Fantasy Five: Who Ya’ Got?

Skeet Reese, Bobby Lane, Jason Quinn, Peter T. and Andy Montgomery.

That’s who I’m going to battle with for the Sunshine Showdown. I would lay the smack down, but I don’t know how to feel about this one. A Florida junk-fishing derby in the midst of the spawn while a front is coming through—can you think of a more random set of variables?

I didn’t follow my own advice about taking a gamble in Group A. I originally saddled up with Randy Howell, but decided to play the safer bet and go with Skeet, who has a pristine history at the Harris Chain. I opted instead to take my gamble in Group C with Jason Quinn.

Group C gave me fits. Nobody really stood out to me from this crowd. I had Rook, then switched to Herren, then Lintner and finally decided to throw caution into the wind and put Hardware on my squad. I can’t really tell you why except it’s a hunch. Quinn’s highest tour-level finish at Harris is 8th. Other than that he’s got a bunch of bombs. The one thing about Quinn is that nobody else is crazy enough to put him on their roster. So if he shows up big, so will I. This is my first time to ever have Quinn on a fantasy team. We’ll see if he burns me.

Peter T. is a grinder, and this tournament is going to be one of those low and slow kind of deals after this front passes through. I think Petey will get out there with the ball and chain and make something happen. Lots of folks will have Chris Lane in Group D, but I didn’t like the way he sounded in pre-tournament interviews. Plus Lane got a late boat draw on day 1 and he seemed pretty bummed about it, which means he had bedders on the brain. I feel good with Peter T.

Montgomery… well, he was kinda obvious. I pondered Palaniuk, Ott DeFoe and David Walker, but Montgomery got the nod. One guy you need to look out for in Group E is a fella’ by the name of James Stricklin. Stricklin has been guiding at Rayburn for years, and I actually took a trip with him several years ago. He loves to fish grass. he knows how to adapt and he’s got those Florida-strain largies dialed-in pretty well. I had Jimmy for my Group E pick, but swapped him for Andy M. I’ll be kicking myself hard if Strick ropes a huge sack on day 1.

Share your team and why you picked your anglers in the comments below. Who’s got the squad good enough to climb atop the BassParade fantasy league standings? We’ve got a prize package from Strike King waiting for you!

You can catch the live weigh-in online at 4 p.m. EST, here.