INDIAN RIVER COUNTRY, Florida – A quick glance down the list of 12 anglers fishing in Florida this month in the 2018 General Tire World Championship reveals an impressive list of competitors: multiple Angler of the Year Award winners; multiple Bassmaster Classic champions; six of the Top 10 tournament money winners of all time.

But there’s only one World Champion on the list, and Florida native Bobby Lane doesn’t plan on surrendering the Johnny Morris Award easily.

“These guys can just try to come and get it from me,” Lane joked the day before the first Shotgun Round on Garcia Reservoir in Vero Beach, Fla.

That will probably be easier said than done.

Lane – who claimed the first ever General Tire World Championship last year in Nacogdoches, Texas – grew up in Lakeland, Florida, roughly 2 ½ hours east of competition headquarters in Sebastian, and has 10 tour-level Top 10s in competitions held in Florida. That includes a win in the 2018 Bass Pro Shops Eastern Open on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, which was held the week prior to the World Championship.

Consequently, Lane came to Sebastian with momentum to add to a lifetime of experience chasing Florida largemouth.

“Bobby is going to be pretty tough to beat,” said MLF Select Pro J.T. Kenney, a resident of nearby Palm Bay who helped executive producer Randy White identify and scout competition waters for the World Championship. “Florida is just a unique place to fish – the fish here are just different. They react to weather changes differently than largemouth anywhere else in the country, and Bobby understands that better than anybody. If I had to make a bet, I’d have a hard time betting against him.”

Lane, though, is low-key about any perceived “home field advantage” in Indian River County, pointing out that the majority of his Florida experience is in northern Florida, and in the small lakes around his home in central Florida.

“I know we’re pretty close to some well-known Florida lakes, but I really haven’t fished any of them,” Lane says in reference to Stick Marsh, Kenansville Lake and Farm 13. “I do feel like I know a little bit about what makes these Florida largemouth tick, but I don’t have any advantage over these guys as far as actual time on any lakes in this area. Hell, we’re only 65 miles north of Lake Okeechobee, for all I know, MLF will haul us all down there to fish. Either way, I’m excited to defend my title.”