Rookie fishing phenom Bobby Lane, who leads the FLW points and the BassFan Rookie of the Year Race, is wearing blue. He started the year without a motor sponsor, but has recently joined the Yamaha pro staff. Although he wore a Yamaha fishing cap at the Ouachita River FLW, he only officially signed with Yamaha 2 days ago on March 22.
David Simmons, promotions manager for Yamaha, said, “Certainly, leading the points is attractive – we won’t hide behind the fact that that brought him to the top of our radar screen. But what really created the deal, and finalized the deal, was that Northlake Marine (Lakeport, Fla.) at Lake Okeechobee – which is a top Ranger/Yamaha dealer – has Bobby on their pro staff.
“They recommended him and helped facilitate the deal. Every one of the Yamaha pro staff members – even the points leader – has to tie in with our dealer network in order for it to make sense for us.”
He’s now running a 225 Yamaha HDPI and said the improved gas mileage will help him make long runs. He couldn’t do that at the recent Ouachita River FLW. “At Ouachita, I couldn’t run to Arkansas – I didn’t have the gas to do it,” he said. “It didn’t hurt me, thank goodness. But at Wheeler, with the points title on the line, and the Ranger Cup, I want to be fully geared.”
He also said he’s humbled by the year he’s having, and wanted to clear up an issue with the way he was previously quoted. A quote from him was published after the last tournament. “What I did say – it came out of my mouth, but I think some people took it the wrong way. I’m glad to have the opportunity to fish against my heroes, and to lead the points is an awesome thing right now. I didn’t ever mean I was better than anybody – I would never think that – I just had some good days, and took advantage of opportunities when I needed to.
“I love to fish – it’s what I was born to do.”
By: Walker Agency
