Chris Lane wins the 2012 Bassmaster Classic with 51 pounds 6 ounces, besting Vison who had a three day total of 47 pounds 15 ounce. Poche, the day one leader, finished third with 45 pounds 15 ounces, with Alton Jones finishing in fourth place just a single ounce behind at 45 pounds 14 ounces.
A very emotional Lane was very quick to thank his title sponsor for sticking with him through a series of tough years and making his dream come true. “I Had been struggling with life and fishing when I met the great folks at Power Pole, if it were not for them, I would not be here on this stage today.” Chris Lane went on to say, “In the last year and a half, I’ve been able to get my confidence back. Taking winning the Classic from a dream, to something I believed I could do.” Chris also talked about how all his sponsors played a major role in his victory today. Chris Lane said, “My Legend boat powered by Mercury performed flawlessly.” Talking about how he hit a stump coming out of the lock today, “I hit a stump so hard, that I don’t know how it didn’t rip my lower unit off. The boat ran faster going up river on the way back to weigh-in than it did on the way down the river to start the morning!” Chris and Bobby Lane had a bet coming into this tournament. The bet was, if one of them won the Bassmaster Classic, the winner would pay both their entry fees into the Bassmaster Elite Series for 2012. Chris exclaimed, “I am very proud to pay Bobby $50,000!”
Chris caught fish in both pool 5 and pool 4. He had a spot in Port Lake as well as fishing well below the lock. Managing the two locations based on boat traffic and his launch order. With a good lunch number, Chris started close to the launch location and caught a quick limit on the first day. On the Second day, launch order was reversed, and he watched several boats enter the area he had fished the first day. Chris decided to lock down to pool 4. On the final day, his game plan was to run to pool 4 catch a limit and then get back to Port Lake, which is close to the launch, and cull to larger fish. “All the pieces fell together, and I had a great tournament.”
