Inside Elite Boats: Russ Lane

Bassmaster Elite Series pro Russ Lane of Prattville, Ala., has fished 142 career events with B.A.S.S.

Lane has 15 career Top 10 finishes and has qualified six times from the GEICO Bassmaster Classic.

His ride on the Elite Series is a Phoenix 21 Pro XP, powered by a Yamaha 250 SHO.

He does his trolling with a Minn Kota Fortrex.

Lane runs twin Garmin 7610 units up front with Panoptix technology. He uses one for down scan and one for side scan.

Another look at the Garmin graphs Lane runs on the front of his boat and the DuraSafe E-Lock devices he uses to keep them secure.

A look at the transducer – the eyes of his Garmin technology.

Lane uses a HydroWave fish feeding stimulator on his front deck and a TH Marine G-force trolling motor handle that is virtually indestructible.

His Phoenix offers massive amounts of storage under the front deck.

Inside the left rod locker, Lane said he usually carries about 25 rods.

Lane shows of a Denali N2 Series cranking rod with an Ardent Apex reel. The snazzy-looking green covering on the handle is a Winn Fishing Overwrap Grip.

The Spro Russ Lane Fat Papa 70 is a deep-diving crankbait Lane helped designed.

Another look at the overwrap grips from Winn Fishing.

Another of Lane’s favorite offerings: A Big Bite Baits BB Kicker Swimbait on a Buckeye Lures J-Will Swimbait Head.

Another storage compartment up front holds the all-important plastic baits.

A box filled with Real Deal Craws from Big Bite Baits.

The Real Deal Craw in one of Lane’s favorite colors, hematoma.

A flipping special from Big Bite Baits called the Yomama.

A look at Lane’s well-packed center box.

The center box holds plenty of Lane’s Fat Papa 70 crankbaits.

The Fat Papa 70 in some of Lane’s favorite colors.

Lane labels his hook box on the outside with a black Sharpie.

He has Gamakatsu treble hooks for every occasion.

He always has plenty of Sunline fishing line and Spike-It spray and dye.

Seriously, he has plenty of Spike-It products.

It’s not hard to guess what’s in this box – another offering from Big Bite Baits, the YoDaddy.

An inside look at the YoDaddy box.

Do you get the feeling Russ likes the YoDaddy lure?

The right-side rod locker holds plenty of spare tackle, including BB Kicker Swimbaits that are kept in their clam shell packages so they maintain their shape.

“I don’t want those baits to get dented and lose their form,” Lane said. That’s why he keeps the swimbaits in their packages.

More spares – just in case.

The swimbaits will still be perfect when he’s ready for them.

A box filled with all colors of Coontail worms from Big Bite Baits.

Lane often dyes the tails of his Coontail worms to give them a little extra pizzazz in the water.

The dyeing process continues.

He’s almost done.

Now he’s done, and the worm has a chartreuse tail.

Lane sits behind the wheel of his Phoenix.

Lane uses two Garmin 7612 units on his console. He said he generally uses them for mapping and traditional sonar.

He never has a problem clipping and cutting with this assortment.

The cooler box with his drinks and snacks.

Lane’s Towtector protects his boat from flying debris that comes off the wheels of his truck during transit.

Two small storage boxes hold everything from Sharpies to Super Glue.

Like he said, he uses the two console Garmin units for mapping and traditional sonar.

A miscellaneous box holds a big mixture of items, including a G-Force Cull System from T-H Marine.

A closer look at the T-H Marine G-Force Cull System – a valuable tool that helps Lane bring in every possible ounce.

The idea of having 5-pounders attached to every cull tag makes Lane smile.

Gill gloves are another item found in the miscellaneous box.

More foul-weather gear from Gill.

You never know when you might need a good pair of boots.

A facemask and a first-aid kit for extreme and super-extreme situations.

A box in the back of the boat holds hard baits. “They usually stay in there unless we go to a place that I know Iâm not going to need one of those certain boxes,” Lane said. “But most of the year, they stay where they are.”

Crankbaits in two of Lane’s favorite color patterns.

Lane keeps a full took kit in his battery box. “I like to have everything toolwise that I might need in the boat,” he said. “I donât want to have to go back to the truck.”