June 1, 2011
B.A.S.S. Reporter’s Notebook: Palaniuk goes home; DeFoe lands second boat wrap deal; Reehm signed by Angler Innovations; Goldbeck gets multiyear ABT renewal; and June jammed with tournaments
Palaniuk goes home: Brandon Palaniuk hadn’t been home for four and a half months when he pulled his boat rig into his driveway in Hayden, Idaho, on May 18.
Two weeks later, he was on the road again, headed south to Lake Fork in Texas for an appearance at the Skeeter Boat Owners tournament, 2,000 miles away. He probably won’t see Idaho again until sometime in July or August — maybe later.
No way is he complaining. He’s got the only job he’s ever wanted, and he knew going into it that travel was required.
Palaniuk, 23, is in his rookie year as a Bassmaster Elite Series pro. Among the youngest (Bradley Roy of Kentucky is the youngest at 20), Palaniuk also is one of the pros who must travel hard and fast if they want to go home between events.
Until mid-May, Palaniuk hadn’t had the time, energy or money for a trip home. He had left in early January, when he went to Texas to pick up his new Skeeter, freshly wrapped in a B.A.S.S. Federation Nation motif as a salute to the hundreds of fellow Federation Nation anglers whose donations helped finance his rookie year. He headed to Florida for Bassmaster Elite Series event scouting before he swung west to New Orleans for the Bassmaster Classic, to fill the berth he’d earned through the Federation Championship in late 2010.
He finished fourth in the Classic, an auspicious start to a season in which he is currently the No. 4 rookie and 29th in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year points standings, which would put him into the 2012 Bassmaster Classic were the season to end now.
His first real chance at a visit home was the nearly three weeks off between the sixth and seventh Elite Series events. He decided the drive of 2,600 miles from South Carolina to western Idaho was worth it.
Home, he found, felt a bit different. People treated him differently, but in a good way. Hayden’s a small town, but it’s next to Coeur d’Alene, population about 43,000. Palaniuk said that just about everywhere he went, people came up to him and told him they were following his career via Bassmaster.com.
“It was amazing to me how many people recognized me, knew about my fishing,” he said. “People I’d never met before, people who had seen me on the local news or read about me in the newspaper.”
Or noticed him in a recent Toyota advertisement that featured the rookie standing next to Edwin Evers, the Oklahoma pro who is making a good run at the 2011 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year title.
“People are telling me they’ve been following me at every tournament, watching me at Bassmaster.com,” he said. “I think bass fishing is getting bigger, and people are asking what it’s like, what it’s all about.”
He said he spent much of his time at home catching up with family and friends, but he didn’t take a holiday from fishing.
“I have such an addiction to fishing, I wouldn’t be able to go two weeks without it,” he said.
He put that passion to good use when Spokane (Wash.) TV station KHQ requested an interview. He took a camera person and reporter out on Coeur d’Alene Lake and handily boated a few good-size largemouth off beds on cue.
He admitted to having a tough time leaving home again. “It’s so clean — clean air, clean water, the mountains with snow still on them,” Palaniuk said. “It is the most beautiful place in the whole country, and I’ve seen a lot of the country.”
DeFoe lands second boat wrap deal: Bassmaster Elite Series rookie phenom Ott DeFoe of Knoxville, Tenn., will have a backup aluminum bass rig, newly wrapped by Onyx, at next week’s Arkansas River event.
Onyx, a brand of life jackets, rainwear and camo wear, wrapped DeFoe’s Bass Tracker Grizzly 1860 in time for the June 9-12 Elite tournament out of Little Rock, Ark., where fluctuating river levels could shut anglers out of productive backwaters.
“The next Elite Series event on the Arkansas River may be a deal where accessing water I can’t reach in my Nitro will be a big help,” DeFoe said.
Few bass pros have landed two wrap deals in the same season. Mike McClelland did it several years ago, but it was not an aluminum rig like DeFoe’s. Using a lighter weight boat, however, is a known tactic on fisheries with off-and-on access to shallows.
DeFoe, also sponsored by Nitro, is seventh in overall Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year points. He leads the Bassmaster Rookie of the Year race. A solid performance on the Arkansas could cement a qualification for his first Bassmaster Classic as well as for the postseason. And, at 114 points away from the lead and two events remaining in the season, DeFoe could earn enough points to challenge the AOY race’s leader, Terry Scroggins.
DeFoe and his new wrap are slated to appear this Saturday at the Kodak, Tenn., Bass Pro Shops store, where fans can meet him and register to win an Onyx life jacket. “As long as my wife is not in active labor I will be there Saturday afternoon,” said DeFoe, who is awaiting the arrival of twins.
