Posted  September 15th, 2007  5:09 pm CST

Chapman  Maintains Lead.  Matsubu & DeLong Lurking

Story by Brent Conway  - Photos by Mark Jeffreys

Kissimmee, FL – A lot was on the line for at least half of the Elite Series field heading into the final tournament of the season at Florida’s legendary Lake Toho. For some, securing a Classic berth was the primary goal. Others had no hope of making it to the Classic, but had to fish well enough to re-qualify for the 2008 season…or at least make another $10,000 check.

Of course, there’s been the much-ballyhooed Toyota Angler of the Year race. The title presentation, which was all but officially decided Friday after Skeet Reese made the top 50 cut, was understandably saved for last. VanDam weighed first and managed only a small seven-pound limit, while Reese did what he had to do by catching 10-5 to close it out and earn his first Roland Martin trophy and a $125,000 bonus by being named the 2007 Toyota Angler of the Year.

Day Two leader Brent Chapman brought 12-9 to the scales Saturday to hold onto first place with a three-day total weight of 42-3. Chapman has a one-pound lead over Ben Matsubu, who’s in the second spot with 41-3. Matsubu smoked a 17-8 limit Saturday to keep things interesting near the top.

Glenn Delong held down the third-place slot after weighing 12-3 Saturday, which boosted his combined weight to 37-12. Fourth place belonged to Day One leader Bill Smith with a three-day total weight of 35-12, due largely to the big bag he brought in the first day as his weights have been falling since then with Saturday’s four-fish bag weighing only 6-10.

Bradley Hallman jumped up from the 10th-place spot to end the day in fifth, on the heals of a day three weight of 13-2, giving him 35-10 for three days of fishing. Rounding out the top six with 34-11 was Scott Rook, who brought the day’s heavyweight bag to the scales Saturday weighing 19-6.

THE ANGLER OF THE YEAR TITLE - SKEET REESE

All those second place finishes. All those times in the hunt for the duration of a marathon year – near wins that created the question of when your turn will finally come. Skeet Reese endured those emotions and that poignant question along the road of a career that’s spanned a decade. 

The 2007 season that started at the Classic seemed ripe for an attack on the proverbial hill that had escaped him for 10 years, and it came down to one fish on the third day of the final tournament of the year for Skeet to see all his hard work be rewarded. “When I caught the two-pounder today there was a lot of emotions that spilled out,” he said. 

“I’ve had an incredible year, but that one fish was a career moment because I knew right then that I had done it. I’d won Angler of the Year.”

“For me personally, it solidifies my career in what I’ve done and what I’ve wanted to do. Do I want to continue to win tournaments and get more titles – absolutely! But this year and this title was my Mt. Everest.”

The year that Skeet has had is one for the books, without a doubt; however, to Skeet it’s been the culmination of 10 years getting to this point in his career. “With age comes wisdom,” he said. “After 25 years of tournament experience, this year it seems that I was finally able to put everything together and utilize that collective knowledge and experience to each single day on the water.

“Tournament fishing is all head games – it comes down to how you process information in your head.” 

To clarify, Skeet added that “head games” is more appropriately described as being confident enough in what you’re doing to be able to trust your instincts. “I feel like I’m finally to the point where I can process information quickly and accurately on the water and go with what my gut’s telling me,” he explained. 

“That makes you a top 10 fishermen every time you go out, and if you’re in the hunt enough, you’ll win tournaments and be in contention for Angler of the Year.”

With everything shaping up for a career-year, Skeet explained that it wasn’t until Champlain where the Angler of the Year title seemed within his grasp. “After Grand Lake, which was my worst tournament of the year, I went up north and was able to put everything back into perspective,” he said. 

“Everyone thought that since it was in (Kevin’s) backyard he’d kick my ass. I was able to finish higher than him both times, which really gave me the confidence that I could actually win the title – that was a good feeling. Then to go to the Potomac and win, that really validated the season”

While the Potomac may have validated his season, the Angler of the Year title validates and entire career. “The win was kind of icing on the year for me,” he said. “The title validates every decision I’ve ever made. No matter what I do for the rest of my career I’ll know that for the 10 years leading up to today I had everything right.”

