DECATUR, Ala. – Day 2 of Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech Stop 3 Presented by Suzuki Marine on Wheeler Lake shook up the leaderboard, with four pros dropping out of the Top 10, and a lot of movement inside the cut line. Day 1 leader Cal Lane stayed on top, though, weighing 20 pounds, 4 ounces for a 46-6 total. Matt Becker is in second with 44-14, Drew Boggs tallied 41-7 for third, and three other pros are over the 40-pound mark and very much in striking distance.
Day 3 on MLFNOW! promises high drama, and everything Wheeler Lake has to offer. From current at the tailrace, to smallmouth on ‘Scope and flipping wood, it’s all going down on Championship Saturday.
1. Late kicker keeps Lane ahead
With four bass in the ‘well for a long time, it looked like Lane would relinquish his lead at weigh-in (or, at least have it shrunk down to nothing). But the Alabama pro boated a 6-pound kicker late in the day to put himself back in control of the event.
“I’m excited to go tomorrow,’ Lane said. “I don’t know how many fish are left, but I’ve kind of got one option, and I’m going to stick to it.”
That option is the tailrace of the Guntersville Dam, and this week, Lane was really the only pro to make it work.
“I know the time of the year and what happens up there,” he said. “I practiced two days up there, and I hardly saw any boats. That kinda gave me my decision to go, because I didn’t see many guys at all.”
Fishing a few different current breaks, Lane lost two big fish on Day 2, and had his Day 1 bag of 26-2 quickly on Thursday. While it looks like he’s surviving by the skin of his teeth, appearances could be a little deceiving.
“Several bites I had today were the same cast as yesterday,” Lane said. “I feel like I’m realizing what’s dead and what’s productive. They’re there, 100%, the fish are there to win. It’s just if you can get them to bite. They have a continuous buffet of shad, they’re not forced to eat when a bait comes past them – they’re sitting there constantly looking at bait coming past them.”
A master of the close call, Lane has been in position to win several times in the last year alone. This time, he’d like to close it out.
“I’m excited to go tomorrow,” he said. “I’m trying to keep coolheaded and go with the flow.”
2. Becker threatens in second
As seasoned as any in the field, Becker is not a guy you want chasing you, especially if there are smallmouth bass to be caught. Fishing at the opposite end of the lake from Lane, Becker has stacked big fish on top of productive ‘Scope periods.
“I didn’t feel good about this tournament at all coming into it, it’s just pieced together as the tournament goes on,” he said. “I’m starting the morning targeting smallmouth, and catching a few largemouth mixed in, but mainly targeting smallmouth. I caught a few of them this morning, but I actually ended up weighing three I caught after my ‘Scope period. I don’t have a plan, I’m just piecing it together.”
His starting plan has been a jerkbait.
“It’s shallow, main lake flats, with little stumps and brush piles on them,” he said. “Today, it seemed like they were congregated in a little drain, and that’s where the bulk of the big smallmouth came from. But, really it’s a section of the lake, maybe 2 miles, that I’ve been hunkering down in during my ‘Scope period.”
From there, he’s doing a little bit of everything.
“I tried to fish for those fish without ‘Scope for a little bit, but it’s really hard to target them without ‘Scope,” he said. “I caught two big largemouth cranking, and I caught a smallmouth on a jig. I’m literally junk fishing, just going down the bank.”
3. Boggs staying steady
Cut to a man who loves to go down a bank.
Moving from seventh to third, Boggs put up his second 20-plus limit of the week, and, as expected, he’s doing it his way. One of the best shallow anglers in the field, Boggs is dangerous in the spring (or, really anytime bass can be caught on a short string).
“Day 1, I started cranking and flipping rip rap, I saw a laydown on a flat, I went to fish it, and I saw some stumps around it,” he said. “I went to flipping the stumps, and ended up catching three 4-pounders
“Today, I went to the rip rap – no dice – and then went to the stumps and caught on 3-pounder, I went down the lake and just hopscotched around; next thing you know, I caught three big ‘uns on one stretch at the end of the day.”
Flipping a jig and a Texas rig, Boggs has fish coming to him.
“I feel good about it,” said the Tennessee pro. “Execution is going to be important – I ain’t lost a good one yet. I hope I get the bites and I can fish clean again tomorrow.”
Top 10 pros
1. Cal Lane – 46 – 6 (10)
2. Matt Becker – 44 – 14 (10)
3. Drew Boggs – 41 – 7 (10)
4. Banks Shaw – 40 – 15 (10)
5. Preston Kolisek – 40 – 11 (10)
6. Kyle Austin – 40 – 6 (10)
7. Clint Knight – 38 – 4 (10)
8. Carter Nutt – 37 – 11 (10)
9. Ryan Lachniet – 37 – 5 (10)
10. Kyle Cortiana – 37 – 5 (10)