Lane weighs historic bag to grab lead at Champlain

PLATTSBURGH | Through two days, Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech Stop 6 Presented by VOSKER on Lake Champlain has been a delight. Though maybe not as calm as some anglers would like, the fishing has been good (really good), and the full scope of what's possible on Champlain has been on display. Sitting in third after Day 1, Cal Lane rocketed to the lead with a mixed bag worth 23 pounds, 15 ounces for a 45-16 two-day total. It's the third-largest five-bass limit in the history of MLF and FLW events on Champlain, and his mixed satchel of largemouth and smallmouth have him in the hunt for a win yet again. This time, the odds look really good.In second, Matt Becker caught an even 20 pounds, but fell from first with 42-4 over two days, and Brett Carnright sacked up 21-8 to move into third with 41-6. Ryan Lachniet and Clint Knight round out the 40-pound club, which extends down to fifth on the current leaderboard. Huge day has Lane in the driver's seat Lane is on the cusp of Bass Pro Tour qualification, but his immediate problem is finishing off a win. The Alabama pro has had several opportunities this season, and each time, the final day didn't go his way. This time, he's in much better shape with the sort of lead that's seemingly insurmountable on Champlain. "It was unbelievable," he said of his second day attacking Champlain. "I smashed 20 pounds of smallmouth in my three hours of 'Scope. I knew going into tomorrow I'd have a shot to win. Then, I went to go check on some largemouth and they were there – big time. I didn't lean on them; I made one zip through there, and then I found a new mat that seemed to be pretty decent." With a big bag of smallmouth already in the livewell, Lane considered not heading south to his largemouth, but he definitely doesn't regret going in hindsight. "If I'd have never gone down there, I'd never have found the new place," he said. "I wouldn't have been able to find them tomorrow. I wouldn't have been fishing as relaxed."Exploration could turn out to be the key to the event for Lane – his best places are non-standard areas on Champlain, and he's fishing without much competition around him."I came up here and pre-practiced and looked at a bunch of stuff in areas I fished in the past that are known to have fish," he said. "I scanned a bunch, found trees and rock piles and all that, and I checked it all the first day of practice and had legitimately 10 pounds. I was so done with sucking here, so I went to an area I had never fished before and found them." Tomorrow, he'll have his minnow rods and punch rods ready for what could be his first big win. "I feel good – real good," he said. "It seems like every time, I feel better about my chances going into the last day. Tomorrow is maybe the day."Becker burns it down on Day 2 Running 45 gallons of fuel through his Suzuki on Day 2, Becker did all he could to maintain his lead. Most days on Champlain, it would have been enough. "To be honest, it was very similar to yesterday," he said. "My 'Scope period was a little different. I didn't catch one for the first hour but, end result, I had just under 19 pounds. Then I transitioned to largemouth and caught just about as many as I did yesterday. Today they didn't help much – only one 4-pounder I caught right at the end of the day." Skipping a 5-inch Yamamoto Senko, Becker pretty much fished everywhere he thought there could be a big green one. "I burnt everything I had," he said. "I fished everywhere I thought I could catch one. There were two docks in particular and both of them had fish. I caught multiple fish off both of them, but no big ones." Tomorrow, if he's going to chase down Lane, Becker will probably need to wrangle a few more big green ones. Points races goes down to the wire As was the case on Day 1, Banks Shaw is still looking good for 7 Brew Angler of the Year, despite slipping up a little. He has some wiggle room on Day 3, but, knowing Shaw, he's not likely to give Lachniet enough breathing room to win AOY outright. That said, Lachniet should still be good for a Bass Pro Tour invite and Rookie of the Year.Beyond that, things get really interesting when it comes down to the Bass Pro Tour invites, which go to the top five pros not already on the BPT. If the tournament were over now, the standings would be as follows. Hypothetical standings 1. Banks Shaw – 8th in the tournament – 1136 points2. Ryan Lachniet – 4th – 11273. Drew Gill – 30th – 10944. Connor Jacob – 13th – 10875. Carter Nutt – 49th – 10756. Brody Campbell – 23rd – 10687. Will Harkins – 22nd – 10628. Cal Lane – 1st – 10589. Dylan Nutt – 79th – 104910. Ethan Fields – 19th – 1046 Lachniet, Connor Jacob, Carter Nutt, Brody Campbell and Will Harkins are set to receive Bass Pro Tour invites, with Lane as the first man out. Dylan Nutt only weighing four bass on Day 2 is going to turn out to be extremely important for whoever gets the last BPT spot, and tomorrow, the big question is going to be how do Campbell and Harkins finish the event? If Lane wins, and one of the two drop just a handful of places in the standings, he could double-dip and make the BPT as well, but Campbell and Harkins have both proved to be very capable anglers. If they maintain or move up slightly, Lane will be locked out despite his best efforts.Stay tuned. A lot will be on the table tomorrow. Follow along You can follow the action at Stop 6 Presented by VOSKER on Lake Champlain through July 26, on MLFNOW! starting at 7 a.m. ET and stay locked to MajorLeagueFishing.com for on-the-water galleries, daily stories and more. -Article courtesy of Jody White, Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit

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Lane weighs historic bag to grab lead at Champlain

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