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Lake
Quivira, Kansas – Brent Chapman started the final event of 2007 Elite Series at Lake Toho in 21st place in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year Points Race. Not exactly on the bubble, as the top 37 anglers in the points after The Sunshine Showdown would qualify for the 2008 Bassmaster Classic. However, he wasn’t exactly locked in either.
Chapman reported that his practice session at Toho had been horrible, he had only managed six to eight keeper bites, and not one of them weighed over two pounds. Facing the reality of a dismal practice and the thought that a bad showing could cost him a place in the Classic in South Carolina, Chapman probably felt somewhat distressed.
It wouldn’t take too much imagination to picture Chapman standing in his R.V. the night before The Sunshine Showdown clapping two tubes of GE Silicone II together chanting, ‘there’s nothing like big weight, there’s nothing like big weight.” Well, Mr. Chapman, good news, you’re not in Kansas anymore; or Toho… Welcome to Lake Hartwell.
Chapman consulted with a friend on Tour, adjusted his approach and bagged 52 pounds, 5 ounces at Lake Toho, and finished third. The final result was that he cashed his 10th check of the 2007 Elite Series, leapt from 21st to 8th in the Angler of the Year standings. His $39,000 payday in Kissimmee, Fla. brought Chapman’s 2007 earnings to $140, 650.
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“I had a horrible practice,” Chapman told The BASS ZONE. “I talked to Alton Jones about what I had been doing, he suggested that I drop shot, so I used that as my primary technique, and used flipping as a secondary approach.” Chapman said that his primary goal was to remain in the hunt for the Classic, so, when he bagged a small limit dropshotting on day one, he felt like he was on his way. |
He returned to the area near takeoff a little early in order to avoid the potential of being late or any sort of mechanical breakdown. “I caught a three pounder up there, and finished out my limit,” Chapman said. His first day limit gave him 10 pounds, 14 ounces and landed him in 9th place.
“That three pounder almost made me stay up around the takeoff,” Chapman said. “But, I decided to stay with my area that was producing limit fish, and it paid off.” The 35-year-old pro picked up his dropshot rig, and bagged a limit of Florida largemouth before turning to the flipping stick to try and upgrade his weight.
“I was able to get a few key fish during the week with a flipping stick,” said Chapman. “But, the majority of my fish came on the dropshot rig.” Chapman said that he planned on fishing around bridge pilings throughout the week, but that the fishing pressure seemed to move the fish. “The fish weren’t on the pilings at the start of the tournament,” Chapman reported. “They moved to the outside edges of the weedbeds nearby.”
When the fish were on the outside edges of the weeds, Chapman used the dropshot rig, and when the sun was out, he turned to the flipping stick. For the dropshot rig, Chapman used an All Star 783 rod and Pflueger 6735 spinning reel spooled with 10-pound test Gamma Fluorocarbon line. He tipped his 1/0 Eagle Claw hook with either a green pumpkin, or Tequila finesse worm; depending on the sun conditions.
When the sun was strong, Chapman picked up his All Star 907 FS Flipping Stick and Pflueger Summit baitcasting reel. He loaded his 65-pound test Shakespeare Ugly Braid with a Watermelon Candy Zoom Super Hog on an Eagle Claw Flipping Hook and 1 ¼-ounce Tru-Tungsten Flipping weight.
His primary target had an area that would continually refresh itself with fish. “It was an open spot in the grass that had a clean bottom,” Chapman said. “The current came through there as well, and I caught most of my fish there through the tournament.” He used the area to hold onto a one pound lead over eventual winner Ben Matsubu, and to secure his biggest payday since winning the 2005 Busch Shootout.
Chapman said that he and his wife Bobbi, his son Mason and daughter Makayla spent a little time at the beach following Toho. “I fished the Intercoastal Waterway with my son out of my Triton bass boat,” Chapman said. “It stormed for a week, but Mason and I caught all kinds of saltwater fish; we had a blast.”
As for the off-season, Chapman said he looks forward to spending some time with his family and being out in the woods hunting deer. His early fall will be spent doing promotional work with his sponsors; including his primary sponsor GE Silicone II. |
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“I am at Dover right now spending some time with GE at the NASCAR races this week,” Chapman said. “The fans here are great. A lot of them are fishing fans as well, so I really have a lot in common with many of them, and am looking forward to working with GE throughout the fall.”
You’re not ‘just’ in Kansas anymore Mr. Chapman.
For More on Brent Chapman visit his website:
http://www.brentsbassline.com
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