Lane Wipes Out All But 10 Ounces Of Monroe's Lead

By BassFan Staff

There seems to be no stopping the Chris Lane Express.

The reigning Bassmaster Classic champion caught a career-best 31-03 sack today to pull within 10 ounces of 3-day leader Ish Monroe with 1 day to fish at the Okeechobee Elite Series in Florida. Tomorrow he'll gun for his third B.A.S.S. victory of 2012 – at three different levels, no less – and attempt to nail down his third qualification for the 2013 Classic. And March isn't even over yet.

The down-to-earth Lane encountered difficulty when trying to come up with the words to describe the roll he's on.

"It's crazy, crazy – I can't explain it," he said. "God is good."

Monroe, meanwhile, saw a big decrease in his bag weight for the second straight day and will certainly have to reverse that trend tomorrow in order to secure his second career Elite win and first since 2006. He started the day with an advantage of nearly 14 pounds, but on day 4 he'll essentially duke it out head-to-head with the hottest angler in the game – a Florida native whose Okeechobee résumé includes two Open victories and a ton of tournament experience.

He's fully aware of what he's up against.

"Regardless of what kind of lead you have, it's not safe against a guy like that," he said. "He's a good fisherman and he's on a great streak, and when a guy gets on one of those, it's hard to compete against him.

"I'll just have to go out and try to make all the right decisions like I did on day 1 (when he caught a tournament-best 34-05), and hopefully it pays off."

Monroe's 18-02 bag today gave him a 77-06 total. Lane now has 76-12.

The big stringers caught by Lane and several others today give hope to the rest of the Top 12 field. All except Lane are more than 15 pounds off the pace.

Skeet Reese, who seems to have turned back the calendar to 2010, sacked 22-06 and climbed 1 spot to 3rd with a 62-04 total. Shaw Grigsby, whose bags this year have either been immense or miniscule, flopped 30-07 on the scale and moved up 35 places to 4th with 56-13.

Florida's own Terry Scroggins, whose weights have gone up dramatically each day, completed the Top 5 after catching 24-11 today for a 56-08 aggregate.

Here are the totals for the anglers who'll be back on the Big O tomorrow (red numbers in parentheses indicate deficit margin from the leader):

1. Ish Monroe: 77-06
2. Chris Lane: 76-12 (0-10)
3. Skeet Reese: 62-04 (15-02)
4. Shaw Grigsby: 56-13 (20-09)
5. Terry Scroggins: 56-08 (20-14)
6. Brent Chapman: 56-02 (21-04)
7. Kevin VanDam: 55-04 (22-02)
8. Jeff Kriet: 55-00 (22-06)
9. Kyle Fox: 54-09 (22-13)
10. Scott Rook: 54-07 (22-15)
11. Tommy Biffle: 53-05 (24-01)
12. Todd Faircloth: 53-04 (24-02)

Today offered the best bite of the event to this point as many places on the lake that were muddied from recent heavy winds continued to clear. That's given anglers the option to break away from the community holes that concentrated most of them for the first 2 days and allowed them to exploit areas that were fishless just a couple of days earlier.

Grigsby made the biggest move to bust into the Top 12, but VanDam's vault was similar. The four-time defending Angler of the Year began the day in 39th place before having what was far and away his best day of the young season (28-11). His bag was anchored by an 8-14 giant – the biggest fish of the event.

Other climbers were Brent Chapman (25th to 6th with 26-14 today) and Tommy Biffle (20th to 10th, 22-14). Moving out were Davy Hite (7th to 26th, 8-01), Ott DeFoe (8th to 15th, 15-04), Mike Iaconelli (10th to 21st, 12-03), David Walker (11th to 17th, 14-11) and Britt Myers (12th to 16th, 16-13).

DeFoe incurred a 2-pound penalty due to a self-reported culling error – he explained on stage that he was using both livewell boxes and at one point realized that he'd exceeded the five-fish limit. Even without the penalty, he still would've missed the 12-cut by a few ounces.

Tomorrow's weather forecast calls for scattered thunderstorms, a high temperature of 83 degrees and a west/southwest wind that should reach 13 mph.

Fewer Big Bites for Monroe

> Day 3: 5, 18-02 (15, 77-06)

Monroe's weight fell off about 9 1/2 pounds from day 1 to day 2, and then about another 7 pounds today. His weight today was certainly nothing to scoff at, but it wasn't the type of number to keep the red-hot Lane at bay.

He said his best locale is succumbing to the pressure it's receiving – applied by him and some local anglers.

"It's a mixture of shiner guys and some guys just fishing," he said. "Most of them are just one guy in a boat. I made an adjustment and started fishing where the locals weren't, and I caught my three best fish with an hour to go.

