The Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Chickamauga Lake proved to be one of the most difficult events of the year from a Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing standpoint. Many of the big names that most expected to do well fell short, and many of the anglers who had very little expectations knocked it out of the park.
The weights fell off just a bit on the final day of the event, but overall, the big fish showed up at Chickamauga as expected.
Let’s get into the best and worst Fantasy Fishing picks at Chickamauga Lake.
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The overall winner of the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Chickamauga Lake was (“Hogsnatcher1213”), who selected only two of the five picks that would have made up the perfect roster. This is a good indication of how tough Fantasy Fishing was for this event. Overall Rank: No. 1, Total Points 1,393.
BUCKET A: Brandon Palaniuk
BUCKET B: Pat Schlapper
BUCKET C: Caleb Kuphall
BUCKET D: Matthew Robertson
BUCKET E: Jacob Foutz
The perfect Fantasy Fishing roster for the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Chickamauga Lake would have been:
BUCKET A: Clifford Pirch
BUCKET B: Pat Schlapper
BUCKET C: Caleb Kuphall
BUCKET D: Jason Christie
BUCKET E: Brock Mosley
Total: 1,428
BUCKET A: PIRCH
After an uncharacteristically tough season in 2021, Clifford Pirch has turned it around so far in 2022 with several great finishes including a Top 10 at Chickamauga Lake. The Arizona pro scored 264 points while being selected by just 0.3% of players in Bucket A.
Second best selection: Drew Benton is another angler who has is having a stellar season early in 2022, and he was also the second-best pick in Bucket A. Benton was selected by 0.7% of players and scored 260 points.
Lowest scoring angler: Despite having a lot of momentum rolling into the event, Bryan New was the lowest scoring angler in Bucket A. The South Carolina pro scored just 89 points while being selected by 1.8% of players.
BUCKET B: SCHLAPPER
With the help of some bonus points for catching the big bass of the event, Pat Schlapper was the best pick in Bucket B. The second year Elite pro scored 279 points and was selected by 0.7% of players.
Second best selection: Jason Williamson was actually the highest finishing angler in the event in Bucket B with an eighth-place finish, but he didn’t have the bonus points. The Elite Series veteran scored 268 points and was selected by 0.3% of players.
Lowest scoring angler: Chad Morgenthaler never got it going at Chickamauga. Morgenthaler was selected by 0.4% of players and scored only 87 points.
BUCKET C: KUPHALL
With a fifth-place finish at Chickamauga Lake, Caleb Kuphall has back-to-back Top 10 finishes. The Wisconsin native scored 280 points while being selected by 2.3% of Fantasy Fishing players.
Second best selection: Kentucky’s Mike Huff had another good finish on Chickamauga Lake, after coming close to a win on this famed fishery back in 2020. Huff scored 245 points for the 2.0% of players who selected him.
Lowest scoring angler: Maryland’s Bryan Schmitt never got it figured out at Chickamauga. Schmitt scored 103 points while being selected by 4.2% of anglers.
BUCKET D: CHRISTIE
The reigning and defending Bassmaster Classic Champion Jason Christie wasted very little time to get his next win. The Oklahoma pro was the highest selected angler in Bucket D at 28.1% and scored 305 points.
Second best selection: Overall, Bucket D showed out in this event with three anglers making the Top 10, but the second-best selection was Matt Robertson. The Kentucky pro scored 290 points for the 4.3% of anglers who selected him.
Lowest scoring angler: Keith Combs had a tough event at Chickamauga. The Texan only scored 92 points for the 1.7% of players who selected him.
BUCKET E: MOSLEY
Brock Mosley came so close again to hoisting a blue trophy over his head at Chickamauga, but he fell just short on the final day. Nonetheless, Mosley scored a whopping 300 points for the 16.1% of anglers who selected him.
Second best selection: Jacob Foutz had his best Elite Series finish on his home lake with a third-place finish. The Tennessee pro was the second highest selected angler in Bucket E at 16.8% and scored 290 points.
Lowest scoring angler: Jesse Tacoronte struggled to get it going at Chickamauga Lake. The Florida pro scored just 97 points for the 0.1% of anglers who selected him.
