Destiny calls
Lefebre could have been undone today with mechanical issues that forced him to switch boats, losing lots of precious fishing time in the process. He also lost two fish that he estimated at 4 ½ pounds each, both of which he had in the net before they jumped.
“To start the day like that and end up where I am is a blessing from God, and I give Him all the glory,” Lefebre said. “I lost my temper a couple of times. I knew if I could get my head together, I could win this.”
Lefebre’s victory, then, feels a little bit like destiny, and it’s a journey that began on the second day of practice, when he found a shell bed full of bass that were eating up his Rapala DT 10 and DT 6 crankbaits.
“I had a strong day my first day of practice, and I had the luxury of saying I was ready for the tournament, even though I really wasn’t,” he said. “So I went out and looked for stupid stuff. Just when I was ready to give up, I got a big bite that made me keep going.”
Though Lefebre found the shell bed with crankbaits, it was a Storm swimbait that brought in kicker fish after kicker fish once the tournament began.
“I threw it every day on that spot,” he said. “Today I threw a hodgepodge of swimbaits – I brought my whole box of swimbaits to Kentucky Lake like I always do. But today was the first day I’ve shown that spot anything but the Storm.”
Big risks paid off for Lefebre
On day three, Lefebre said he left big fish biting on his spot in an effort to manage his fish. That can be risky, as sometimes anglers leave them biting in order to save them for later, only to return the next day and find them gone. For Lefebre, it paid off.
“I fish to win every day, and it’s hard to do that when you need four days together to win,” he said. “I tried to manage the fish and leave them biting to save them for another day. It didn’t have to work out this way, but it did.”
While the story of the week seemed to be relying on electronics to catch bass deep on the ledges, Lefebre’s shell bed was in about 5 to 6 feet of water.
“Early in the day, they were biting,” he said. “Late in the day, I had to throw at a certain angle on that shell bed. Today when the wind laid down, I got back to that spot and caught that big one.”
When day three ended and it looked like it would be a showdown between Lefebre and Baumgardner, both of them were hunting for the same thing – a second FLW Tour victory. Lefebre’s first Tour win came in 2004 on Old Hickory Lake, while Baumgardner won in 2007 on the Potomac River.
“I fish with a lot of my very close friends, and it was Chris’s turn,” Lefebre said on stage. “I went out of turn.”
Clouds roll in on Baumgardner
Baumgardner ended day three on top using a strategy he said was no big deal, and it wasn’t – he was fishing docks on Lake Barkley throwing a chatterbait with a Zoom Super Fluke in glimmer blue. But it was a simple strategy that took him far even if he fell short of claiming the win. Baumgardner’s four-day haul totaled 70 pounds, 11 ounces and earned him $33,287.
He began the tournament in 30th place with 15-9 but changed his fortunes on day two with a limit weighing 19 pounds, 8 ounces. He threw the hammer down on day three, bringing in 22-15 and becoming the man to beat on the final day.
But Sunday exchanged Saturday’s abundant sunshine for clouds and scattered showers, and Baumgardner’s bite suffered. He wound up weighing in a 12-pound, 11-ounce limit, more than 10 pounds less than he weighed in the day before.
“I just didn’t get the big bites,” he said. “It was cloudy, and the fish don’t get around docks as good – they go out in the middle. There was nothing to pull them up to the docks.”
Baumgardner tried to adjust but never keyed in on any technique or spot that would yield the big bites.
“I’m glad he caught 19,” Baumgardner said of Lefebre’s day-four catch. “If he’d caught 15 and beat me by a little it would have been worse. I’ll take second.”
Mabrey moves up to third
Kyle Mabrey and Jim Moynagh switched spots on the leaderboard today, as yesterday’s No. 4 Mabrey moved up to third while Moynagh dropped to fourth. Mabrey had a solid day on Kentucky Lake today, bringing in a 17-pound, 10-ounce limit that boosted his total weight to 68 pounds, 4 ounces, worth $28,520.
“I was looking for areas where fish had recently spawned and were making their way back to the main lake,” Mabrey said of his tournament strategy. “They were still in that shallow mode, which is not typical on Kentucky Lake this time of year.”
Mabrey found a gravel bar that was about 12 feet deep that had a little ditch running through it about 14 feet deep. That fell off into a creek channel 24 feet down that ended on a big flat.
“It was jam-packed with baitfish,” Mabrey said. “I was catching fish averaging 3 pounds. Often I’d see an enormous tail in their mouth, so I started fishing bigger baits.”
