From a fishing standpoint, the highlight of 2010 for Chris Lane occurred way back in January, when he edged out older brother Bobby and the rest of a star-studded field to win the Okeechobee Bassmaster Southern Open. He couldn't carry that momentum into the Elite Series season, though, and endured a miserable start, as two bombs in California and another at Pickwick gave him three finishes of 79th or lower through the first four events.
He watched his brother go on to make his fourth straight Bassmaster Classic, whereas his own 71st-place finish on the final Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year list will cause him to miss the sport's premier event for the third consecutive year. But despite all that, he's had a relatively carefree off-season and he's extremely eager to get the 2011 campaign under way.
The most stress he's encountered recently has come from serving as an assistant coach on his 9-year-old son's pee wee football team. As of last week, the team was one win from its version of the Super Bowl.
"I'm shocked at the intensity level that Alabama has for football," said the native Floridian who moved to Guntersville 2 years ago. "If I could see my son go to the Super Bowl, that would be kind of like me making the Classic."
A Bigger Picture
The 35-year-old Lane didn't have the kind of year on the water that he would've liked, but he's done just fine off of it. He's added Valmonte Lakeside Resort, a Guntersville facility that caters primarily to anglers, to his sponsor portfolio, and he has several other deals that are close to finalization.
Meanwhile, he's renewed all of the contracts that he had in 2010.
"I feel fantastic about it and that's one of the reason's I'm so excited about next year – having that great team of sponsors behind me," he said. "I'll be going out and living my dream job and I look at the whole thing as a business – the tournaments, the sponsorship (obligations), the shows, the whole realm of it.
"I love fishing for a living, but I understand that there's a lot of other hard work involved when you look at it as a business. I'm 100% focused on what I need to do to be successful at it."
He admitted that he lost some of his focus, at least from a fishing perspecutve, during the early part of this year's Elite Series campaign as his name kept ending up next to one big number after another.
"The tournament at Pickwick was the one that got me – I lost some really big fish. The second day I had the fish on to do fairly well and I just didn't do it. I got really upset and frustrated, and then I came to Guntersville, which is my home lake now but a lake I'm still learning, and on the first day I couldn't get on any of my spots.
"I was just running around and I absolutely spun out (psychologically). I came in with 14 pounds, which I knew was no good. It put me at the back of the pack."
That evening he conducted a serious self-evaluation session.
"I was living there and I knew where the fish were, but I wasn't having fun and I wasn't enjoying being out there. I decided I needed to go out with confidence and make the decisions I used to make, and I went out and made the cut.
"I had to get back to enjoying myself and doing things the way I know how to do them. If you can't have some fun doing this, then you're in the wrong game."
He followed up that 40th-place outing with an 11th at Clarks Hill. Then, after another slip-up at Kentucky Lake, he concluded the season with a 32nd at Fort Gibson.
"Making that cut at Guntersville was a game-changer for me and I got back to having fun. I'm going to take that into next year and try to keep it that way forever."
Changes are Good
Lane is one Elite Series pro who likes the Classic qualification changes that were announced last week – Elite and Open event-winners gain automatic berths so long as they fish the entire circuit. The fact that he's won two Opens during the first month of the year (he also prevailed at Okeechobee in 2006) might play into that just a little.
"I'm excited that they're going to put more emphasis on a win," he said. "Say you win the first tournament of the year, the first Open, you have a Classic spot for 2012. That takes away a lot of stress.
"It'll also keep the fields full because you're always going to have that chance to make the Classic. I think it'll lead to a bigger fan base for the sport and more people getting into the sport."
His lone Classic appearance thus far came in 2008, and he had a great time sharing it with Bobby, who was also making his debut in the event. He hopes they can do it again about 16 months from now.
For this next one, though,' he'll have to be content with rooting on his brother.
"I'm proud of Bobby making it 4 years in a row. That's a big thing for our family."
Notable
> The fishing Lane clan also includes brother Arnie and father Robert. The patriarch took AOY honors this year for the Lakeland Bassmasters, which is the world's largest BASS-affiliated club.
> In addition to the Elite Series and the Southern Opens, he also plans to fish the FLW Tour Opens and some AFS events next year.
