Lane Loads Up Again With No FFS On Boat

By MLF Communications Staff

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The race for the top spot in the Qualifying Round at REDCREST – and the automatic Championship Round berth that comes with it – started out wide open on the second day of competition on Lake Guntersville. Five different anglers topped ScoreTracker at various points during Friday’s opening period.

By the second period, it turned into a two-man race between a pair of Alabamians in Chris Lane of Guntersville and Jacob Walker of Springville. Eventually, Lane used his Guntersville knowledge and aptitude catching shallow spawners to pull away. He added 24 scorable bass for 72 pounds, 9 ounces (the best day any competitor has put together so far) to bring his two-day total to 127 pounds even, which was 17-7 clear of Walker.

That will earn Lane a day off as he prepares to chase his first REDCREST trophy and the $300,000 paycheck that comes with it on Sunday. The rest of the Top 20 will take to the water Saturday for the Knockout Round.

Lane has found his comfort zone on Guntersville, and not just because he’s lived on the shores of the lake for the past 15 years.

Prior to REDCREST, Lane took the forward-facing sonar transducers off his Nitro. He figured he could find plenty of fish flocking to shallow water – his area of expertise – so he planned to go all-in on targeting them. He didn’t even want to be tempted by the technology.

“I took that thing off my boat, and the reason I did is because it was a distraction to me and what I do and the way that I do it,” Lane said. “Taking it off coming into REDCREST before the first day of the tournament allowed me to focus on what I do, and that was reassuring and beneficial to have success without it.”

Lane’s instinct that he’d be able to find success targeting shallow spawners proved correct. He noted that the lake level has risen about a foot since the start of practice. While that might not seem like a lot, when combined with the time of year and steadily climbing water temperatures, it triggered a wave of fish to move into their spawning grounds. He found even more fish on Day 2 than Day 1 – an hour into Period 2, he had nearly surpassed his opening-day total with 47-15.

“I think it’s just the water coming up a half a foot,” Lane explained. “It may not even be that much, but it’s come up over a foot since practice started. And the water is warming, so that’s why the fish got bigger and more plentiful.”

Lane targeted his fish with a Texas-rigged Bass Pro Shops XPS Log Father. That produced both quantity and quality. He landed four bass over 4 pounds on the day, including a 5-15 and a 7-5, the latter of which earned Berkley Big Bass honors and a $1,000 bonus.

While Lane is at his best pitching for bedding bass, he doesn’t expect to replicate that pattern on Sunday. Thunderstorms are in the forecast with the potential to dump 1-2 inches of rain. Knowing that made Lane more eager to fish for the Qualifying Round win, since he doesn’t think the conditions will allow him to catch the same fish he targeted Friday.

“I think it’ll be different; I think you’re going to have to fish different,” Lane said. “I’ll play that by ear come Sunday, to see how much sun there is – if there’s any – and if they drop the water. Because they could pull that water in 2 seconds, and they probably will. So, I’m going to have to pay attention to all of that.”

Lane knows he’ll need to adjust if he’s going to contend for the championship trophy. His knowledge of the fishery gives him confidence he’ll be able to figure out the right moves based on the conditions.

“I think that’s probably the reassuring thing is knowing, okay, I’ve got 978 other spots where they like to get this time of year,” he said. “I think it’ll be a big adjustment for everybody, so it’ll be nice having the day off to get re-geared and re-focused, pay attention to the weather, not be tired, not get in a hurry and go from there.”

Lane has won both a Bass Pro Tour event (2023 on the Kissimmee Chain) and a tour-level championship (the 2012 Bassmaster Classic). But he said a victory at REDCREST on Guntersville would be extra sweet because of all the family, friends and sponsors who will be on hand Sunday.

“It would mean the world to me to win, not only for another victory and a check for $300,000, but for your support system, for your sponsors,” Lane said. “For the whole support team and for my family, it would just be awesome. And for the hometown. Geez, that doesn’t usually work out like that at big tournaments.”

The full field of anglers competed in the two-day Qualifying Round on Thursday and Friday. The anglers who finished in 2nd through 20th advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round, where weights are zeroed, and they'll compete to finish in the Top 9 to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round.

Weights are again zeroed for the final round and the competitor with the highest one-day total will win $300,000.

Anglers launch each morning from Civitan Park, located at 1130 Sunset Dr. in Guntersville, at 7:15 a.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW! livestream and ScoreTracker coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Qualifying Round – Day 2

(Figure at far right indicates weight of angler's heaviest fish for the day)