"It's weird – there'll be nobody in an area for 30 minutes and I'll go down there and start catching them, and then they'll start coming my way. There's nothing I can do about it, though."

He caught about 25 keepers for the day, the best of which was a 5-12. He continued to flip a Missile Baits D Bomb on a jig.

He didn't miss any bites that would've helped – the only two fish he failed to connect with pulled the tails off his bait.

"The big bites were a lot fewer. I caught a lot of fish – I had three in the first 10 minutes this morning.

"The water was a little dirtier, which I thought was a good thing, but the wind didn't blow as hard, which was a bad thing. Tomorrow I'll fish areas where there's more wind and try to use that to my advantage."

2nd: Lane Quit a Little Early

> Day 3: 5, 31-03 (15, 76-12)

Lane had previously never weighed a 30-pound bag at any level of competition. His best fish of the day was the last to go in.

"When I caught that 8-pounder and culled a 4 (about 30 minutes before quitting time), it was unbelievable," he said. "I just started heading back because it wasn't going to get any better today.

"I'm really in shock. I want to get back out there right now and start catching some more of those pigs."

He pitched a Gambler Ninja jig all day. His other four weigh-in fish all either exceeded or pushed 6 pounds. He's also lost quite a few big ones throughout the event, and a 7-pounder was added to that list today.

"I'm not trying to catch a limit – I'm just pitching where the big ones are. I can't wait to get back out there tomorrow and work on them all day.

“When I set the hook, I have my drag cranked all the way down, and those fish go nuts. They’re some of the meanest fish in the country. They mow you over, mow the reeds over, and it’s so hard to get to them. But when you do, they’re big.”

4th: Good Day for Grigsby

> Day 3: 5, 30-07 (15, 62-04)

Grigsby guessed that his bag was the third-best of his long career.

"It was a pretty good day," he said. "I left early and left some down there – I was adding things up in my mind, thinking maybe I'd make the cut. Because I did (make it), I'm happy I left some for later.

His weight easily surpassed his total from the first 2 days combined.

"I really just got on to them yesterday – I'm a little slower than most and I hadn't really dialed it in. It's a fun little bite and I'm just hoping that it keeps going and that I don't have any issues or anything."

His best fish was a 7 3/4-pounder and he didn't lose any that would've helped him.

"In my estimation, there's a shot at doing it again. Whether that happens or not, who knows. I'd have to have everything go just right like it did today."

5th: Combo Approach for Scroggins

> Day 3: 5, 24-11 (15, 56-08)

Scroggins is going with a combination flipping attack: he works reeds in the mornings and mats in the afternoons. Today's bag was more than twice the size of his day-1 haul.

"There's a huge bag out there to be caught," he said. "You can catch a lot of fish, but you really need to capitalize on the few key bites you get. The real key is the water clarity – it's making the lake fish bigger and bigger, and that's why you're seeing bigger and bigger bags."

He went through about a dozen keepers and his sack was headed up by 6-pound triplets. He lost a few, but didn't think any of them would've gone to the scale.

"There's still quite a few fish where I am if I can get the right bites and capitalize. There's some locals fishing with live bait around, but you really have to put your blinders on and not pay attention to what they're doing."

6th: Big Haul for Chapman

> Day 3: 5, 26-14 (15, 56-02)

Chapman, who's already secured a berth in next year's Classic via his Lewisville Central Open win last month, is bidding for his second straight Top-5 finish to open the Elite season.

"Today went about as well as it could've possibly went," he said. "I'm fishing really well and I'm not losing any. I can't be anything but totally excited about the way things are going."

A 7 1/2-pounder was the best of the 25 keepers he caught. He began the event pitching a Tightlines UVenko – the bait that carried him to a 4th-place showing last week at the St. Johns River – but caught a few on a jig yesterday and threw it all day today.

He spent all of day 3 in a single area.

"I wish I had that first day to do over again – I didn't get on them until about 12:30 that day. Every day I've understood more about what's going on and today I was pretty dialed in.

"The coolest part about today was I was in my area and I'd backed away from the sweet spot, and a husband and wife just fishing for fun came in. I caught two 3-pounders right next to them and they were cheering me on, and then I caught a 4 and a 5 not 10 feet from their boat. They couldn't have been happier, and thank goodness they didn't wear the place out.

"Knowing what I know now," he continued, "I hope I can go in there tomorrow and catch an even better bag."

17th: Walker Comes in Lighter

> Day 3: 5, 14-11 (15, 48-12)

David Walker fell a bit short of the 17-pound average he'd established over the first 2 days, but will leave Florida with two strong finishes to begin the season (he was 10th at the St. Johns).