Mabrey relied on swimbaits this week on a Yellow Hammer Rig, and in fact, cameras caught Mabrey landing three bass at one time today on that Yellow Hammer Rig.
“I was bummed out – I thought it was going to be a giant,” he said.
In addition to the 6-inch swimbaits on the Yellow Hammer, Mabrey said he also caught fish on a Zoom Magnum Ol’ Monster worm. In today’s cloudy weather, he switched to a swimbait with blades, which he thinks helped the fish to see his bait.
“It totally seemed to get the bigger fish to bite,” he said. “When it’s harder to see, you’ve got to give them a little more flash.”
Mabrey credits not only the baits but also the rest of his equipment, including a 775 Powell Endurance Rod that he rigged up with 65-pound braided line.
“It’s a great rod for throwing those heavy rigs,” he said.
Moynagh, Yelas round out top five
Finishing in the fourth spot is M&Ms pro Jim Moynagh of Carver, Minn., with a four-day catch of 67 pounds, 2 ounces that earned him $23,753. The finish put him just one point behind David Dudley in the Angler of the Year race.
“I had one spot that produced quality fish, and on day two it really panned out,” Moynagh said. “It was a one-spot wonder tournament for me.”
Chevy pro Jay Yelas of Corvallis, Ore., ended the tournament in fifth with a combined weight of 67 pounds, good for $18,987. He too was among the pro leaders bucking conventional wisdom and fishing shallow, and he caught his bass on Lake Barkley.
“I just like to fish shallow,” he said. “You can do whatever you want to catch them here. The deepest I caught them all week was probably 4 feet deep.”
Best of the rest
Rounding out the top 10 pro finalists:
6th: Straight Talk pro J.T. Kenney of Palm Bay, Fla., 64-15
7th: Todd Hollowell of Fishers, Ind., 63-6
8th: Fatheadz Eyewear pro Jacob Wheeler of Indianapolis, Ind., 61-8
9th: Snapple pro Jacob Powroznik of Prince George, Va., 60-1
10th: EverStart pro Ron Shuffield of Bismarck, Ark., 59-3
Special Thanks to the guys at: FLW Outdoors
MANY, La. — Brent Chapman will turn 40 in early July. That’s a milestone he didn’t want to celebrate without having ticked the box next to a top career goal: a Bassmaster Elite Series win.
Let the party begin.
Starting at 11th place on Thursday, then jumping up to lead for the next two days, the pro from Lake Quivira, Kan., closed on the Toledo Bend Battle trophy Sunday. His winning weight of 83 pounds, 9 ounces gave him a margin of victory of 4 pounds, 4 ounces over Cliff Pace of Petal, Miss., who tallied 79-5 for second place.
“I feel awesome,” said Chapman. “This is one more check-off on the list of my goals.”
His Elite win was worth $100,000, enough points to take over in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year points race, and a berth in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic.
The Classic qualification was his second of the season; the first one came by winning a Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open in February. Because he already had the 2013 Classic entry sewn up, it was the Elite victory that made his day. He was never sure he had the win until the scales stopped moving on his Sunday bag.
“I truly felt I needed 20 pounds today to have a shot at winning this,” he added. “I had a lot more than I thought I did.”
The Sunday scales settled on 23-11. The icing on the weight was a last-hour bass that almost offered itself to him.
“I throw my spoon out, go to reel it in, and I see the spoon at about 5 feet from the boat — and a 4-pounder is behind it. I ‘killed’ the spoon — kind of dropped it — and the bass sucked it in. I just whipped it into the boat. When stuff like that happens, I think, ‘Maybe I am supposed to win this deal.’”
Throughout the week, the winner’s focus went much deeper. He worked several spots, but particularly one area that held schools of big bass 25 to 30 feet deep. He used a 5-inch, 1 1/4-ounce flutter spoon with a silver finish modified with a 2/0 Lazer TroKar treble, or worked a Tightlines green-pumpkin UV Hog on a 3/4-ounce football jig.
The spoon was a lure he picked up at a tackle store, and it had no brand name, Chapman said. A lover of fishing banks and shallows, Chapman steeled himself to going deep during the Toledo Bend Battle, and turned to the spoon to help him.
“It’s a thing that Kelly Jordon made famous, and it’s a bait I’ve really fallen in love with over the past few years when it comes to this time of year and fishing deep,” he said.
