If you were glued to your laptop. tablet or phone all day you probably had a pretty good idea that this was going to be a two horse race at the final weigh-in. BASS does a good job of getting you a feel of what is going on and who the players are but leave just enough detail out to make it exciting to watch the final weigh-ins online and the following weekend on ESPN2.
Congratulations to Chris Lane on becoming the 42nd Bassmaster Classic champion. More details will come out this week with exact details on locations, lures and patterns, but I think there are a few things that are already interesting. 
Photo by James Overstreet
I thought the biggest part of Chris Lane’s victory was his game plan and his decision to fish a pattern rather then just devote his Classic hopes to a single area. He really did the best job of managing his fish, the spectators and executed very well. Day 1 he milked an area for a solid 16lbs bag that tied him with his brother for 6th. Then on day 2, he fished completely new areas feeling his day 1 spot was depleted. He fished in both pools 4 & 5, locking midday. Part of the reason was, he thought spectators could be an issue in his Pool 5 area, so he chose to lock down to start his day in 4 and then return midday to finish up and fish for bigger fish in a smaller area and maximize the end of his day closer to the ramp.
Pile of used Ugly Otters building up on Day 3 of his Classic Victory!
He credits a few G4 tube bait from Luck E Strike and a Gambler Ugly Otter creature bait, predominantly in Bowen’s Silver.
It was awesome to watch another angler achieve a life long dream and secure a career in personal bass fishing, seems like every time someone other then KVD wins a classic, I get goose bumps and chills as the scale locks in and they clinch victory!
