Just a few days after Tyler Rivet notched his first Bassmaster Elite Series event going against the grain and doing something completely different from the rest of the field, Joey Cifuentes did the exact same thing with his dominant win at the Gamakatsu Bassmaster Elite Series at Lake Seminole. The famous fishery in Bainbridge, Ga. showed out as Elite pros were able to employ a variety of different fishing styles to have success.
Overall, this proved to be a good thing for Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing because players could choose anglers based on a variety of different fishing strengths. However, there were a few major surprises, as a few of the high-percentage anglers had uncharacteristically bad events at Seminole.
Let’s get into the best and worst Fantasy picks from Lake Seminole.
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The overall winner of the Gamakatsu Bassmaster Elite was (“Firejunky70”), who selected two of the five picks that would have made up the perfect roster. Overall Rank: No. 1, Total Points 1,382.
BUCKET A: Joey Cifuentes
BUCKET B: Greg Hackney
BUCKET C: John Cox
BUCKET D: Mark Menendez
BUCKET E: Cory Johnston
The perfect Fantasy Fishing roster for the Gamakatsu Bassmaster Elite at Lake Seminole would have been:
BUCKET A: Joey Cifuentes
BUCKET B: Pat Schlapper
BUCKET C: Derek Hudnall
BUCKET D: Kyoya Fujita
BUCKET E: Cory Johnston
Total: 1,523
BUCKET A: CIFUENTES
After notching a Top 20 finish in his first Elite Series event, Joey Cifuentes backed followed it up with a dominating win at Lake Seminole. The Arkansas pro went against the grain and fished out deep with a drop shot to score a whopping 355 points while being selected by just 0.5% of players.
Second best selection: Tyler Rivet didn’t back off the gas after notching his first Bassmaster Elite Series event just a week prior. The Louisiana pro finished the event in third-place and scored 290 points. Rivet was selected by 1.7% of players.
Lowest scoring angler: Despite his great start at Lake Okeechobee, Ed Loughran struggled at Lake Seminole. He scored just 73 points for the 0.1% of players who selected him.
BUCKET B: SCHLAPPER
If it wasn’t for a tough Day 1, Pat Schlapper would have had an excellent chance to take home his first Elite Series trophy at Lake Seminole. Despite being selected by just 0.7% of players, the Wisconsin pro scored a total of 285 points.
Second best selection: Bill Lowen fished his strengths all the way to a sixth-place finish at Lake Seminole. The Elite Series veteran scored 276 points and was selected by 1.2% of players.
Lowest scoring angler: For reigning Elite Series Angler of the Year Brandon Palaniuk to be the lowest scoring angler in a Bucket is completely unheard of, but that was this case at Lake Seminole. Palaniuk scored just 79 points despite being the highest selected angler in the bucket at 24.2% of players.
BUCKET C: HUDNALL
Derek Hudnall is no stranger to fishing submerged or shoreline vegetation and it showed at Seminole. The Louisiana pro secured a fifth-place finish, scoring 280 points while being selected by just 0.7% of players.
Second best selection: With a 14th-place finish, John Cox was the second highest scoring angler in Bucket B. The Florida pro was the highest-selected angler in the Bucket at 39%, and scored 248 points.
Lowest scoring angler: Gary Clouse never got it going at Lake Seminole. The Tennesse pro scored just 85 points while being selected by 0.3% of players.
BUCKET D: FUJITA
Elite Series rookie Kyoya Fujita lived up to his reputation at Lake Seminole with a second-place finish. With the help of some bonus points, Fujita scored 335 points while being selected be 0.3% of players.
Second best selection: Mark Menendez made a Day 3 rally to finish the event in 18th-place at Seminole. The Elite Series veteran scored 239 points and was selected by 1.1% of players.
Lowest scoring angler: Despite being selected by 15.9% of players, Bryan New was the lowest scoring angler in Bucket D. New had a tough event, scoring just 69 points.
BUCKET E: JOHNSTON
Cory Johnston didn’t hang around in Bucket E for long, as he notched an eighth-place finish in the second event of the season. The Canadian pro was selected by 14.4% of players and scored 268 points.
Second best selection: At a whopping 41.8% player percentage, Jason Christie was the second-best choice in Bucket E. The reigning Bassmaster Classic champion scored 229 points.
Lowest scoring angler: Former Elite Series champion Frank Talley didn’t have a great event at Lake Seminole. The Texan scored just 67 points while being selected by 0.6% of anglers.
