DECATUR, Ala. (March 19, 2026) – When the entire Top 10 weighs in at least 20 pounds out of the gate, you know you’ve got a good one going on Wheeler Lake. Day 1 of the Pro Circuit was a banger, and pro Cal Lane of Grant, Alabama, highlighted it by catching 26 pounds, 2 ounces for the early lead. Behind Lane, Gum Spring, Virginia’s Ryan Lachniet tallied 23-5 and pro Preston Kolisek of Loretto, Tennesse, put 22-11 on the scale to get things rolling.
With 15 pounds extending to 67th place on Day 1, the fishing was certainly fantastic. Maybe the storyline of the day is how unimportant forward-facing sonar was, though. The top two pros barely caught any fish with it, and though there will be plenty of ‘Scope fish caught on MLFNOW! the rest of the way, this event may end up offering some of the best fishing of the season so far with the graphs off.
Another big watch in this one is the 7 Brew Angler of the Year race, which looks to be headed for a major shakeup. On Day 1, the top the three in points are all sitting in the 70s or worse – not the way to start Stop 3. Unofficially, Lachniet has moved from fifth into the top spot, and Nashville, Tennessee’s Carter Nutt is probably looking at the runner-up spot.
Catching an 8-4 for Berkley Big Bass (and four other big fish to boot) Lane put together a massive start.
“It was an unbelievable day,” said the Alabama pro. “I think I caught six keepers before I left my area, and those six weighed 26. I said, ‘I better get out of here.’”
For Lane, who doesn’t fish Wheeler much at all, the big day was a shock.
“I think I caught two keepers all of practice,” he said. “I had the worst practice I’ve ever had of my life. I swear; I had two bites.”
Catching only one fish on forward-facing sonar on Day 1, Lane said he leaned on an Ignite swimbait. As for doing it again, we’ll find out tomorrow.
“I’m pretty nervous about tomorrow, really – I might not catch a bass,” Lane said. “I’m just thankful they bit today.”
When it comes to excellence with modern sonar, Lachniet is one of the best in the field, which is saying a lot. Trained on the shallow wood at the James River, he’s perfectly suited to do well at Wheeler Lake, and he showed it today.
“I started on the flats, ‘Scoping right away,” he said. “I had a bunch marked from yesterday, and I didn’t find the area yesterday until about 11 or 12 o’clock. But, I didn’t catch anything today until about 11, so, I think they just don’t pull up until the afternoon.
“I ‘Scoped for a while and didn’t catch much of anything, one good one,” he said. “Then I had to turn my ‘Scope off, and I just stuck around and kept fishing and they seemed to pull up later in the day.”
Fishing a Big Bite Baits Nekorama on a shaky head, Lachniet drilled them once he turned his ‘Scope off, culling out basically everything he had to stack up 23 pounds.
“I thought it was possible; I shook off a couple big ones yesterday without ‘Scope,” he said. “But I thought I was going to catch them pretty quick with it. It was nice to catch them without it. I turned my ‘Scope off with about 13 pounds. I was pretty worried about it then.”
Armed with another day of knowledge about Wheeler, Lachniet could be one to watch on Day 2.
A business major at the University of North Alabama, Kolisek stubbed his toe in the opener at the Harris Chain and cashed a $10,000 check at Santee Cooper. Now, he’s in the hunt for a lot more.
“I pulled up to my first spot and caught three small ones, fished around, caught a limit, and then culled two small ones with a 5 and a 4-14,” he said. “I wound up catching them before my ‘Scope period ended, and after it ended, I didn’t have a bite.”
Catching over 20 pounds each of the last two practice days, Kolisek thought things could go well.
“I was hoping I could get above 20; that was the goal today,” he said. “I think I’ve got plenty of fish, but I don’t know about the size. It seems like that’s running out.”
The top 20 pros after Day 1 on Wheeler Lake are:
1st: Cal Lane, Grant, Ala., five bass, 26-2
2nd: Ryan Lachniet, Gum Spring, Va., five bass, 23-5
3rd: Preston Kolisek, Loretto, Tenn., five bass, 22-11
4th: Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn., five bass, 21-12
5th: Kyle Cortiana, Broken Arrow, Okla., five bass, 20-13
5th: Broderick Luckey, Lynchburg, Va., five bass, 20-13
7th: Drew Boggs, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 20-10
8th: Matteo Turano, Puryear, Tenn., five bass, 20-8
9th: Steve Lopez, Oconomowoc, Wis., five bass, 20-5
10th: Hunter Mills, Mayfield, Ky., five bass, 20-3
10th: Carter Nutt, Nashville, Tenn., five bass, 20-3
12th: Tripp Berlinsky, Florence, Ala., five bass, 19-12
13th: Kyle Austin, Ridgeville, S.C., five bass, 19-11
14th: Mark Condron, Murfreesboro, Tenn., five bass, 19-9
15th: Clint Knight, Russellville, Ky., five bass, 19-6
16th: Richard Kee, Somerville, Tenn., three bass, 19-5
17th: Brent Chapman, Lenexa, Kan., five bass, 19-2
18th: Chris Blanchette, Chapin, S.C., four bass, 19-1
18th: Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., five bass, 19-1
20th: Ethan Fields, Breese, Ill., five bass, 19-0
20th: Marshall Hughes, Hemphill, Texas, five bass, 19-0
Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 636 bass weighing 1,979 pounds, 2 ounces caught by 136 pros Thursday. The catch included 117 five-bass limits.
Pro Cal Lane also earned the Day 1 Berkley Big Bass award of $500 after bringing a bass that weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces to the scale.
https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/mlf-wheeler-31926.html
MLF Pro Circuit