Bobby Lane Pads Lead at Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Grundéns Stop 4 at Lake Eufaula
EUFAULA, Ala. (May 14, 2021) – Berkley pro Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Florida, brought a five-bass limit totaling 16 pounds, 6 ounces to the scale Friday to extend his lead after Day 2 of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Bad Boy Mowers, Grundéns Stop 4 Presented by A.R.E. at Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Alabama. Lane’s two-day total of 10 bass weighing 36 pounds, 14 ounces gives him a 3-pound, 6-ounce advantage heading into Day 3 of the four-day competition featuring bass fishing professionals from around the world, battling it out for up to $135,000.
Pro Jason Abram of Piney Flats, Tennessee, held onto second place, weighing 13 pounds, 5 ounces on Friday for a two-day total of 33-8, with rookie Trevor Fitzgerald making a leap from 12th place to loom only 6 ounces behind Abram in third, with a total of 33 pounds, 2 ounces. Pro Cole Floyd of Leesburg, Ohio, who entered the event leading the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Angler of the Year (AOY) race, brought the biggest bag of the day to the stage Friday with a limit weighing 18 pounds, 8 ounces, vaulting him from 54th place into the top 10.
While the weights on Day 2 fluctuated a fair amount, with anglers at the top of the leaderboard struggling and a few pros lower in the standings hammering out big bags, Lane continued his hot streak on Lake Eufaula by fishing shallow.
“Yesterday I started down the lake on what I thought was a good shad spawn,” said Lane. “Today I ran up the river first thing and found the shad to be a lot more active in that area.”
Lane caught a near 6-pounder early to get his day started off right.
“That big one really eased my mind,” said Lane. “Fish like that make the rest of the day go so much better.”
That relaxed mindset helped the Berkley pro make good strategic decisions later in the day when boat traffic and fishing pressure became an issue.
“There’s a lot of traffic up there and everything is getting beat on,” said Lane. “By the time everyone starts running around mid-morning, the banks get muddy and the fish seem to shut off for a while. That’s when I started picking up the flipping stick and going to work in more protected places.”
With only 50 tournament boats on the water tomorrow, Lane said he is hoping the muddy water on the banks will improve.
“The water level didn’t drop as low last night as it had previous nights, so it looks like the river has stabilized,” said Lane. “I’m hoping for a warmer night tonight to make the shad active again in the morning.”
The top 20 pros after Day 2 on Lake Eufaula are:
1st: Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla., 10 bass, 36-14
2nd: Jason Abram of Piney Flats, Tenn., 10 bass, 33-8
3rd: Trevor Fitzgerald of Belleview, Fla., 10 bass, 33-2
4th: Brad Knight of Lancing, Tenn., 10 bass, 31-6
5th: Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif., 10 bass, 30-13
6th: Dicky Newberry of Houston, Texas, 10 bass, 30-11
7th: David Walker of Sevierville, Tenn., 10 bass, 30-3
8th: Chad Warren of Sand Springs, Okla., 10 bass, 30-2
9th: Jared McMillan of Clewiston, Fla., 10 bass, 30-2
10th: Cole Floyd of Leesburg, Ohio, 10 bass, 30-0
11th: Justin Lucas of Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 30-0
12th: Mitch Crane of Columbus, Miss., 10 bass, 29-15
13th: Jeremy Lawyer of Sarcoxie, Mo., 10 bass, 29-10
14th: Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Mich., 10 bass, 29-9
15th: Kyle Hall of Granbury, Texas, 10 bass, 28-13
16th: Ramie Colson, Jr. of Cadiz, Ky., 10 bass, 27-15
17th: Jon Englund of Farwell, Minn., 10 bass, 27-7
18th: John Cox of DeBary, Fla., nine bass, 27-3
19th: Cal Lane of Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 27-2
20th: Tommy Dickerson of Orange, Texas, 10 bass, 27-1
For a full list of results visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Blake Smith of Lakeland, Florida won the day’s $500 Berkley Big Bass award in the pro division after bringing a largemouth weighing 7 pounds, 13 ounces to the scale.
Overall, there were 638 bass weighing 1,496 pounds, 15 ounces caught by 153 pros Friday. The catch included 89 five-bass limits.
The MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Bad Boy Mowers, Grundens Stop 4 Presented by A.R.E. at Lake Eufaula is hosted by the Eufaula Barbour County Chamber of Commerce.
In Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit competition, the full field of anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Thursday and Friday. The top 50 pros based on their two-day cumulative weight now advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros will continue competition on Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.
Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2021 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit TITLE presented by Mercury, the Pro Circuit Championship, where they will compete for up to $235,000. The 2021 TITLE will be on the Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisconsin on Aug. 17-22, and is hosted by Explore La Crosse.
Anglers will take off at 6:30 a.m. CT Saturday and Sunday from Lakepoint Resort State Park, located at 104 Lakepoint Drive in Eufaula. Weigh-ins will also be held at the park daily at 3 p.m. Fans are encouraged to follow the action online through the MLF NOW! live stream and coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Bad Boy Mowers, Grundens Stop 4 Presented by A.R.E. – Lake Eufaula event will feature live on-the-water coverage and a two-hour action-packed television show that will premiere on the Outdoor Channel on Sunday, August 22 from 7 to 9 a.m. ET and re-air on the Sportsman Channel this fall. Weigh-ins will be streamed daily and fans can catch live on-the-water action all day Saturday and Sunday, May 15-16 on MLF NOW! beginning at 7 a.m. CT at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit presented by Bad Boy Mowers on the MLF BIG5’s social media outlets at Facebook , Twitter, Instagram and YouTube .
