From 2006 through 2018, Prattville, Ala., homie Russ Lane had the distinction of being an Elite Series angler. He earned a payday more than 50% of the time and competed in seven Bassmaster Classics.
In 2019, he left the Elites to compete on another tour. Five years later, he began fishing the Bassmaster Opens with the goal of returning to the Elite Series.
“I don’t mean to knock other organizations,” Lane said. “I just wasn’t having fun with the other league’s format.”
Lane prefers the five-fish format of the Elite Series because it makes catching a kicker bass a game changer. A heavy bass allows him to relax and adjust his strategy to take full advantage of the fish.
“A big bass doesn’t mean anything with MLF,” he said. “You always have to continue catching as many scorable bass as possible. When you catch a big one with a five-fish limit, it makes a difference and you know it.”
Lane failed to qualify for the Elite Series in 2024 but did so in a big way this past season, finishing second in the Bassmaster Elite Qualifier’s overall point standings.
“Last year, it was hard for me to change the panic mindset,” Lane said. “This year, I told myself that I had to enjoy what I was doing, to slow down, get one bite at a time and feed off of that momentum like I used to do.”
Before Lane was school age, the seed for his fishing passion was planted at his grandparent’s 80-acre farm in Troy, Ala. Hubbard and Mattie Lou Renfro grew cotton, peanuts and corn. During Lane’s school years, he begged his mother to let him stay at the farm on spring and summer breaks.
“As long as I helped with farmwork, my grandparents would take me fishing to ponds and rivers in the evening,” Lane said.
He was given a .410 shotgun at age 8 and turned loose on the farm to hunt quail and squirrels. He still owns the .410.
Back home in Montgomery, he lived in a small neighborhood where he met Chris Rutland. They both loved fishing and harassed the bream, tiny bass and catfish in a ditch that flowed behind their homes. They learned how to fish plastic worms in a nearby pond.
Danny Pollard, a bass tournament angler who lived two doors down from Rutland, became a fishing mentor to the boys.
“Danny realized Chris had gift, and they began fishing tournaments together when Chris was 13,” Lane said. “My focus was on baseball and football. If it weren’t for Danny, Chris and I would not have had the success we’ve had fishing tournaments over the years.”
Lane’s ability to throw strikes carried him through college and two years of minor league baseball. Once he realized playing in the big leagues was not in his future, he paired up with Rutland to terrorize local team tournaments over the next 10 years.
“I don’t know how many tournaments we won,” Lane said. “We probably averaged 15 or more a year and won around 15 boats. I built a house at age 22, pretty much with the money I banked fishing tournaments.”
His path to the Elite Series began in 2003 when he won a B.A.S.S. Nation tournament at Lay Lake. That victory took him to a southern regional on Lake Eufaula, which he won by 20 pounds and claimed a berth to the 2004 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Wiley.
This success encouraged him to fish the Bassmaster Opens that same year. He failed to qualify for the Elite series that year but did so the next.
Lane and his wife, Jill, recently built a house on a farm they bought. Now that their children are grown and on their own, they have initiated the Russ Lane Foundation.
“The foundation is a mentoring program for kids who are passionate about getting into business in the outdoor industry or dream of becoming a professional fisherman or hunter or a pro in any sport,” Lane said.
“We want to put them in contact with a mentor who can give them solid advice. Over the years, I’ve met many great people in all facets of the outdoors who are willing to help.”
Lane’s sponsors include BW Trailer Hitches, Phoenix Boats, Yamaha Marine, Garmin, Phenix Rods, Big Bite Baits, Buckeye Lures, SPRO, Gamakatsu, Monster Marine Lithium and Power-Pole.
