Lane seals deal with historic Lake Champlain win

PLATTSBURGH | Cal Lane spent most of the 2026 season coming about as close as possible to winning without actually winning – a theme for him in 2025 as well. On Sunday, that all went out the window. Lane put together one of the best tournaments ever witnessed on Lake Champlain to take down Stop 6 Presented by VOSKER in style and close the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech regular season with a bang. Weighing more than 20 pounds every day of the event, Lane caught a three-day total of 65 pounds, 7 ounces, which broke the record for largest three-day catch at Lake Champlain in MLF/FLW history, eclipsing the 64-1 Kyle Cortiana caught in the 2024 Toyota Series event there. His 23-15 on Day 2 was the third-heaviest five-fish bag in Champlain history for MLF/FLW, and for his efforts, he took home $100,000 as well as a spot in REDCREST 2027, which happens to be in his home state. Finishing second, Matt Becker weighed 63-16, and also fished a basically perfect Champlain event. Banks Shaw cracked nearly 22 pounds on the final day to move up to third and also ice down his second consecutive 7 Brew Anger of the Year title. EXPLORATION EARNS LANE THE WIN For a few years, the theme on Champlain has been LiveScope, LiveScope and more LiveScope; as open-water and smallmouth have yielded the majority of the multi-day wins on the lake. If there's a secondary trend, it's that tournaments can be won all over the lake, maybe more than has ever been possible. Lane proved that at Stop 6 with a perfectly executed combo of smallmouth and largemouth. On the first day of practice, Lane stuck to the Inland Sea (a historically excellent area) and put up terrible results. His second practice day, fighting big wind and a bad prior day, he expanded. "I had to get out and go to a new area," he said. "I went south where the wind wasn't as bad. It was really the only option. I just started fishing stuff they should be on, like break lines. I saw some roaming on bait, and I had it all to myself. When it got really windy, I went way down into the most protected place that I could find. I felt like I was at home flipping grass. It was easy to get bit once you got around them." Lane didn't need to do anything fancy to catch his fish. The smallmouth were roaming on breaks in 35 to 50 feet, and he whipped out a minnow for those fish, specifically a 6-inch Deps Sakamata Shad on a 3/8-ounce Epic Baits Shine Ball, backed up with Cortland line and a TigeRodz spinning stick. For the largemouth, he punched mats in 10 feet of water with a 2-ounce Epic Baits flipping weight, 55-pound Cortland MasterBraid and a 7-foot, 8-inch, heavy TigeRodz. More than anything, the key was his location – two zones more than 30 miles apart where there were lots of bass that were biting well. After so many close calls, Lane was emotional on stage, even though he had an inkling that the win could be possible even back in practice. "I still can't believe it's real," he said, sitting next to the trophy. "Especially not on a smallmouth fishery – I never would have thought. I'm not big on smallmouth; I don't understand them, but I caught some 4-pounders in practice and saw a bunch. I thought I could catch 18 pounds of smallmouth. When I got those largemouth bites, I was like, 'Man, there's a chance.'" On the final day, once he dropped his Power-Pole Move in the water, Lane didn't leave anything to chance. "I was nervous going into today, which is weird because the past couple ones I haven't been nervous at all," he said. "Once I got out there, I got in a zone. I was locked in. I don't even know how many I caught. I had to have caught 30 smallmouth this morning. And the largemouth, I had an insane amount of bites." It's a win that's been a long time coming, and Lane hopes it isn't his last. "It was a super blessed year. The Lord really guided me," Lane said. "And they say once you get one win, the next one comes pretty easy, so I'm looking forward to seeing what He has in store." TOP 10 PROS 1. Cal Lane – 65 – 07 (15) – $100,0002. Matt Becker – 63 – 06 (15) – $22,1003. Banks Shaw – 61 – 13 (15) – $18,1004. Broderick Luckey – 60 – 15 (15) – $16,5005. Ryan Lachniet – 60 – 01 (15) – $15,7006. Tyler Campbell – 59 – 09 (15) – $14,9007. Colby Miller – 59 – 08 (15) – $14,1008. Brett Carnright – 58 – 15 (15) – $14,0509. Alec Morrison – 58 – 13 (15) – $12,40010. Spike Stoker – 58 – 06 (15) – $11,600 FIVE NEW FACES TO BASS PRO TOUR With the final event of the regular season wrapped up, Shaw put a bow on his second 7 Brew Angler of the Year title, and Ryan Lachniet took home Rookie of the Year. As for the Bass Pro Tour berths, that went down to the wire. In the end, after every fish was weighed on Day 3, Lachniet, Connor Jacob, Carter Nutt, Brody Campbell and Will Harkins earned invites to the big show. The five qualifiers all put together fantastic years, and each will bring exciting talent and personality to the BPT. Finishing eighth in the points, Lane was the first man out of the cut, though hopefully his winner trophy and $100,000 check will help him get over the miss. TOP 10 IN STANDINGS 1. Banks Shaw – 1141 points – $252,100 season winnings2. Ryan Lachniet – 1126 – $72,1003. Drew Gill – 1096 – $146,6004. Connor Jacob – 1087 – $64,3005. Carter Nutt – 1075 – $147,0006. Brody Campbell – 1073 – $75,6007. Will Harkins – 1072 – $57,9008. Cal Lane – 1058 – $159,6009. Ethan Fields – 1054 – $62,00010. Dylan Nutt – 1049 – $76,900 -Article courtesy of Jody White, Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit

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Lane seals deal with historic Lake Champlain win

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