BASSMASTER FISHING: Rathdrum native Palaniuk fifth at Northern Open

RICHMOND, Va. — Brandon Palaniuk of Rathdrum finished fifth in the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open on Saturday at the James River.

Palaniuk’s total catch for the tournament was 39 pounds, 1 ounce. He caught 17 pounds, 13 ounces on the tournament’s second day to move up the leaderboard.

Charlie Hartley, a former competitor on the Bassmaster Elite Series, earned his first B.A.S.S. victory by catching a 13-pound, 11-ounce limit during Saturday’s final round to finish with a three-day total of 41-13. Hartley received the top prize of a $45,000 Skeeter ZX200/Yamaha VF200LA rig and $6,699 in cash and qualified for the 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro contingent upon him fishing the Northern Open finale at Lake Champlain in September.

“There never was a flurry, or I was never thinking the day was going good,” he said. “I was actually frustrated.” With upgrades throughout the day, he eventually looked in his livewell and realized he had a good bag for as slow as the fishing had been.”

Cody Pike, 23, of Powhatan, Va., finished as the pro division runner-up with 39-6. The other Top 5 finishers in the pro division were David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va., with 39-5, Matthew Sphar of North Java, N.Y., with 39-4.

High school senior Cody Bertrand of Dyer, Ind., and Francis Martin of North Chesterfield, Va., both finished with 24-8 in the co-angler division, but Bertrand won the division on a tie-breaker by having the heaviest single-day limit of 10-10.