(This is part 1 of a 2-part story on Florida tour pro Chris Lane/)

Chris Lane's 2006 Bassmaster Elite Series season could be called typical of a rookie – as many downs as ups and a lot of room for improvement.

While he managed to make the Top 50 cut in five of 11 tournaments – and thereby barely recouped his entry fees – he also suffered from four finishes of 90th or worse, which dragged him down to a pedestrian 61st-place in the final standings.

Even the highlight of his year, a 6th-place finish at Lake Champlain, was marred by a controversy surrounding his fishing location. The area that had produced three monster bags of fish was declared off-limits prior to Day 4, and with it went his chances of winning.



But in 2007, he turned a new corner. He eliminated the 90th or worse finishes that held him back in 2006. Other than an 82nd-place finish at Clear Lake, which he attributed to failure to understand just how much weight it would take to make the cut, his worst outing was 63rd at Erie – a tournament in which he was more focused on survival than on making the cut.

He made seven Top 50s this season, as opposed to five the year before. And perhaps more importantly, he survived to the Top 12 cut three times (vs. just once in 2006).

Perhaps most impressively, on the six lakes that were on the schedule both years, he improved his finish on five of them. Those improvements were as follows:

> Amistad: 65th to 52nd
> Clark's Hill: 97th to 2nd
> Grand Lake: 46th to 25th
> Oneida (Major): 28th to 16th
> Potomac: 54th to 5th

As mentioned above, the one aberration was Champlain.

In addition to his upped position in the standings, his improvements contributed mightily to his wallet. Last year he'd barely covered his entry fees with a little left over for lunch. This year he pocketed over $100,000, which convinced him that he's here to stay.

Numbers Games

According to Lane, the biggest change he made this year –particularly at those lakes that were second visits – was to understand just how good the competition is.

"I got it in my head what it takes to make the Top 5, the Top 12, the Top 50," he said. "I knew that I had to catch them and I had a pretty good idea of what it would take.

"Last year I was just looking to catch my limit and make the Top 50, but this year I spent practice looking for the kinds of fish that would put me in the Top 12."

Practice still consisted of looking for reliable fish, even if they were smaller, but once he felt he had a reasonable clue of how to catch them, he'd turn to those "day-4 quality" bass.

"In my head, I try to balance how much time to spend in certain areas. There are some areas where you know you'll get numbers of bites, and some places where the quality is there but you'll get fewer bites, or maybe none at all. Even 2-pounders are better than no fish."

The other key, he said, was increased confidence. While he didn't necessarily adopt new tactics or streamline his approach, he committed to using every tool in his arsenal to his maximum ability rather than just going through the motions.

"Instead of just using a football jig, a dropshot or a swimbait, I did it with confidence. It was just a matter of putting my head down and knowing what I needed to catch."

When possible, he also reverted to his confidence tactics – in particular flipping heavy vegetation and throwing a Gambler Cane Toad.

The increased confidence also enabled him to make decisions when necessary. While he admitted that some of his good fortune had a little bit to do with luck and timing, he noted he benefited from a willingness to make a choice when necessary.

"This year I'd run when I had to, vs. last year when I'd stay put. Last year I was scared to make decisions," he said.

Highs and Lows

Lane's year started with the sort of inconsistency that marked his 2006 campaign. He barely missed the cut at Amistad (52nd) and then rebounded with a 9th-place finish at the California Delta. Things were looking up, but then crashed with a season's worst 82nd at Clear Lake, and then reversed course once again with a career-best 2nd-place finish at Clarks Hill.

Then he reached a certain level of fishing equilibrium, clocking three consecutive money finishes. Even though they were unspectacular (50th, 40th and 25th), they were bankable and kept him up in the points.

Even the two non-money finishes that started the New York swing (59th at Champlain and 63rd at Erie) weren't completely debilitating.

The two keys to maintaining his points status, he said, were learning from his mistakes and also treading water when he knew he couldn't go for the win.

Notable

> Lane qualified to fish this season's Bassmaster Majors and finished 40th, 16th and 38th. "It was tremendously exciting to fish with no co-angler against the best anglers in the world," he said.

> While his brother Bobby's best known for his performances on the FLW Tour, Chris holds out hope that Bobby will finish high enough in the Bassmaster Southern Opens to claim the family's second spot in the 2008 Classic.

– End of part 1 (of 2)