Onyx is a brand of Absolute Outdoor Inc., producer of outerwear and personal flotation devices for hunting as well as for fishing.
Reehm signed by Angler Innovations: Bassmaster Elite Series pro Clark Reehm has joined the pro staff of Angler Innovations USA, based in Orlando, Fla.
Reehm will assist the company in promotion of existing product lines, including the Rod Jacket, and in future product development. The Rod Jacket is a stretch-neoprene protective cover for a rigged rod and reel.
“After speaking with the guys from Angler Innovations and hearing about some of the other new and creative products they are currently developing, I knew that this was definitely a train I wanted to get on,” Reehm said.
“Reehm is a young talent and an accomplished fisherman. He is very knowledgeable about the industry, and we look forward to what he brings to the team,” said Angler Innovations founder and co-owner David Gazdak.
Goldbeck gets multiyear ABT renewal: ABT Lure Co. of Ahwahnee, Calif., has re-signed Grant Goldbeck with a multiyear contract.
“Grant Goldbeck is a perfect fit with our company,” said Allen Borden, president of ABT. “Grant has been with us for four years now and has really helped in letting us know what is needed around the country to help catch fish on every body of water. I think at this point, you can call us family.”
The renewal of the Bassmaster Elite Series pro’s sponsorship came at the same time as an announcement of a new ABT bait series named The Next Generation. It includes the Banshee swimbait, the X-2 crankbait and a jointed topwater.
“I am really looking forward to applying the new lineup of baits on the Tour. I have not fished a swimbait, crankbait or topwater that I have this much confidence in,” Goldbeck said.
June jammed with tournaments: With five Bassmaster tournaments to watch at Bassmaster.com in June, fishing fans should be able to get their fill. From on-the-water video reports to weigh-ins streamed live from the site, the online coverage will be at full speed for most of the month.
The five events on tap in June are:
June 2-3, College B.A.S.S. West Super Regional on Lake Dardanelle out of Russellville, Ark. This will be the second of three regionals, which serve as qualifiers for the Mercury College B.A.S.S. National Championship in June, which in turn will produce one qualifier for the 2012 Bassmaster Classic.
June 2-4, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open on Douglas Lake, hosted by Jefferson County and Sevierville, Tenn. The Southern Division’s season finale will determine another 2012 Bassmaster Classic qualifier and the recipients of five invitations to the 2012 Bassmaster Elite Series.
June 8-10, B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Central Divisional presented by Yamaha and Skeeter Boats on Table Rock Lake out of Kimberling City, Mo. The event will qualify anglers for the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Championship, which in turn determines the six Federation anglers who will advance to the 2012 Bassmaster Classic.
June 9-12, Diamond Drive on the Arkansas River out of Little Rock, Ark. This seventh of eight regular-season events will produce a 2012 Bassmaster Classic qualifier and further solidify the Bassmaster Elite Series points race for the 2011 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year title.
June 16-19, Dixie Duel on Wheeler Lake out of Decatur, Ala. From this Bassmaster Elite Series season finale will emerge the 2011 winner of the sport’s ultimate crown, Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year. Also, as in all eight regular-season events, the winner will be instantly entered in the 2012 Bassmaster Classic. And, in a new twist this season, eight of the 12 postseason qualifiers will be determined through the final points tally.
Fortune teller: “Like a band of gypsies seeking riches, we load our vehicles, pack our equipment and travel once again. We study lines, not on our palms, but on lake maps as we try to determine not only our future, but where our riches lie.” — from Lee Sisson’s Bassmaster.com blog, “Rookie Diary”
About B.A.S.S.
For more than 40 years, B.A.S.S. has served as the authority on bass fishing. The organization advances the sport through advocacy, outreach and an expansive tournament structure while connecting directly with the passionate community of bass anglers through its Bassmaster media vehicles.
The Bassmaster brand and its multimedia platforms are guided by a mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its industry-leading publications — Bassmaster Magazine and B.A.S.S. Times — comprehensive website Bassmaster.com, ESPN2 and Outdoor Channel television programming, Bassmaster provides rich, leading-edge content true to the lifestyle.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, B.A.S.S. Federation Nation events presented by Yamaha and Skeeter Boats and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bassmaster Classic.
B.A.S.S. offers an array of services to its more than 500,000 members and remains focused on issues related to conservation and water access. The organization is headquartered in Celebration, Fla.












