TWO-OUNCES FOR TWO CLASSICS

Story by Matt Pangrac - Photos by Mark Jeffreys, Matt Pangrac and Dave Rush

Lake Quivira, KS - Brent Chapman’s last two tournaments can only be described as “difference makers.” 

Entering the final Elite Series tournament of the 2011 season last June on Alabama’s Wheeler Lake, Chapman needed a needed a Top 25 finish for a chance to qualify for the 2012 Classic through the Toyota Tundra Angler Of the Year point standings. Chapman finished 23rd and earned a Classic berth by a mere four points with a 36th place finish in the TTAOY standings. 

Following the 2011 Elite Series season, Chapman didn’t fish another tournament until the first Bassmaster Central Open of the 2012 season during the second week of February on Texas’ Lake Lewisville.  

After three days of Open competition in brutal conditions, Chapman found himself tied for the lead, and eventually won the tournament in an overtime thriller.  With the Open victory, he became the second angler to punch a ticket to the 2013 Bassmaster Classic on Grand Lake in Oklahoma next February.

Every Ounce Counts
In 2011 at Wheeler, Chapman finished in a three-way tie for 23rd place and earned 229 TTAOY points based on the 2011 Angler Of the Year points structure.  Had his total weight been just a single ounce lighter, he would have finished in 26th place, earning 223 TTAOY points and falling to 39th in the TTAOY standings, just outside of 2012 Classic qualification. 

At the Lewisville Open, Chapman again needed every single ounce in order to qualify for the 2013 Classic.  Had his three-day total weight been one-ounce lighter, he would have finished in 2nd place, narrowly missing a Classic qualification and not forcing a Sunday fish-off against Josh Bertrand, which Chapman eventually won with a single keeper.  

Two tournaments. Two-ounces. Two Classic qualifications. It doesn’t get much closer than that.  

With the 2012 Shreveport Classic rapidly approaching, and the Grand Classic on the horizon, Chapman has now qualified for five consecutive Bassmaster Classics dating back to 2008.   With 10 total Classic appearances during his career, his lowest finish is 27th. He has recorded seven Top 15 finishes, including back-to-back 5th place finishes in 2010 on Lay Lake and 2011 on the Louisiana Delta. 

One Goal in Shreveport
While the solid finishes are nice, Chapman is looking for more next week on the Red River.  “I don’t care how I get it done, but the Classic is all about winning,” he explained. “I’ve had a couple Top 5 finishes, and that’s great, but it can only do so much for you.  Winning is what the Classic is all about, and you have to focus on it that way.”

That’s not to say that Chapman’s final day Classic experiences during the past two years haven’t helped prepare him for another deep run in the 2012 Classic.  “I’ve gotten to experience all that the Classic has to offer except for the actual win.  I know what to expect behind the scenes as far as the media and the press coverage.  I’ve had time to prepare for it mentally and physically, so I’m just ready to play it out and hopefully come out on top,” he said. “There’s definitely something different about the way that I fish in just a single tournament like the Classic.” 

Lewisville Warm Up
Chapman explained that, aside from an opportunity to qualify for the 2013 Classic, the Lake Lewisville Central Open was the perfect venue to help him prepare for the upcoming Red River Classic. “I’ve always tried to fish a tournament or two before the Classic,” he said.  “I’d been off the water for a long time this winter and felt like fishing that Open would be a good way to get back into the swing of things.”

The victory actually came as somewhat of a surprise to Chapman, who admitted that he struggled through practice while battling a nasty cold. “I didn’t think that I had that great of a chance to win.  I didn’t find anything very exciting, and it wasn’t like I put together some kind of a pattern or was getting a lot of bites.

“On top of that, I came down with a bad cold,” he continued. “I didn’t want that to get worse, so I actually took the last day of practice off and went to the doctor and then rested up.  I didn’t go into the tournament with all these high expectations, so it was really amazing how things ended up playing out. I was catching up with Jeff Kriet last week, and we were talking about how the Lewisville Open was a great way to prepare for the Classic on the Red River.  The conditions at Lewisville were brutal, there was a lot of pressure, and you really had to hunker down in one area. 

“It’ll be the same type of deal at the Red River, but the overall weights will be a lot better.  If I can survive last week at Lewisville and really fish well mentally under those tough conditions, hopefully I can fish well at the Red River under better conditions and come out on top,” Chapman concluded.

Elite Series Impact
After the Classic, Chapman will head to Florida in mid March to kick off the 2012 Elite Series on the St. Johns River and Lake Okeechobee.  The Lewisville victory has already calmed his nerves about heading to The Sunshine State for the first quarter of the season. 

“Last year, I was pretty stressed out starting the season in Florida,” he admitted. “I remember that the first morning of the tournament on the St. Johns River, there were 20 other boats that started in the same area that I did.  I was really concerned about recording a good finish and getting some Angler Of the Year points and making the Classic. Now that I’ve already made the 2013 Classic, if something doesn’t feel right, I have to freedom to change up and try something different.  I don’t have to panic and try to fish for a limit.”

Without the pressure of fishing for TTAOY points, Chapman said that he will approach the entire 2012 Elite Series season with a brand new attitude and game plan.  “It will really make the whole year entirely different,” he said.

“I think that I’ll be able to experiment a little bit more and take a few more gambles. In the past, I’ve fished pretty conservatively and fished for points and a check.  This year, I can kind of swing for the fences more.  I’m off to a good start, and I hope that the momentum from the Open victory will carry through to the upcoming Classic and into the 2012 season.”