"This is a heck of a lake and there's a lot of fish to be caught," he said. "I had one on that would've really helped my stringer, but I ended up losing it. It was the only good one I lost all week.

"It was a 5- or 6-pounder. I'd caught a 6, and then two flips later I had another big one on. It kind of surprised me to get two in a row like that because I'd gone about an hour without a bite."

He flipped a Medlock Double Guard jig – an Okeechobee staple made by the father of Big O stalwart Brandon Medlock – trailed by a Z-Man Flappin' CrawZ.

"I'm pretty disappointed by not making this last cut – I felt pretty confident about making it after the way practice went. I fished Observation Shoal, which is over on the west side of the main lake, and that's where (Lane) and Scroggins and those guys are catching them. About the only guy doing real well that I didn't see was Ish."

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 50 anglers, 48 limits, 2 fours.

> Gary Klein was first out of the 12-cut, but his finish was his best in an Elite event since he was 10th at Ft. Gibson in June 2010.

> Brent Broderick's 37th-place showing was easily his best in 18 career Elite outings.

Weather Forecast

> Sun., March 25 - Scattered T-Storms - 83°/58°
- Wind: From the W/SW at 13 mph

Day 3 Standings

1. Ish Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 15, 77-06 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 34-05 -- Day 2: 5, 24-15 -- Day 3: 5, 18-02

2. Chris Lane -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 76-12 -- 98
Day 1: 5, 21-15 -- Day 2: 5, 23-10 -- Day 3: 5, 31-03

3. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 15, 62-04 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 19-06 -- Day 2: 5, 20-08 -- Day 3: 5, 22-06

4. Shaw E Grigsby Jr. -- Gainesville, FL -- 15, 56-13 -- 96
Day 1: 5, 11-07 -- Day 2: 5, 14-15 -- Day 3: 5, 30-07

5. Terry Scroggins -- San Mateo, FL -- 15, 56-08 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 12-01 -- Day 2: 5, 19-12 -- Day 3: 5, 24-11

6. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 15, 56-02 -- 94
Day 1: 5, 12-10 -- Day 2: 5, 16-10 -- Day 3: 5, 26-14

7. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 15, 55-04 -- 93
Day 1: 5, 14-07 -- Day 2: 5, 12-02 -- Day 3: 5, 28-11

8. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, OK -- 15, 55-00 -- 92
Day 1: 5, 19-05 -- Day 2: 5, 21-14 -- Day 3: 5, 13-13

9. Kyle A. Fox -- Lakeland, FL -- 15, 54-09 -- 91
Day 1: 5, 18-01 -- Day 2: 5, 20-04 -- Day 3: 5, 16-04

10. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, AR -- 15, 54-07 -- 90
Day 1: 5, 20-15 -- Day 2: 5, 14-10 -- Day 3: 5, 18-14

11. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 15, 53-05 -- 89
Day 1: 5, 16-03 -- Day 2: 5, 14-04 -- Day 3: 5, 22-14

12. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 15, 53-04 -- 88
Day 1: 5, 19-06 -- Day 2: 5, 17-12 -- Day 3: 5, 16-02

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 4.

13. Gary Klein -- Weatherford, TX -- 15, 51-09 -- 87 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-00 -- Day 2: 5, 19-12 -- Day 3: 5, 18-13

14. Randy Howell -- Springville, AL -- 15, 51-04 -- 86 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-10 -- Day 2: 5, 14-02 -- Day 3: 5, 18-08

15. Ott DeFoe -- Knoxville, TN -- 15, 50-14 -- 85 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-13 -- Day 2: 5, 20-13 -- Day 3: 5, 15-04

16. Britt Myers -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 15, 50-10 -- 84 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-09 -- Day 2: 5, 19-04 -- Day 3: 5, 16-13

17. David Walker -- Sevierville, TN -- 15, 48-12 -- 83 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-10 -- Day 2: 5, 17-07 -- Day 3: 5, 14-11

18. Bobby Lane -- Lakeland, FL -- 15, 48-03 -- 82 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 21-03 -- Day 2: 5, 10-10 -- Day 3: 5, 16-06

19. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 15, 47-13 -- 81 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-01 -- Day 2: 5, 17-00 -- Day 3: 5, 16-12

20. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, CA -- 15, 47-10 -- 80 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-01 -- Day 2: 5, 14-03 -- Day 3: 5, 21-06

21. Michael Iaconelli -- Pittsgrove, NJ -- 15, 46-10 -- 79 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-08 -- Day 2: 5, 18-15 -- Day 3: 5, 12-03

22. Bradley Roy -- Lancaster, KY -- 15, 46-01 -- 78 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 20-09 -- Day 2: 5, 07-08 -- Day 3: 5, 18-00

