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PHOTO BY JOSH GASSMANN
“ Big time ” bobby !
Lane Secures REDCREST 2022 Win With Late Heroics on Grand Lake
Florida pro catches final scorable fish with just minutes to spare
In a 17-year career that spans more than 200 tour-level tournaments , Florida pro Bobby Lane has weighed in literal tons of largemouth bass . Known affectionately ( and accurately ) throughout the tournament world as “ Big Fish ” Bobby , the Berkley pro has made a comfortable living putting heavy weights in his boat .
But as he stared intently at the scale in the waning minutes of the Championship Round of REDCREST 2022 Presented by Costa on Oklahoma ’ s Grand Lake , Lane ’ s entire existence for a few nervous seconds shrank to the smallest of weights : 1 ounce .
Lane had already done the nearly unthinkable in chasing down Jacob Wheeler and Dustin Connell after entering the final period of REDCREST with an 11- pound deficit . But after correctly surmising that his fish had transitioned from the rocky structure where he had made hay all week cranking a Berkley Frittside 5 to shallow docks and switching to a green pumpkin jig with a Berkley PowerBait Meaty Chunk Jr . trailer , Lane had methodically chipped away at the lead .
First came a 3-pound , 10-ouncer . And then eight minutes later , the Berkley Big Bass of the day , a 6-3 . And then three more fish totaling 7-13 that brought him to within 6 ounces of the lead with 12 minutes remaining in the period .
And then the 1-ounce difference-maker .
With just over 4 minutes left on the official clock , Lane set the hook on a largemouth that looked to be right on the cusp of the minimum 2-pound scorable weight , clipped it on the Brecknell scale and watched as the weight displayed : 1-15 , just 1 ounce shy of the minimum . Per Bass Pro Tour rules , Lane asked for the first of two allowable re-weighs : 1-15 again .
“ One more ,” Lane said as his official reset the scale for what would turn out to be the last fish of RED- CREST .
With 3:12 remaining , Lane ’ s fish settled on the scale exactly where he needed it to : 1 ounce heavier and officially scorable at 2-0 , giving him a lead he held on to for the biggest win of his career . The Florida pro finished the day with 10 scorable fish for 29-14 , edging out Luke Clausen ( 28-11 ) and Wheeler ( 28-4 ).
“ I ’ ve never been hungrier for something big ,” Lane admitted .
lane landed on the right pattern
Throughout the first several years of his career , Lane built a stout reputation as the prototypical Florida hammer , piling up Top 10s in shallow-water locales where you ’ d expect a Floridian to excel ( Florida , southern Alabama , Texas , Georgia , South Carolina , Louisiana , etc .) Along the way , however , the youngest of the three Lane brothers quietly showed
10 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | APRIL-MAY 2022