Chapman Does Just Enough
Brent Chapman jumped into the lead Friday, and did just enough Saturday to maintain a one-pound lead over the hard-charging Ben Matsubu. “Today was a little tougher that what it has been,” he said. “I was actually kind of disappointed with the fishing today. I only caught six keepers, but I still think they’re in there. 

“I only caught one flipping, but it was the biggest fish of the day. I’ll make a pass flipping, and if I don’t pick anything up I’ll swing back around with the drop-shot.”

Fishing four key spots within a larger area down in Kissimmee, Chapman explained that they all share one unique quality…current. “I’m in an area close to the lock that bottlenecks down which creates current,” he said. “I have one tiny spot that’s less than 10 yards around that’s given over eight keepers in two days. 

“It’s one of those spots that I could camp out on, but with everything that I’m running I can’t see how staying there all day would do me any good.”

Chapman isn’t planning to make any changes. He’s making the long run just as he has for the previous three days and will drop his trolling motor and go fishing. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow for sure,” he said. “I’m kind of anxious to see how it goes, to tell you the truth. The key to winning will be getting a couple kicker fish tomorrow.”

Fishing around five miles from the ramp, Matsubu explained that his electronics have been instrumental for him this week. “My electronics have been crucial for me this week,” he said. “There’s not five feet of depth for five miles where I’m at, but being able to pinpoint exactly where the scattered grass is has been the deal.”

Delong explained that he’s in a local hotspot, but he didn’t know it until the first day. Be that as it may, he hasn’t had any pressure from competitors or locals all week – a huge plus given the size of the water he’s fishing. “I had a local come in today,” he said. “Once he realized where I was at and what I was doing, he left me alone.”

Glenn is mixing a little topwater in with his flipping, and said that the key to his area is that it has a hard bottom – the only one for hundreds of yards – where fish will come into to feed. “I’m doing a little bit of topwater in the morning and will flip in the afternoon,” he said. 

“I’ve done the exact same thing all three days and it’s just working. I can’t tell you why the fish are there, but they are. That’s all I care about right now.”

Bill is confident that the area he’s been in down in Kissimmee is full of bass…he’s just got to get them to the boat. “I’m in a spot that I know is full of fish,” he said. “My co-angler had almost 15 pounds today behind me, so the fish are definitely in there and can be caught. I’ve just got to fish smart tomorrow.”

The Bass Assassin that Bill has been relying upon for three days will have a partner tomorrow after the clinic he witnessed from his co-angler today. “Up until today, they were biting the soft jerkbait that I was throwing,” he said. “I can guarantee you after what I saw my co-angler doing today I will have a big bag of trick worms in the boat tomorrow.” 

Smith has, for two years now, save his best for last; however, he’s got a shot at winning this, as opposed to his first-day heroic of the last event in ’06. “I’ve done this two years in a row,” he said. “Last year I struggled through the year and actually had a pretty decent year with a great final tournament. This year though has just been brutal…and then I go and do something like this. 

“So I don’t know. Tomorrow is the day and I’m going to do the very best I can.”

Brad’s confident that the big bag is in his area – it’s just a matter of coaxing it to the boat. “I’m a little over six pounds out of the lead right now,” he said. “That’s one fish around here, and I’m definitely around them. My roommate had an eleven in practice, so I’m hoping that she’s still hanging around in there somewhere.”

Hallman has been focused all week on lily pads in and around specific clumps of hydrilla. As for the growing bags, he cites one-the-water learning as the key. “I didn’t change a thing today, they just bit and I’ve been able to figure out the timing a lot more everyday of the week,” he said. 

“I’m working the same water that I’ve been in all week, and I swear that you’ll be in there fishing and just be sure that there’s not a fish for a mile and all of a sudden they’ll start biting. It’s just a timing deal.”

As for the timing, Hallman explained that it’s not a specific time – the fish tend to dictate when they’re hungry. His education has come in the form of just being ready. “It’s not a 10:00 thing, or a 12:00 thing – it’s whenever they’re ready to fire,” he said. “I’m going to tell you though, when they start to fire, you better be on your toes because you stay busy for a little bit.”

“As for the tournament, I think that I did about all that I could do. You have to look at your decisions over the day and ask yourself if you left anything on the table. For me, this week, I didn’t. I just wasn’t able to get it done.”

Day Three Standings
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