Palaniuk Dominates Lake Okeechobee for Sixth Bassmaster Elite Series Victory
EUFAULA, A.L. (March 4, 2025) – Brandon Palaniuk dominated Lake Okeechobee to claim his sixth career Bassmaster Elite Series victory in the second event of the 2025 season. Taking a commanding lead following the second day, he carried a 9-pound, 12-ounce advantage into Semifinal Saturday, finishing with a three-day total of 81 pounds, 1 ounce. His final day weight of 14 pounds, 3 ounces brought his four-day total to 95 pounds, 4 ounces, securing the win with a 15-pound, 13-ounce margin of victory.
The Rathdrum, Idaho angler, nicknamed "The Prodigy" early in his career, Palaniuk entered his 15th season on the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2025 with an impressive resume—amassing over $2 million in earnings, securing five career Elite Series victories, and claiming two Angler of the Year titles. A longtime supporter of Humminbird and Minn Kota, he has relied on his electronics, trolling motor, and shallow water anchors for over a decade, trusting the brands to deliver the precision and performance needed at the highest level of competition.
"What an unbelievable week," Palaniuk said. "It’s wild how things come full circle—my first Elite Series win back in 2012 happened with falling water, and a crankbait was the key. Now, more than a decade later, the water has been dropping here for nearly seven weeks, and a crankbait played a huge role again. Having my boat set up exactly how I needed it—from my electronics and trolling motor to all of my gear—allowed me to be efficient and make the right adjustments throughout the event.”
Palaniuk started strong on Day One, bringing in a solid five-fish limit weighing 23 pounds, 7 ounces to land in third place. He followed up with a record-breaking performance on Day Two, hauling in a staggering 34-pound, 10-ounce limit—the heaviest single-day bag ever caught in Elite Series competition at Lake Okeechobee. Adding another 23 pounds even on Semifinal Saturday, Palaniuk entered Championship Sunday with a dominant 18-pound, 3-ounce lead.
With a warming trend leading into the event, many anglers anticipated a sight-fishing showdown as pre-spawn bass moved shallow. However, consistency was hard to find across Lake Okeechobee. During practice, Palaniuk scouted the canal system surrounding the lake and discovered a high spot off the Kissimmee River, where spillway current positioned fish perfectly to feed—a pattern that fueled his dominant performance.
On Championship Sunday, with the field cut to the top 10, Palaniuk remained committed to his key area, still sharing water with a couple of competitors. His 18-pound, 3-ounce lead gave him breathing room, but the final day proved to be his toughest, with just three fish by midday. He adjusted his approach, cycling through baits and using precise boat positioning to scrape together a five-fish limit weighing 14 pounds, 3 ounces—securing the victory without needing to leave the dock the final morning.
"Man, Sunday was a grind," Palaniuk said after his toughest day of the week. "I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, and it definitely wasn’t. I had to stay patient, keep making adjustments, get through the tough moments of losing fish, and just trust that if I put my head down, I’d get the bites I needed. It feels incredible to get another Elite Series win and start the season off strong."
A Lethal Dual Threat Combination
Committing to a single small area below a spillway, Palaniuk rotated through a variety of baits over four days of competition, capitalizing on key feeding windows when the time was right. Known for his mastery of electronics, he leveraged the all-new Humminbird MEGA Live 2 to track schools of bass setting up to feed. By pairing MEGA Live 2 with Humminbird MEGA 360 Imaging, Palaniuk could precisely position his boat and make the perfect cast every time.
“MEGA Live 2 and MEGA 360 played a huge role throughout the tournament,” Palaniuk explained. “I could scan around in real time, changing between various new color palettes, to make the bass stand out on screen, and identify how they were moving around; that helped me dial in the area more each day. After my huge bag on Day Two, I was worried the spot wouldn’t hold up, and sure enough, the bites got tougher. I had to make every opportunity count.”
When Palaniuk first found the spot in practice, he had no idea how productive it would be—or if anyone else had discovered it. The high spot sat surrounded by deeper water in the canal. As conditions changed daily, shifting winds forced him to constantly reposition his boat to maintain the perfect casting angle for key bites. To remain undetected and maintain precise positioning, he relied on his Minn Kota Ultrex QUEST trolling motor and Minn Kota Raptors.
When he wasn’t scanning around with MEGA Live 2, he relied on Spot-Lock to hold him in place below the spillway throughout each tournament day. He repeatedly rotated bait selections and made casts to spots where he marked fish on MEGA Live 2.
“With so much boat pressure on that small spot, the fish were getting skittish. I had to be as quiet and stealthy as possible,” said Palaniuk. “The brushless motor in the Ultrex QUEST let me stay locked in without making unnecessary noise, but when I needed to get shallower, and get the perfect angle along the bank, I deployed my Minn Kota Raptors. That setup was key—it allowed me to adjust with the wind and stay in position to get those critical bites.”
“We are incredibly proud of Brandon and his family for this achievement,” said Tim Price, Field Promotions Manager Humminbird and Minn Kota. “He exemplifies professionalism and serves as a tremendous ambassador for our Minn Kota and Humminbird brands, as well as the entire sport. Working with Brandon to always make our products better and more efficient for all anglers is always at the top of his mind and ours.”