Chapman had declared after Day 3 that in the final round, he would not live and die on the same spot he’d worked all week. Come later Sunday morning, he was ready to move, he said, but the bass changed his mind. He caught a 5-pounder and then a 6-7, his largest of the day and also the Carhartt Big Bass on Sunday in a tie with the 6-7 brought in by Greg Hackney. Then Chapman moved off his spot, but later returned for another dip. No go.
“When it dries up, it dries up in a hurry,” he said.
Through Sunday’s win, Chapman earned enough points to recover his early-season lead in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year points race. The closest he’s ever come to the AOY title is eighth in 2007.
But with three more Elite events remaining in the regular season, Chapman said he’s not obsessing over the crown. He’s not centering his fishing strategy on winning the AOY prize.
“Angler of the Year, I’ve got to keep off my mind until the last day at Oneida (the season’s final event). You’ve got to focus on one fish at a time, one day at a time, one tournament at a time,” he said.
Pace pulled up to finish in second place after leading the first day, then dropping to fourth by Day 3. His Sunday catch of 21-9 revived his bid for his first Elite win, but in the end fell short.
“Anytime you get to fish all four days, you’ve had a great week,” Pace said. “Second place is a great tournament. A win would have been much better, but that’s just part of life. Brent had a better group of fish found, and he beat me.”
Pace’s strategy was to work deep schools slowly and thoroughly.
“That was the whole deal for me,” he said. He made long casts with a 3 1/4-ounce V&M football jig, and spend about three minutes dragging it back to the boat. When the wind died, he turned to a Carolina rig with a redbug V&M Super Finesse Worm, same slow technique.
“When I say drag it, I mean at a snail’s pace,” Pace said.
Like Chapman, Robinson of Lyman, S.C., started slowly on Day 1. He bagged a modest 15 1/2 pounds, good enough for 23rd place. Then on Day 2, armed with a 21-12 bag, he fought his way up into sixth place. The third day was almost a cookie-cutter of the second: 21-5, but it did him even more good. He advanced to second place, just 1-5 behind leader Chapman.
The final day he pushed hard, finishing third, the best showing of his Elite career. He bagged 19-2, ending almost 6 pounds behind the winner.
“I just didn’t get a lot of big bites today. I had one place where I had caught some big fish, but I couldn’t get them fired up,” said Robinson, who used a peanut-butter-and-jelly Buckeye Mop Football jig in a 3/4-ounce size, and a Fish Stalker Lures’ Party Marty football jig with a Zoom Critter Craw.
Finishing fourth was Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., with 76-1. Fifth was rookie Cliff Prince of Palatka, Fla., who had 69-9.
Several anglers earned bonuses at the Toledo Bend Battle:
* Carhartt Big Bass of the tournament, which paid $750, plus another $750 if the angler was wearing Carhartt clothing: Terry Scroggins for his 9-pound, 3-ounce largemouth on Day 3.
* Berkley Heavyweight Award of $500 for the best five-fish limit: Tim Horton’s 27-9 of Day 3.
* Power-Pole Captain’s Cash of $1,000 if the winner has Power-Poles installed on his boat: Brent Chapman
* Toyota $1,000 bonus to the leader in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year points race: Brent Chapman with 417 points
* Luck “E” Strike Comeback Award of $500 to the most-improved pro in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year points race: Casey Ashley of Donalds, S.C., from 63rd place to 41st place
The Toledo Bend Battle will air on ESPN2 at 8 a.m. ET June 16.
Special Thanks to the guys at : Bass Masters .com
“You’ll need a good companion for
this part of the ride…”
Dateline: One year later
Tell me.
Is it our soul,
or
The soil we stand on.
That makes stuff like this happen.
Is it who we are,
or
What we are.
That makes stuff like this happen.
Tell me.
In the land of hope and dreams,
is it the hope,
or,
the dreams.
That makes stuff like this happen.
Tell me.
Of spirit.
Is our spirit, built in.
Or sent, our way.
Tell me.
“…leave behind your sorrows…”
When my fingers will no longer be able to type.
When the words leave me, and all that I have left is the images of events in my brain.
When the movies behind my eyes run, in that film, there will always be this image amongst but a few.
It will not be the perfect hair.
Not the perfect makeup.
Not even the tear on her cheek.
It will be the tremble in the hand that wiped the tear away.
In all the images of all the sports I have covered, the one that will always play over and over in my brain will be the one of a tiny hand that tried to wipe a large tear away.
Bobbi Chapman’s hand.
And the soundtrack for that image will be the whispered: “….db…”
And the soundtrack for that image will be this: The sobs coming from under the flowered blouse.
