Lane retains lead after wet one at Eufaula
EUFAULA, Okla. – Cal Lane did exactly what he needed to do to stay in the lead of Stop 5 Presented by K&N Filters on Lake Eufaula. Weighing 15 pounds, 15 ounces for a 37-12 two-day total, the Alabama pro limited fairly quickly, and a key 4-pounder fairly late in the day made sure he ended where he started in the standings.
With most of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech field fishing the majority of the day in varying levels of downpour, the leaderboard got a little topsy-turvy. Climbing up, Drew Boggs tallied 19-15 for a 36-11 total and enters the final day of competition just 1-1 off the lead. In third, Banks Shaw put together the biggest bag of the day (20-6) and sits at 34-10 in third. In fourth and fifth, Drew Gill and Adam Lynn stayed very consistent, and, considering the unpredictability of Eufaula, it looks like we’re in for a very exciting final day on MLFNOW!.
1. Lane on the cusp… again
A classic example of the close calls that are the story of life for most tournament anglers, Lane is in position to win again, for maybe the third or fourth time this year alone. Shaw and Dylan Nutt make winning look easy, but Lane has lived the reality and knows Day 3 contains plenty of pitfalls. Even Day 2 wasn’t especially easy for the leader.
“It was a grinder,” he said. “I went to one other area where I shook a good one off and I caught a 4-pounder. I got more bites today, but not the same quality. I feel very confident I can go catch a limit, but the size, I have no idea.”
Having shaken off fish both days, Lane is maybe as well prepared as possible for the conditions everyone will be facing tomorrow. Some parts of the Eufaula drainage have received more than three inches of rain in the last 24 hours, and where Lane and Boggs have spent most of their time has picked up between 0.7 inches and 1.7 inches. But Lane isn’t solely reliant on one part of the lake, though he is fishing shallow, and some of his places might see an outsized effect of the inflow.
“I checked some deep stuff and it wasn’t my game,” Lane said of practice. “The schools weren’t big. I burned a full tank of gas every day of practice; I looked at every inch of the lake, but once I figured out the deal, I knew I needed to run the whole lake to find as much of it as I could. About 99 percent of it is dead, but there’s a couple stretches that aren’t.”
As far as prepping for Championship Sunday goes, Lane has done all he can do.
“I feel confident I can go catch some fish,” he said. “I think it’s just up to the Lord if they’re big or not. It ain’t my plan.”
Top 10 pros
1. Cal Lane – 37 – 12 (10)
2. Drew Boggs – 36 – 11 (10)
3. Banks Shaw – 34 – 10 (10)
4. Drew Gill – 34 – 08 (10)
5. Adam Lynn – 33 – 11 (10)
6. Ryan Lachniet – 32 – 14 (10)
7. Hayden O’Barr – 32 – 07 (10)
8. Riley Nielsen – 31 – 07 (10)
9. Dylan Nutt – 31 – 07 (10)
10. Andrew Nordbye – 30 – 14 (10)
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