In the 2017 Elite Series season opener at Cherokee Lake, Chris Lane caught two more bass than a dead man, to paraphrase an old Abe Lemons quote. Two bass, 6 pounds, 3 ounces total, over two days. Lane, the 2012 Bassmaster Classic champ, recorded the worst finish of his Elite Series career – 105th – and he’s been on it since the beginning in 2006.
Lane grew up fishing in Florida, and he finished second here in 2012. He has tried to remain focused on the things he can control this week. The past and Cherokee Lake aren’t on the list.
“That tournament in Tennessee was in the rearview mirror as soon as I pulled out of the boat ramp,” Lane said Wednesday. “It’s a new season for me. I’m starting from scratch.
“Yeah, coming off the worst finish of my career, maybe I felt a little bit of pressure when I was out there practicing [on Okeechobee] and going four or five hours without a bite in places where you used to catch ’em. Yes, you start to feel some pressure.
“But then you settle down and kind of figure out how to get some bites, and you know what Okeechobee’s capable of, and it kind of puts you at ease.”
Lane obviously needs a big performance this week to offset his nightmare at Cherokee Lake. And in case you’re wondering about his current zero on BASSTrakk, he is one of those guys “off the grid” at present, so he may or may not have bass in the boat.