And the soundtrack for that image will be this: The shaking of her body as I hugged her and told her it would be alright, even though I wasn’t sure.
When I close the laptop for the final time on writing about sports, it is not the strongest whom I will remember.
But the frailest.
Not the points scored, but the people met.
“…let this day be the last…”
It was a year ago today that this story, “How Fragile, We…” ran on Bassmaster.com
Brent and Bobbi Chapman sat in their boat in Little Rock, Ark., and told me how their dreams were turning into nightmares.
They were about to fall off the tightrope we all walk in this game. It was not their lack of love of the sport that was causing their slip, it was the lack of success, the lack of money causing the spill.
How fragile they.
How fragile we who chase treasure lake to lake across the land of hope and dreams.
Except for one thing.
The Land, of Hope, and Dreams
The soil, or our soul.
Freedom to succeed.
Freedom to fail.
Freedom to do it on your own.
Freedom to chase, and capture your dreams.
“db…back a year ago when we first talked, we did not like where we were, financially, or otherwise.”
Bobbi Chapman is sitting in the exact same spot in the boat as she was last year. Brent is next to me on the deck working on tackle, same as last year.
“db I have to tell you, it was a gut check, a real gut check, a body punch, but you know what, you can take only so many punches before you punch back.”
And punch back they did.
Following that story Brent placed in the top 20….twice, and made the 2012 Bassmaster Classic.
And the success continues…
Out the gate Brent WINS the 2012 Bass Pro Shops Central Open….then follows that up with a 4th and two 5th place finishes in the last four Elite events…total cash and prizes so far this year…$96,160.
He has already qualified for the 2013 Bassmaster Classic.
Today he is in 1st place for the coveted Angler Of The Year prize.
Tell me.
“…tomorrow there’ll be sunshine…”
Why are we tested, and who sends the test.
Are we graded, and by whom.
Or what.
And why.
“db,” Brent says while tying some tackle on his line, “It was very humbling, it opened one’s eyes to how quickly you can lose focus…”
Bobbi jumps in, “…we were trying too hard to focus on things, instead of just letting things happen…”
I catch the quick wife to husband glance between the two of them, two people who over the past couple of years have become very close friends of mine.
Bobbi continues “…focus db…not on ourselves…but…”
It is not the strong, but the fragile, whom I will never forget, as the tear rolls down her cheek “….but on others….”
And Bobbi can’t finish the sentence, the handoff between husband and wife happens, “…this is the year we appreciate things, others more, a lot more.”
Why the tests sent our way, maybe this.
During the past year Brent’s mom has had two surgeries for Cancer….just recently Bobbi’s mom had a stroke and is now living with Brent and Bobbi and their family.
Brent, “Last year brought our family, brought US much closer together,” all Bobbi can do is shake her head yes.
“…and all this darkness past…”
Tell me.
Not the how,
but.
The why.
Why the smackdown.
Why me, why now. Why ever, what’s the point, why have a point.
Come on, give me a break.
Tell me.
Brent: “From what I’ve learned you can have a bit of a falling, failure, but if you focus and work hard, you can come back…”
I’m standing next to the proof of that.
“…but I’ll tell you db, it makes you humble.”
Bobbi: “We’ve also learned that with success comes responsibility, comes the obligation to do good with it.”
“Brent…Bobbi…bottom line…what did you get out of last year.”
Bobbi, sitting on the wall of the boat, turns from me and looks at Brent who is sitting on the deck of the boat, he slowly looks away and into the eyes of his wife.
Bobbi smiles, as does Brent, “We learned db that we weren’t ready….”
Brent picks up the sentence, “…weren’t ready, up until last year we were not ready, would not have been able to handle success in the right manner.”
Neither one ever took their eyes off each other while saying that.
Tell you.
Brent and Bobbi Chapman have passed the test.
It is not the success that makes us stronger.
It is the tests.
The drive to succeed comes to us not on the straight-aways, but in the high bank turns that come our way.
The test, is not about what we get.
The test, is about what we give.
The soul, of the soil, beneath our feet is one of hope and dreams.
Hope, that it is to others, we give dreams.
And that when we do, dreams come true,
for us all.
“…big wheels roll through fields
where sunlight streams
meet me in a land of hope and dreams.”
Land of Hope & Dreams
Bruce Springsteen
Region 2 Buggs Island Winners Billy Strain & Don Wheeler – 6-3-12 from CentralVabasscast.com on Vimeo.
Take A look at the Updated Points Bellow Click on the Image to Inlarge
