Several pros were late arrivals for the 7 a.m. CT take-off. The Lane brothers pulled up a few minutes after the official start. They'd taken the long route to get to the Wolf Creek launch site.
"I didn't get lost; the GPS got lost," explained Bobby Lane.
When asked if Wednesday's 30-degree weather had dampened his enthusiasm for a non-required day on Grand Lake, Chis Lane said, "That, and this is practice day."
As former NBA star Allen Iverson famously once said, "I mean listen, we're sitting here talking about practice, not a game, not a game, not a game, but we're talking about practice."
When asked if he was mentally engaged for the day, Chris Lane said, with no emotion, "Yeah, I want to go out there."
Brother Bobby busted out laughing, adding, "He doesn't sound very enthusiastic, does he?"
On a less humorous note, Bassmaster College Series champion Matt Lee was also late for take-off.
"I just called to check on him," said College Series Director Hank Weldon. "I figured the college kid had overslept."
Weldon discovered it was a bit more serious than that. Lee is diabetic, Weldon said, and he'd awakened with a very low blood sugar level. But Lee had remedied that and was on his way to the lake.
Again, it should be made clear, there's no penalty for a late arrival on the official practice day. You don't have to practice at all, if you so desire. Contestants are limited only by their official take-off and check-in times.