Fantasy Fishing: Guest picks for Chick

Written by

Emily Hand

I’m in the green! In years past I’ve never not been in the green, so starting this year in the yellow and slowly creeping up has put me in a dark, dark (yellow) place. I threw out my spreadsheet (basically garbage stats, but if you want a copy of it you can email me – ehand@bassmaster.com) and picked my team based on random factors, and it worked! In the Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing pundits/columnist group I came in third in Fantasy Fishing and second in Mercury Bassmaster Drain the Lake Challenge.

I even beat the Ronnie Moore and Digital Editor Kyle Jessie. Kyle has been out of the office for work so I haven’t gotten to brag over the cubicles yet, which is saddening. In our B.A.S.S. staff group, I came in eighth for Fantasy Fishing and third for Drain the Lake. But, we might as well all hang it up since Tommy Sanders is running away with it. Tommy better start making sure he selects his teams while no one else is watching.

I am an aunt to three of the cutest and most fun kiddos ever (see their photo above). They know I work for a fishing company, they wear the shirts I get them, have stuffed animal largemouth bass, keep the postcards I send them from random lakes around the country, have attended a Bassmaster Classic and have gone fishing with me. It was like the blind leading the blind.

Since no stats worked well last time, I figured I would use a shameless plug of my nephew and nieces and let them help me pick my team to see if anything will work these days.

BUCKET A: BLAYLOCK

My nephew Jackson wanted to know who was the best. I tried to explain the game and the fact that we were guessing who would do the best out of the groups. For this group, he picked Stetson Blaylock. He didn’t have a solid reason as to why, but could be a solid pick. Blaylock is in the top five for Bassmaster Angler of the Year and has had a good season so far.

Backup picks – Greg Hackney or Clifford Pirch

BUCKET B: ITO

I think my niece Zoe picked Taku Ito just because he’s a fun angler to watch when I force them to watch Bassmaster videos.

Backup picks – Jake Whitaker or rookie Joseph Webster

BUCKET C: HUFF

My nephew Jackson, who is 11, picked group C for me. He picked Mike Huff because he was happy to see someone he thought was his age on the Bassmaster Elite Series. I had to break it to him that Mike is indeed in his 30s, and he and his wife, Jessica, are expecting their first child. I hope he appreciates his baby face, and he will get the last laugh when he still looks like he is in his 30s while the rest of us look like old wrinkly trolls.

Backup picks – Austin Felix or Bill Lowen

BUCKET D: KENNEDY

Both nieces Zoe and Lucy and nephew Jackson all leaned toward Steve Kennedy (Jackson pronounced his name Stefan, maybe he doesn’t have any Stephens in his class) because of the Auburn hat. As a diehard Auburn family, it was hard for them to even notice anyone else in the bucket.

Backup picks – Caleb Sumrall or Hunter Shryock

BUCKET E: ATKINS

The tiniest tornado you will ever meet, my niece Lucy, helped (well sort of) me pick the last group. She’s only 5 so reading is still tough for this little one. She let her favorite aunt (who is not me, it is my sister Amy, who she reminds me often she likes more than me) help her pick. Lucy and Amy went with Justin Atkins. Being that Chickamauga is part of the Tennessee River and Atkins lives near Pickwick means it might fish similarly, right? Hopefully for my pick that is the case.

Backup pick – Ed Loughran or Daisuke Aoki

I was ecstatic for my last Drain the Lake team, I picked Drew Cook and got those sweet bonus points. Hopefully, I keep up the momentum with this team.