You’d think with a 12 1/2-pound lead, you could relax.
Not in a Bassmaster Elite Series competition. Not when it’s on a big-fish factory like the St. Johns River. And not if you’re Chris Lane.
“I have to go out there and do the very best that I can,” said Lane, the 2012 Bassmaster Classic champ from Guntersville, Ala. “Anything can happen on the St. Johns River. There’s no safe lead here.”
Lane, who jumped from 15th into first on Friday after producing a monster bag of five bass weighing 37-9, brought in 19 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday for a three-day leading total of 75-13.
Lane’s 12-8 lead was over runner-up Davy Hite of Ninety Six, S.C., who weighed 24-13, Saturday’s largest catch. It beefed up his total to 63-5, moving him into second place from 10th.