Closing Time with BP
Posted by Pete Robbins on May 15th 2021
*photos courtesy of BASS/B.Kanies
You might not believe that Brandon Palaniuk is the greatest closer in bass fishing history. A case could reasonably be made that Kevin VanDam, Denny Brauer, Rick Clunn or Roland Martin deserves that title.
You might not think he’s the even the greatest closer around today – those of you who follow the BPT closely might claim that Jacob Wheeler is the man, and those of you who obsess about both tours could say that Jordan Lee occupies the pole position.
But if he’s not THE man, then you’re gonna have to come at me full guns a-blazing to prove it. In the past two B.A.S.S. tournaments I’ve attended, he’s done the miraculous. First, at Santee Cooper, an expansive venue full of giants that demand to be power fished, he integrated finesse tactics to claim the blue trophy. Then, this past weekend at Virginia’s James River, a heavily-pressured tidal water where much of the field switched to finesse techniques, he brought out big swimbaits to grab the lead and then hold onto it. Two snapshots in time, but also two masterful performances among many in his short but ridiculously successful career.
And I’m glad that I’ve essentially been there since the beginning. I was in the media gallery in Cataouatche at the 2011 Classic when he seemingly came out of nowhere (despite having won the Federation championship to qualify) to make a run at the title that was instead hammered home by KVD (see above). To be honest, we unfairly discount the Federation qualifiers at the start of such events, not because they can’t catch fish with the best of them, but rather because they have no proven track record of having done so. A decade later, BP has dropped down tracks coast to coast.
I don’t know when I first gained awareness of VanDam. I wasn’t there for the start of the careers of Brauer, Clunn or Roland. But with BP, I expect to be there from start to finish, and I’m pretty sure he’ll ride out of town with a final victory to make his mark complete.
