a run at the lead a couple of times in the third period. Focusing mainly on offshore smallmouth, Palaniuk landed two 4-pounders (a 4-2 and a 4-11) in the final period to put any thought of a Tharp win to bed.
“I can’t be beat by a Florida boy in smallmouth country,” Palaniuk said with a laugh during Period 3. “It’s just not right.”
Elimination Line Drama
While the rest of the field was searching offshore for schools of big smallmouth, Casey Ashley had a different plan. High water levels sent Ashley towards the flooded and grassy banks of Henderson Bay in search of largemouth. The South Carolina pro’s strategy wasn’t going according to plan through two periods as he was in eighth place with only 5-14. Once Period 3 came around, Ashley decided it was time to go with the grain and hunt for smallmouth offshore. That decision proved to be wise as he landed seven bass for 20-5 to end the day, capping of a fourth-place finish.
Dustin Connell and Edwin Evers were locked in a battle for the final spot in the Top 6 for much of the third period. With only 25 minutes remaining in the round, Evers reeled in a 4-15 smallmouth, pushing the then sixth-place Connell below the Elimination Line in seventh. Ten minutes later, Connell answered with a shot of his own, a 4-2 to jump back ahead of the Elimination Line.
Trailing only by 2-6, Evers still had some time to pull of some of that Oklahoma magic we saw during the entire 2019 Bass Pro Tour season. The Bass Pro Shops pro hooked two scorable bass as the clock began to inch closer to zero, but he was unable to get the fish into the boat. Connell kept his lead for the rest of the period, sending him to the Sudden Death Rounds.
Edwin Evers, Alton Jones, Andy Morgan and Keith Poche were unable to crack the Top 6 and will not be moving on to the next round.
Up Next
The Bass Pro Shops Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley continues on Saturday, February 29 at 2 p.m. EST on Outdoor Channel. Ten new anglers bring us Elimination Round 3 on Henderson Bay where only six will advance to meet the other 12 anglers in the Sudden Death Rounds.