Lane takes the lead early at Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Stop 5 on Eufaula
EUFAULA, Okla. – As you’d expect from Lake Eufaula, the fishing wasn’t easy. But the weights wound up looking solid after Day 1 of Stop 5 Presented by K&N Filters. The Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech pros racked up more than 20 bags over 15 pounds, caught from all over the lake and all sorts of ways.
In the lead by a solid margin, Cal Lane pounded out 22 pounds, 2 ounces – the only bag over the 20-pound mark. In second, Ty Faber tallied 19-8, and 7 Brew Angler of the Year leader Carter Nutt stayed hot, putting 19-3 on the scale for third.
1. Lane dials it in on Day 1
Lane has markedly improved since he started fishing nationally in 2021, and this year is shaping up to be one of his best yet – he led for two days at Wheeler Lake and finished third at Santee Cooper already. Once again fishing how he likes to fish, Lane is off to a big start in Oklahoma.
“I had a couple stretches where I got five or six bites pretty quick,” Lane said of his practice. “I saw a couple of them – I never saw anything like I had today. I saw some 2-pounders; I figured that was good enough.
“I started on what I thought was my best stretch, and I caught two 1-pounders,” he said. “I was like ‘Well, this ain’t gonna be good.’ I started working little milk runs, and I figured out the deal they were on. Every time I set the hook, it seemed like it was a 4- to 5-pounder.”
Cracking 4-pounders at will is great, and it’s especially great at Eufaula, where a little sometimes goes a long way. Still, Lane is far from confident that he’ll wallop a big bag again tomorrow.
“It’s a new day; I don’t know what to expect,” he said. “I might catch ‘em, I might not. I don’t know how many more fish are down there. I’ve got some other areas I think I can do some damage in. Nothing like today, but I think I can catch 15 pounds or so.”
Lane is in this one to swing big. A couple Top-10 finishes to end the season might put him on the Bass Pro Tour, and with six Top-10 finishes at Pro Circuit events without closing out his first national win, he’s had enough of being close.
“I’m tired of being in the mix,” he said. “I want to win – real bad.”
2. Faber jiving with Eufaula again
This is Faber’s third time fishing a tournament in June on Eufaula, and he’s on track to make it three-for-three in high finishes.
So far, the weights are great in this one – maybe even better than some of the previous events, when forward-facing sonar was an all-day affair – but the Colorado pro is rolling with the punches.
“I dropped the boat in and thought I was at the wrong lake,” he said of the start of practice. “You can see a foot right here. Usually, you can see an inch. It’s crazy.”
Of course, after Day 1, he’s right on track.
“I think it’s just a grind, and I’m stubborn, and this lake is stubborn, and we mesh,” he said.
Doing a little of everything, Faber stayed versatile.
“I had a good limit early, which helps,” he said. “I junk fished, but I started off with a ChatterBait, trying to catch one on a shad spawn. There are a lot of shad spawning; there just aren’t very many bass eating them. I caught a limit doing that, and then poked around, caught one here, one there.”
3. Carter Nutt stays hot
Cracking 19 pounds on Day 1, Nutt put himself in the conversation to win and may have done a lot for his AOY chances in the process. He was also a good example of the diversity of patterns available. While Lane mostly fished shallow and Faber ran a shallow-centric game plan, Nutt took advantage of the offshore bite.
“I was expecting to catch a decent bag – my practice was all right, I had a big bite every day,” he said. “But (Day 1) was great. It was super slow during my ‘Scope period, but I caught a few of the right ones.”
Doing much of his damage off one spot, being new to the fishery didn’t faze him.
“It kind of reminds me of a lake we grew up fishing – Percy Priest,” Nutt said. “There’s quite a bit of rock in here, and the things they set up on are similar. It’s a super cool place; I really enjoy it.”
Tomorrow, Nutt’s goal is not to blast another big bag, though he likely wouldn’t say no to that. He’s looking to make the Day 3 cut and keep the points situation looking good.
“Today I had the opportunity to have a really big bag,” he said. “But I don’t expect to have anything more than what I had. I was more worried about having a consistent tournament – 13 or 14 a day and having a solid tournament.”
Top 10 pros
1. Cal Lane – 22 – 2 (5)
2. Ty Faber – 19 – 8 (5)
3. Carter Nutt – 19 – 3 (5)
4. Mark Condron – 18 – 13 (5)
5. Drew Gill – 17 – 15 (5)
6. Josh Bertrand – 17 – 14 (5)
7. Ryan Lachniet – 17 – 12 (5)
8. Adam Lynn – 17 – 6 (5)
9. Hayden O’Barr – 17 – 2 (5)
10. Riley Nielsen – 17 – 1 (5)
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