Wall, Lane prevail in Knockout Round on challenging Chautauqua Lake

Bobby Lane and Jacob Wall of Team Star Tron are moving on to the Championship Round after catching 15 bass for 26-14 on Wednesday. Photo by Phoenix Moore. Anglers: Bobby Lane, Jacob Wall.

August 28, 2024 • Joe Opager • General Tire Team Series

ERIE, Pa. — A few times Wednesday afternoon, Bobby Lane and Jacob Wall looked more like they were practicing a circus routine than trying to catch bass.

Representing Team Star Tron during the first day of the Knockout Round at the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by Toyota, Lane and Wall found themselves scrambling to pull off a few intricate balancing acts, with one or both of them lying down halfway off their boat in an effort to wrangle a hooked fish out from under docks, beneath boats and around poles.

As illustrated by the duo’s acrobatics, the three teams that took the water of Chautauqua Lake largely found the fishing challenging. With 26 pounds, 14 ounces on 15 bass, Lane and Wall managed to boat just enough to win the tightly contested match, punching their tickets to Friday’s Championship Round at the inaugural event of the 2024 General Tire Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops.

They will be joined by Stephen Browning and Anthony Gagliardi of Team U.S. Air Force, who pulled off a late comeback to claim second place with 11 bass for 23-12. Team REDCON1 (Cole Floyd and Andy Morgan) was eliminated after finishing 3-13 behind them.

Consistency pays off for Star Tron

Wall led the way for Team Star Tron with 16-5 on eight bass, including four he caught in the last 25 minutes. Photo by Phoenix Moore

For the second day in a row, Lane and Wall came through with some clutch catches late in the day to stave off elimination. However, it was their consistent production throughout the day that separated them from the other two teams on the water.

Lane and Wall used a two-pronged approach in the morning. They started on a shallow rocky shoal, with Lane throwing a topwater popper and a Berkley Choppo, while Wall threw various soft plastic worms. Lane caught four scorable keepers in the first period to put the duo atop SCORETRACKER®. Team Star Tron then made a move to a marina, where they found a flurry of bites skipping docks and extended their lead to more than 12 pounds by the end of the second period.

“It was a grinder of a day, but it was so much fun,” Wall said in his post-match interview. “It was a challenging fishery, and these are the type of days that really show who can put their head down and work the hardest. Confidence is so key on days like today, and I felt really good and confident all day. Bobby and I were vibing.”

During Period 3, the bite turned on for the other two teams, and Lane and Wall found themselves fighting to remain above the elimination line. During the final 25 minutes, Wall boated four keepers while Lane added one. Wall ended up tallying the most weight of any angler on the day with 16-5 on eight bass, most of it coming on a green pumpkin stick worm.

“The 5-inch stickbait was the key today,” Wall said. “Nothing fancy by any means, but the weedless hook that I was throwing really helped me keep away from hanging up on those docks and those cables. I used 10-pound fluorocarbon, and we had a few mishaps — we broke some fish off. There were a lot of mussels around the docks. But I was able to pull most of them out of there with my Wheeler Select Series Duckett rod.”

“In the third, Jacob just put it on ‘em, and it was unbelievable,” Lane added. “With the pressure from SCORETRACKER® and this format, to beat those guys today and the guys we beat yesterday, this has just been an incredible week. We’re ready to go again for the Championship Round on Friday.”

Browning, Gagliardi rally late

Browning and Gagliardi avoided elimination thanks to a third period that saw them catch nine of their 11 bass on the day. Photo by Phoenix Moore

Across the first two periods Wednesday, Browning and Gagliardi mustered just two scorable bass for 2-5 — a far cry from their 110-plus-pound performance during the Elimination Round.

But, like they did Monday in Presque Isle Bay, they were able to find a sweet spot amid offshore grass and use finesse tactics to pluck bass in bunches. The duo caught fire in the third period, adding nine scorable bass weighing 21-7 to advance in the second spot.

Browning and Gagliardi targeted the outside edge of grass lines in 8 to 10 feet on the extreme north end of the lake. There, they found a wad of fish — catching bass every three to four casts at one point — and they stayed put for the remainder of the day.

The final two spots in the single-day Championship Round will be determined Thursday, when Team B&W Trailer Hitches (Matt Becker and Spencer Shuffield), Team Coign (Drew Gill and Matthew Stefan), and Team Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff & Pouches (Luke Clausen and John Hunter) take on an unknown fishery during the second day of the Knockout Round. All the action will once again be streamed live on MLFNOW! from 7:30 a.m. through 2:30 p.m. ET at MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MLF and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) apps and Rumble.