1. Chris Lane -- 50-07 (20) -- 76-09 (24) -- 127-00 (44) -- 7-05

2. Jacob Walker -- 61-14 (20) -- 47-11 (18) -- 109-09 (38) -- 4-05

3. David Dudley -- 71-08 (23) -- 31-06 (10) -- 102-14 (33) -- 5-11

4. Zack Birge -- 43-10 (18) -- 56-03 (21) -- 99-13 (39) -- 4-09

5. Wesley Strader -- 52-15 (17) -- 46-02 (17) -- 99-01 (34) -- 4-06

6. Edwin Evers -- 46-06 (20) -- 45-13 (14) -- 92-03 (34) -- 6-00

7. Jake Lawrence -- 40-07 (13) -- 50-10 (19) -- 91-01 (32) -- 4-13

8. Bobby Lane -- 29-08 (12) -- 61-00 (22) -- 90-08 (34) -- 5-02

9. Ron Nelson -- 59-13 (18) -- 29-09 (10) -- 89-06 (28) -- 3-14

10. Jeff Sprague -- 54-00 (18) -- 33-07 (12) -- 87-07 (30) -- 4-09

11. Brent Ehrler -- 41-10 (14) -- 45-07 (15) -- 87-01 (29) -- 4-08

12. Justin Cooper -- 56-13 (20) -- 28-08 (11) -- 85-05 (31) -- 3-04

13. Martin Villa -- 33-10 (13) -- 49-10 (20) -- 83-04 (33) -- 3-01

14. Anthony Gagliardi -- 47-15 (15) -- 32-09 (12) -- 80-08 (27) -- 5-08

15. Paul Marks Jr -- 29-09 (11) -- 50-13 (18) -- 80-06 (29) -- 4-10

16. Marshall Robinson -- 46-03 (15) -- 33-01 (11) -- 79-04 (26) -- 4-14

17. Dustin Connell -- 24-02 (8) -- 54-07 (18) -- 78-09 (26) -- 5-14

18. Michael Neal -- 34-10 (10) -- 42-03 (14) -- 76-13 (24) -- 4-09

19. Jacob Wall -- 36-03 (14) -- 40-10 (14) -- 76-13 (28) -- 4-03

20. Nick Hatfield -- 30-05 (11) -- 43-08 (17) -- 73-13 (28) -- 4-11

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not advance to the Knockout Round

21. Spencer Shuffield -- 27-09 (10) -- 45-04 (17) -- 72-13 (27) -- 4-10

22. Andy Morgan -- 31-03 (11) -- 37-14 (13) -- 69-01 (24) -- 5-11

23. Casey Ashley -- 28-12 (11) -- 39-08 (13) -- 68-04 (24) -- 3-15

24. Alton Jones Jr. -- 35-05 (13) -- 31-06 (11) -- 66-11 (24) -- 4-08

25. Tyler Stewart -- 41-08 (15) -- 24-15 (10) -- 66-07 (25) -- 3-14

26. Jacob Wheeler -- 36-01 (12) -- 29-04 (10) -- 65-05 (22) -- 4-10

27. Mark Daniels Jr. -- 34-03 (13) -- 30-12 (11) -- 64-15 (24) -- 4-02

28. John Hunter -- 39-04 (15) -- 25-04 (9) -- 64-08 (24) -- 5-04

29. Bryan Thrift -- 38-09 (15) -- 25-02 (8) -- 63-11 (23) -- 7-00

30. Mark Davis -- 37-01 (12) -- 24-06 (9) -- 61-07 (21) -- 4-04

31. Drew Gill -- 17-11 (7) -- 40-06 (16) -- 58-01 (23) -- 3-15

32. Andrew Nordbye -- 37-09 (15) -- 20-02 (8) -- 57-11 (23) -- 3-11

33. Luke Clausen -- 29-03 (10) -- 26-11 (8) -- 55-14 (18) -- 3-14

34. Justin Lucas -- 22-12 (7) -- 33-01 (12) -- 55-13 (19) -- 3-15

35. Alec Morrison -- 29-10 (10) -- 25-13 (9) -- 55-07 (19) -- 4-15

36. Gerald Spohrer -- 41-09 (14) -- 11-13 (5) -- 53-06 (19) -- 3-02

37. Adrian Avena -- 10-10 (4) -- 41-01 (17) -- 51-11 (21) -- 2-14

38. Skeet Reese -- 22-02 (8) -- 28-13 (9) -- 50-15 (17) -- 4-14

39. Braylon Eggerding -- 14-08 (4) -- 35-11 (13) -- 50-03 (17) -- 4-09

40. James Elam -- 24-03 (8) -- 23-15 (8) -- 48-02 (16) -- 4-06

41. Cole Floyd -- 19-03 (7) -- 25-06 (9) -- 44-09 (16) -- 4-04

42. Hayden Marbut -- 19-13 (7) -- 22-09 (7) -- 42-06 (14) -- 3-15

43. Ott DeFoe -- 20-03 (8) -- 21-11 (8) -- 41-14 (16) -- 3-11

44. Jesse Wiggins -- 28-00 (11) -- 13-02 (5) -- 41-02 (16) -- 3-01

45. Matt Becker -- 18-13 (6) -- 21-13 (7) -- 40-10 (13) -- 5-12

46. Keith Carson -- 14-07 (5) -- 25-10 (9) -- 40-01 (14) -- 3-13

47. Keith Poche -- 17-15 (6) -- 19-03 (7) -- 37-02 (13) -- 3-10

48. Terry Scroggins -- 8-14 (3) -- 24-01 (9) -- 32-15 (12) -- 4-01

49. Nick LeBrun -- 6-05 (2) -- 16-11 (6) -- 23-00 (8) -- 3-14

50. Dylan Hays -- 4-05 (2) -- 13-03 (6) -- 17-08 (8) -- 2-09