Chris Lane's Astounding Day

Chris Lane weighed-in an astounding 37 pounds, 9 ounces of St. Johns River bass
yesterday to take a 9-pound lead halfway home. B.A.S.S. photo by Seigo Saito.

I mostly avoid re-hashing reports that you can read in various other places. Some things are tough to ignore, though, and a 37-pound, 9-ounce bass limit in a major tournament clearly is one such thing. That's what Chris Lane brought to the scales yesterday on Day 2 of the Bassmaster Elite on the St. Johns River.

Looking at the numbers, Lane would be in 10th place after two days if he had zeroed on Day 1! He actually had a solid 18-11 on the first day, though, so yesterday's giant bag put him nearly 9 pounds ahead of Day 1 leader Randy Howell.

The good news for Chris Lane is that he is in a great position, and because he is not sight-fishing in a crowd, he is not watching his fish supply dwindle. The bad news is that if he could do it yesterday, someone else could do it today or tomorrow. Twenty anglers had 20-pound-plus bags yesterday, and the St. Johns River holds enough big fish that someone else could surge into the spotlight with a giant bag tomorrow. In fact, although the cut-line was 28-14, barely more than half of Lane's two-day total, I'd go as far as to say that no one who made the cut is out of contention halfway home. Lane's bag today could change that story and all but seal the deal, but he was the first to say that he might catch 10 pounds or another giant bag. Not surprisingly, he did not plan to alter his approach of flippin' shallow lily pads

Detroit, Southern Fried

Plano Championship Chase winner, Chris Lane, B.A.S.S. Photo by James Overstreet

Pre-tournament prognostications for virtually any national tournament held on the Great Lakes talk about the fickle nature of big-water smallmouths and the lakes themselves and an inside track northern anglers supposedly possess. Most picks are heavily loaded with names of northern "smallmouth specialists," almost to the point that it would seem no "expert" believes a southern angler could possibly figure out northern smallmouths in a big lake.

It would seem, however, that Detroit's biggest smallmouths forgot to ask the experts which lures they were supposed to favor. First place in the Elite Series season finale' on Michigan's Lake St. Clair went to Chris Lane, who grew up in central Florida, where no smallmouths live, and now calls Alabama home. Second and third went to Mark Davis of Arkansas and Alton Jones of Texas.

Actually, if you look down the list of the twelve anglers who made today's final round of fishing, only one, Nate Wellman of Michigan, is from Great Lakes country. Morizo Shimizu still lists Osaka, Japan as home. Beyond Wellman and Shimizu, addresses from Top 12 finishers include five from Alabama, three from Texas, one from Arkansas and one from West Virginia.

I'll acknowledge a few of the Top 12 anglers moved to Alabama or Texas (although not from northern states). I'll likewise acknowledge that there are far more Elite Series anglers from the South than the North, thus stacking the deck. That said, most pre-tournament stories would suggest if there were dozen northern anglers in a Great Lakes tournament, you should expect them to fill 2/3 of the top dozen or so places.

For what it's worth, northern anglers do sometimes dominate tournaments on northern waters (and southern waters). It's not my desire to argue North vs. South or East vs. West. I just found it interesting how dominant Alabama and Texas pros were among top finishers in this particular event, and it seemed like a good time to note that the best Elite Series anglers have the capacity to find bass and catch them anywhere in the country.

Gunning for Gunterville Classic Bid

Chris Lane, B.A.S.S. Photo by Seigo Saito

Watching the Bassmaster Classic played out on his adopted home waters of Lake Guntersville would be seriously difficult for Chris Lane, so the 2012 Classic champion is doing everything in his power to keep that from happening.

Going into the final event of the Elite Series, which is going on this weekend, Lane's place in the Angler of the Year standings made his Classic bid iffy at best. A great finish and stumbles by others could get him in based on AOY points, but his only sure way to get a Classic bid would be to win at this weekend's event at Lake St. Clair. Halfway through, Lane has bumped his place in the standings up to 34th place, which puts him right on the edge and could make him the last angler in or the first angler out. Lane doesn't want to count on that, though. He'd much rather notch the win and lock in his place, which is very much within reach halfway though.

After two days, Lane is in fourth place, three pounds behind leader Aaron Martens. He has brought a 5-12 smallmouth to the scales both days, and apparently has one spot that holds some absolute giants. He didn't stick with his big-fish spot terribly long today because he doesn't get nearly as many bites there as he does in other places, but he suggested on stage that he might go for broke and really stick it out there tomorrow, looking for five giant fish.

Although Lane grew up in Lakeland, Florida and learned to fish in the Sunshine State, he moved to Lake Guntersville in 2009 and has really built an identity there, creating an Guntersville App, guiding and establishing Chris Lane Outdoor Adventures Resort at Lake Guntersville.

Lane knows as well as anyone else that February fishing on Lake Guntersville with a field of the nation's top pros will be an absolute largemouth slugfest, but if he wants to be part of the action, he needs to spend two more days slugging it out for Detroit smallmouths!

Congratulations Chris Lane, Bassmaster Classic Champion

2012 Bassmaster Classic Champion Chris Lane. Photo by Seigo Saito, courtesy of B.A.S.S.

Only one angler has earned qualification into the 2013 Bassmaster Classic -- and he's done it twice already. Chris Lane of Guntersville, Alabama first locked up next year's Classic spot in January when he won the season-opening B.A.S.S. Southern Open on the Harris Chain, but yesterday he secured the position of reigning Bassmaster Classic champion in next year's event. Lane's three-day Red River catch of 51 pounds 6 ounces put him more than 3 pounds ahead of second place finisher Greg Vinson and made him the new champion.

Lane, who bowed beside the trophy and prayed and pointed to God before lifting overhead in the traditional manner, was first greeted first with a big hug from his brother and fellow Classic competitor, Bobby. Soon after, his wife and children joined him onstage and the stepped into his boat for the traditional "Victory Lap."

Florida Tournaments Don't Disappoint

James Overstreet photo; courtesy of B.A.S.S.

No big surprise at the Harris Chain. Chris Lane notched his third B.A.S.S. win at the first B.A.S.S. Southern Open of the season yesterday. All three wins have come in Florida, where Lane grew up fishing. The only angler to bring 20-plus pounds to the scales all three days, Lane saved his best for last, weighing 28 pounds, 5 ounces on day three. Lane used a Lucky Strike RC2, which is a square-billed crankbait, to find groups of fish and then slowed down and worked those areas with various soft-plastic baits.

Meanwhile, farther south, at Lake Okeechobee, Florida pro Brandon Medlock won the FLW EverStart Series Southeast event on Okeechobee for the second year in a row. The biggest surprise at the Big O, which has been yielding great catches this year, was the lack of big bags (only one over 20 pounds) on the first day of the tournament. However, Medlock blew that away on Day 2, when he wowed the crowd with a massive catch of 35 pounds, 7 ounces, which was anchored by a 10-8. Medlock, who used a big, specialized jig made by his father in this year's and last year's win, will be fishing the FLW Tour event on the same body of water in a few weeks, so that should be fun to watch.

Next up is the PAA team tournament at Toho. I'll be traveling to Florida to attend the final day weigh-in and then to sample the Florida fishing for a few days. I'll also post news about the event as I learn it so check back often.