23. Jason Williamson -- Aiken, SC -- 15, 45-01 -- 77 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-07 -- Day 2: 5, 11-05 -- Day 3: 5, 16-05

24. Jeremy Starks -- Scott Depot, WV -- 15, 44-09 -- 76 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-12 -- Day 2: 5, 14-09 -- Day 3: 5, 14-04

25. Gerald Swindle -- Warrior, AL -- 15, 44-01 -- 75 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-02 -- Day 2: 5, 16-11 -- Day 3: 5, 13-04

26. Davy Hite -- Ninety Six, SC -- 15, 44-00 -- 74 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 25-09 -- Day 2: 5, 10-06 -- Day 3: 5, 08-01

27. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 15, 42-11 -- 73 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-15 -- Day 2: 5, 21-02 -- Day 3: 5, 10-10

28. Zell Rowland -- Austin, TX -- 15, 42-00 -- 72 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-14 -- Day 2: 5, 18-04 -- Day 3: 5, 11-14

29. Nate Wellman -- Newaygo, MI -- 15, 41-08 -- 71 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 22-03 -- Day 2: 5, 06-14 -- Day 3: 5, 12-07

30. Jason Quinn -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 15, 41-05 -- 70 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-11 -- Day 2: 5, 19-14 -- Day 3: 5, 08-12

31. Cliff Crochet -- Pierre Part, LA -- 15, 41-02 -- 69 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-00 -- Day 2: 5, 11-03 -- Day 3: 5, 13-15

32. Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, AR -- 15, 40-13 -- 68 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-10 -- Day 2: 5, 11-07 -- Day 3: 5, 14-12

33. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, AR -- 15, 40-10 -- 67 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-10 -- Day 2: 5, 15-03 -- Day 3: 5, 13-13

34. Marty Robinson -- Lyman, SC -- 14, 40-09 -- 66 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 08-00 -- Day 2: 5, 20-05 -- Day 3: 5, 12-04

35. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 15, 40-08 -- 65 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-11 -- Day 2: 5, 18-01 -- Day 3: 5, 11-12

36. Kelly Jordon -- Palestine, TX -- 15, 40-01 -- 64 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 08-12 -- Day 2: 5, 19-01 -- Day 3: 5, 12-04

37. Brent Broderick -- Oregonia, OH -- 15, 39-13 -- 63 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-04 -- Day 2: 5, 12-12 -- Day 3: 5, 11-13

38. Morizo Shimizu -- Matsugaoka, Japan -- 15, 39-06 -- 62 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-15 -- Day 2: 5, 13-00 -- Day 3: 5, 13-07

39. Fletcher Shryock -- Newcomerstown, OH -- 15, 38-07 -- 61 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-04 -- Day 2: 5, 10-02 -- Day 3: 5, 12-01

40. Paul Elias -- Laurel, MS -- 15, 38-05 -- 60 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-06 -- Day 2: 5, 11-05 -- Day 3: 5, 12-10

41. Brandon Card -- Caryville, TN -- 15, 38-02 -- 59 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-03 -- Day 2: 5, 16-14 -- Day 3: 5, 12-01

42. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 15, 37-13 -- 58 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-11 -- Day 2: 5, 14-13 -- Day 3: 5, 08-05

43. James Niggemeyer -- Van, TX -- 14, 37-11 -- 57 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 08-07 -- Day 2: 5, 19-03 -- Day 3: 5, 10-01

44. John Murray -- Phoenix, AZ -- 15, 37-04 -- 56 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 08-15 -- Day 2: 5, 16-12 -- Day 3: 5, 11-09

45. Derek Remitz -- Grant, AL -- 15, 36-05 -- 55 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-06 -- Day 2: 5, 15-12 -- Day 3: 5, 08-03

46. Yusuke Miyazaki -- Forney, TX -- 15, 35-15 -- 54 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-09 -- Day 2: 5, 14-03 -- Day 3: 5, 09-03

47. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 15, 35-13 -- 53 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-02 -- Day 2: 5, 11-08 -- Day 3: 5, 09-03

48. Fred Roumbanis -- Bixby, OK -- 14, 35-12 -- 52 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-05 -- Day 2: 5, 11-15 -- Day 3: 4, 09-08

49. J Todd Tucker -- Moultrie, GA -- 15, 35-01 -- 51 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-04 -- Day 2: 5, 13-10 -- Day 3: 5, 09-03

50. Pat Golden -- Bethlehem, GA -- 14, 33-15 -- 50 -- $5,000
Day 1: 5, 15-08 -- Day 2: 5, 10-02 -- Day 3: 4, 08-05