Palaniuk used a drop-shot purple smoke Zoom Super Fluke on a 2/0 straight-shank hook. He fit the line with a 3/8 ounce drop-shot weight on an 8-pound fluorocarbon leader connected to 15-pound Seaguar Smackdown braided line. The rod he used was a 6 foot, 10 inch Alpha Angler DSR rod with a Daiwa Exist 2500 reel.
Huntington, Texas-native Keith Combs won the tournament with the biggest three-day bag at 72-5 to earn a $25,000 bonus in addition to $27,000 in Angler of the Year earnings. Combs finished ninth in the AOY rankings with 771 points.
Alabama's Dustin Connell secured the Rookie of the Year title, finishing 24th with a three-day total of 60-13 to edge out New York rookie Jamie Hartman by a point margin of 765-764. Hartman caught 41-7 to finish the tournament in 48th place.