Strategy Recap: 2017 Summit Select Survival Round 2

Tensions were high as the final six anglers fought for the last spot in the 2017 Summit Cup.

MLF Pros Chris Lane, Fred Roumbanis, Gary Clouse, Marty Robinson, Russ Lane and Fletcher Shryock were all fighting for the last champion shield of the 2017 Summit Select from Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri.

The anglers were fishing the Niangua Arm of Lake of the Ozarks, which has roughly 4,200 acres of fishable water; since Lake of the Ozarks is the No. 1 recreational lake in the country and it was a hot summer Saturday, big boats were also racing across the lake throughout the competition day.

“I look at the mapping, and I do not like what I see,” Russ Lane said. “We’re on a section that I would never fish in a regular tournament.”

Shryock immediately went on the lookout for wood or docks that would provide an easy topwater bite to cover a lot of water fast.

Chris Lane settled on a point at the end of a “major feeding creek” he liked early on.

“It’s got some nice deep water,” Lane said. “I’ve seen some bait jumping around here, there’s a herring sitting up there on the bank, so those are usually a good indication that there’s fish around.”

Gary Clouse had the first catch of the day off some wood offshore using a Strike King flipping tube. He moved to a 3-hook walking bait as the morning went on.

Chris Lane seemed to be the one who found his pattern early on, easily catching nearly double the next closest angler and taking a commanding lead as Period 1 came to an end.

“You don’t ever want the momentum to change—it will, but you gotta stop it right then,” Chris Lane said.

While Robinson and Clouse focused on soft plastics, Chris Lane continued to throw the whopper plopper he started the day with, sticking with topwater.

Although that topwater bite slowed in the afternoon, giving both Robinson and Clouse a chance at the lead, Lane’s last minute 2-lb. catch sealed the deal and his spot in the 2017 Summit Cup for a chance to go head-to-head against his brother Bobby Lane.

It’s gonna be a battle for sure but it’s been exciting to get there,” Chris Lane said.

At the end of the day it was Chris Lane who took the last spot in the 2017 Summit Cup with a total of 35 lb., 9 oz., and a trip to the 2017 Summit Cup.