The Boys Are Back in Town
Posted by Pete Robbins on Jan 13th 2021
Guess who just got back today?
Them wild-eyed boys that'd been away
Haven't changed, had much to say
But man, I still think them cats are crazy
What a difference a year makes. Or not.
Just like in 2020, the Elite Series will welcome back in 2021 two anglers who left previously for the BPT. Last time it was Brandon Palaniuk and Gerald Swindle. This time it’s Greg Hackney and Jason Christie.
You could make a reasonable argument for either pair’s fishing skills being more formidable. Palaniuk and Swindle have fewer Elite wins (5 to the 7 for Hackney/Christie) but more Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles (3 to 1). None of them have a Bassmaster Classic victory…yet (although Hackney won the Forrest Wood Cup).
All four will be check grabbers, and Palaniuk’s two wins in his return season demonstrate that the rest of the field will now have to guard their lunch money a little bit more carefully. Nevertheless, this year’s duo somehow seems different. While all four have the respect of their peers, Swindle is the Clown Prince and Palaniuk is the likeable, media-friendly young gun. Christie and Hackney, on the other hand, are just stone cold killers.
As far as I know, the two anglers who returned in 2020 got no pushback from their peers about their prior moves or their status as newcomers, but anyone who returns from a B.A.S.S. sabbatical – through the Opens or through Legends status – isn’t just there by chance or by fun. Swindle may not have had the most Swindle-like season of his career, but I’d put the four of them up against any other quartet in the sport for overall effectiveness and as odds-on favorites to win anywhere from coast to coast.
