2019 Bass Pro Tour Knockout Round Field Set as Group B's Top 20 Advance at Raleigh Stage Three

Palaniuk, Lane, Sprague Complete Flip-Flops on Falls, Advance to Knockout Round 

Lane's big bass spring him into weekend rounds.
(Photo: MLF)

When you take a quick look down the standings of Elimination Round 2 of the Major League Fishing® (MLF) Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three Raleigh presented by Evinrude, three names should stand out: Brandon Palaniuk, Russ Lane and Jeff Sprague.

 

While only one of the three finished in the Top 5 - Palaniuk was fourth, Lane was sixth, Sprague was 10th - the numbers to pay the closest attention to are their SCORETRACKER™ catches for the day on Falls Lake: Palaniuk piled up 42 pounds, 5 ounces on 16 fish, Lane weighed in 36-15 and Sprague finished with 33-7.

 

Strong numbers, to be sure, but especially notable because those three anglers started the morning in the bottom 10 in the standings after their Shotgun Round and executed the kind of dramatic turnarounds that would lead a betting soul to believe that they've figured something special out on Falls.

 

2013 Walmart FLW Grand Lake Day 3: Jason Christie Still Controlling Grand!

Gary Mortenson
FLW Press Release

GROVE, Okla. – For the first time all tournament, Rayovac team pro Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla., didn’t catch the biggest stringer of the day. But then again, it didn’t much matter. Not only did Christie’s total, three-day stringer weighing 58 pounds, 4 ounces, keep him in the overall lead for a third consecutive day, but he actually upped his margin over his next closest competitor to 3 pounds, 8 ounces.

“This lake is pretty special to me,” Christie said. “It’s a lake that really taught me how to fish. I’ve been trying to get FLW to come here for six years because it is one of the best lakes in the country. When you’re in a bass tournament, all you want to do is have a legitimate chance to win on the final day. And I’ve given myself that chance. So yes, I’m where I want to be.”

Christie said that he didn’t change up much for today’s competition even though the bite appeared to be tougher for the field. He’s continuing to run three different patterns predominately siding with flipping techniques. He said he’s still employing combinations of Yum Wooly Bugs and Booyah spinnerbaits as well.