Mobility and versatility were the keys ingredients for Bobby Lane, who completed the wire-to-wire win at the first Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Eastern Open at Big Lake Toho Marina with a three-day total weight of 60 pounds.
After buoying his performance with a massive Thursday limit of 31-07, Lane entered Friday with a 10 1/2-pound lead. Adding 10-09 pushed him to 42 even, with a 12-pound lead going into the final round. Saturday saw Lane slam the door shut by weighing 18-00, leaving him with a 12-05 winning margin.
“From start to finish, this has been amazing,” said Lane, who notched his first victory since winning a 2009 Elite Series event on Kentucky Lake. “It was my time to catch a big sack. I’ve been so close before.
“To have grown up on Lake Kissimmee and Cypress, Hatchineha and Toho and to have my family here, it means the world to me. Man, this has been a long time coming.”
Thursday and Friday saw Lane locking down to Lake Kissimmee, where his first-round catch included a 9-pounder and an 8-07. Both of these fish qualified for Florida’s TrophyCatch program, which recognizes photo release largemouth bass of 8 pounds or more.
Lane said he would have preferred another shot at the chain’s southernmost lake, but the shorter day-3 schedule, plus windier conditions, made him adjust his game plan.
“I couldn’t get down to Kissimmee because you run out of time on day 3,” he said. “I didn’t want to take any chances, especially with the weather.
“I fished Lake Hatchineha, caught a few decent ones early, and then the bite just quit on me. I ran into Toho at noon and ended up catching three quality fish.”
With the Kissimmee Chain unsettled by fluctuating temperatures before the tournament, plus a cold front arriving in the afternoon on Friday, Lane mostly targeted hydrilla in 2 to 4 feet. The dense habitat allowed fish to move in and out with changing weather, while remaining in the same general area.
Lane caught his day-3 fish on a 3/4-ounce Duel Hardcore lipless crankbait, a Texas-rigged Berkley Powerbait Max Scent The General stickworm and a Berkley Powerbait Max Scent Creature Hawk. With all of his presentations, Lane said his SpiderWire braid played a critical role in getting his fish out of the thick vegetation.
“I got nine keeper bites today, as opposed to 20 yesterday and 30 the day before,” he said. “I fished clean today and that’s what it takes to win one of these.”
Fellow Elite pro Brandon Lester finished second with 47-11. He said the key to his success was making an adjustment from fishing a popper around lily pads, to punching into the cover.
Here are the final totals for the top 12:
1. Bobby Lane: 60-00
2. Brandon Lester: 47-11
3. Drew Cook: 43-03
4. Jon Canada: 42-08
5. Garrett Paquette: 37-09
6. Alex Wetherell: 37-06
7. Freddy Palmer: 36-07
8. John McBride: 36-00
9. Don Eady: 35-09
10. Michael Murphy: 34-15
11. Michael Purvis: 34-04
12. Walt Bowen: 32-15
