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Inside BASS: Lane Enjoying Role
as Pre-Classic Favorite
CELEBRATION, Fla. - Jan. 29, 2007 Considering
that no angler has ever won a Bassmaster Classic held in their
homestate, some might find Russ Lane's position as the homestate
favorite in the upcoming 37th Bassmaster Classic to be uncomfortable.
Along with fellow Alabama Elite Series pro Boyd
Duckett, Lane is considered a pre-tournament favorite for the
2007 Classic Feb. 23-25 in Birmingham, Ala. But Lane is just
fine with the label as he has had considerable tournament success
in late winter/early spring tournaments on Lay Lake - the 2007
Classic waters- and other Coosa River impoundments.
"I've definitely been hearing that from everybody,"
said Lane of the pre-Classic favorite label. "I know Lay
Lake pretty well. I've had a lot of success on that lake, especially
that time of year.
"If I had to pick a place and time of year
to fish the Bassmaster Classic, that's where and when it would
be."
With the favorite position comes a boatload of
pressure to perform up to expectations. Just ask past pre-Classic
heavy favorites like South Carolina angler Jason Quinn, who battled
heavy boat traffic on his way to a sixth-place finish on his
home waters of Lake Wylie at the 2004 Classic. But Lane doesn't
sound at all troubled by such hype.
"I'm having a ball with all of it right now,"
he said. "There's really nothing to deal with.
"To me it's just another tournament. Anglers
like Kevin Van Dam, [Mike] Iaconelli, [Terry] Scroggins, and
all the big-name guys are going to come here and it's not going
to be anything they haven't seen before. I really don't think
that there's that much advantage to knowing the lake that much
better than anybody else.
"I just hope things go right and I can have
a good showing."
If Lane does buck the trend and become the first
homestate pro to win the world-championship event, it would be
a giant step in a career that has progressed steadily in just
over two years.
Since giving up a career as a minor-league baseball
player with big-league dreams, Lane qualified for the 2004 Classic
through the BASS Federation Nation (finishing 21st in the Wylie
Classic). He then qualified for the Bassmaster Elite Series in
2006 and made the 2007 Classic by finishing in a respectable
15th place in the Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings.
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