By Joel Shangle
PHOTOS BY PHOENIX MOORE
2023 bally bet ANGLER OF THE YEAR RACE TAKING SHAPE
Interesting facts , figures and storylines surround Bass Pro Tour trophy race
Heading into the back stretch of the 2023 Bass Pro Tour season , the demolition-derby battle for the Bally Bet Angler of the Year hardware ( and $ 100,000 payday ) is shaping up to be as interesting and unpredictable as any major-tour AOY race in recent memory .
As of this writing – right after Stage Four at Lake Guntersville – the Top 10 in the AOY had undergone noticeable rearrangement as a handful of anglers faltered and others surged . But regardless of what happens next , two anglers vying for the No . 1 spot ( Chris Lane and John Hunter ) are worthy of some extra analysis .
LANE IS LAYING THE LUMBER
As mentioned briefly in this issue ’ s Editor ’ s Note , Alabama pro Chris Lane has been an immovable presence in the AOY Top 5 throughout the first half of the season . Lane started the season with a “ Powwww !” at Stage One on the Kissimmee Chain , claiming his first-ever MLF win while fishing waters where his bass-fishing career began 20-plus years ago . Lane carried that momentum to Stage Two at Douglas / Cherokee ( 20th ) and Stage Three at Lake Murray ( fourth ), and survived a 49th-place finish at Guntersville to remain in the top five .
It seems like a stretch to call Lane ’ s season a “ resurgence ” – he ’ s only 11 years removed from his Bassmaster Classic win on the Red River and racked up five tour-level wins from 2012 to 2015 – but his performance in the best-five-fish format this season is notable . Lane ’ s previous AOY finishes on the Bass Pro Tour ( 2019 through 2022 ) were 52nd , 16th , 61st and 25th , respectively ( a four-year average of 39th ).
Lane will be an angler to pay close attention to as the schedule points north to Cayuga Lake , Lake St . Clair and Saginaw Bay to finish the season . He ’ s had mixed results at Cayuga ( 63rd last year at Stage Five , 27th and 72nd in 2016 and 2014 Elite Series events there ), but has posted two topfive finishes on St . Clair ( including a win in 2013 ).
HUNTER LEADS ROOKIE RALLY
The “ rookie class ” of 2023 seems intent on claiming a hearty percentage of the berths in REDCREST 2024 , judging by the first-half success of Nick LeBrun , John Hunter , Mitch Crane , Matt Becker , Josh Butler and Jacob Wall .
Perhaps the most compelling performance to date is that of Hunter . The Kentucky pro ’ s career AOY average on the Pro Circuit from 2018 to 2021 was 72nd , but he fished his way to the Bass Pro Tour thanks an eighth-place AOY finish in 2022 . Hunter has remained in heady AOY territory since then , earning a Top 10 at Lake Murray and hovering stubbornly near the top of the AOY race through the first half of the season .
Go to majorleaguefishing . com to follow the Bally Bet Angler of the Year race as it continues through Bass Pro Tour stages Five , Six and Seven .
JUNE-JULY 2023 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 13