Bobby Lane is no astrologist, but he threw some serious props to the heavenly bodies in the wake of his massive day-1 limit that weighed 31-07 at the Kissimmee Chain Bassmaster Eastern Open onThursday
The first angler to cross the stage at Big Lake Toho Marina, the Elite Series pro from Lakeland, Fla., said he started the day with a solid game plan, but the morning unfolded with big-time encouragement that would put him 10 1/2 pounds ahead of his nearest competitor.
“When you start the day with a full moon in the west and the sun’s coming up in the east, you have to know there’s going to be some big ones caught,” Lane said. “I had a perfect little milk run, and it went to plan.”
Fishing a variety of habitat features from junk mats to buggy whips to Kissimmee grass to hydrilla to vine mat, Lane said he had about 15 to 20 bites on the day, the largest of which was a 9-pounder.
Lane said he caught fish on a variety of baits: “I caught one on a swim jig, two good ones flipping. I caught a big one on a swim jig, and I caught another one casting a worm. I think they’re trying to spawn, some aren’t, some are; some are staging.
“I made a lot of adjustments today. It was having the right things on the deck at the right time and picking up the right rod when something looked a little different. Everything was on 50- to 65-pound SiderWire Ultracast braid. When I hooked them, they were ‘buried.’”
Lane began his day by making the long run down to Lake Kissimmee, where he caught four of his weigh-in fish. He boated the fifth late in the day after running up-chain to finish his day in Lake Toho.
It was quite a phenomenal day; I fished clean and caught every fish that bit, except for maybe one small fish,” he said. “Today was about execution, and when you have a bag like that, you made the right decisions.”
Garrett Rocamora of Lithia, Fla. grabbed the No. 2 slot with 20-15. Spending most of his day in Lake Kissimmee, he anchored his catch with a 9-03 largemouth that bit late in the day.
Here's a look at the initial top 12:
1. Bobby Lane: 31-07
2. Garrett Rocamora: 20-15
3. Don Eady: 19-13
4. Alex Wetherell: 18-14
5. Drew Cook: 18-00
6. Michael Murphy: 17-13
7. John McBride: 17-10
8. Brandon Lester: 16-15
9. Michael Purvis: 15-10
10. (tie) Darrell Davis: 15-04
10. (tie) Clabion Johns Jr.: 15-04
10. (tie) Jeff Lugar: 15-04
