Chapman Grabs Group A Lead on Lake Travis in Qualifying Round
AUSTIN, Texas – While no anglers ended the day with a zero on SCORETRACKER®, the bass in Lake Travis proved to be tough adversaries for the 40 pros fishing in Group A of the Berkley Stage Two Presented by Mercury. Mark Rose held the lead for the majority of the day on Lake Travis, but Brent Chapman brought in a steady stream of scorable bass over the last hour of the day to jump ahead of Rose for the Group A lead after the first day of competition.
Chapman Works a Vibrating Jig to Solid Start
Chapman ended Friday on top of SCORETRACKER® with 21 scorable bass for 46 pounds, 8 ounces. The Kansas pro edged out Rose for the lead by 5-12 and will enter Sunday as the leader in Group A. Chapman’s fast start is made even more impressive considering he called an audible when he took off this morning.
“Before I took off today, I was convinced I was going to head up the Colorado River and fish there, but that changed,” Chapman admitted. “I found a spot near takeoff during practice that I really liked and I knew I would have all to myself. I spent pretty much all day in there just searching the area and expanding on what I found.”
What Chapman found was a productive area full of bass weighing at least 1 pounds, 8 ounces. He had 11 bass in Period 1 and started to feel comfortable with the pattern he was developing. That’s when the KastKing pro started to expand in Period 2 and spent the majority of his late morning searching and learning the area. However, when Period 3 rolled around, Chapman found one key component that proved to be the X-factor.
“There’s some kind of grass in the water, and it looks like it might be some kind of invasive species,” Chapman explained. “The reason I think it’s invasive is because it’s near one of the major boat ramps on the lake. I’ve only seen it in this one creek I’m fishing, so I’m not sure where else it could be. I just know it was another ingredient that worked in my favor.”
Chapman used a 3/8- and a ½-ounce bladed jig to catch eight bass for 15-1 near that invasive grass in Period 3. He used a 7-foot-3 KastKing bladed jig rod for the 3/8-ounce and a 7-foot-6 swimbait rod for the ½-ounce. Both rods he paired with a KastKing Bassinator Elite 8.0:1 reel spooled with 16-pound Gamma Edge fluorocarbon.
That strong third period gives Chapman the opportunity to secure a spot in the Championship Round if he’s able to hold on to his lead through another day of fishing. A Group A win and an automatic spot in the Championship Round isn’t just something that Chapman wants, it’s something he believes he needs if he wants to take home a win.
“I really need that extra day off to take pressure off of my fish,” Chapman said. “That’s probably the most important aspect of it because we saw how tough it can be out there today. We’ve seen how important a trip straight to the Championship Round can be with Ott’s win on Sam Rayburn and I’m going to do my best to try and get it.”
Top Marks and Notes in Group A
- Brent Chapman caught the most scorable bass (21) and had the highest weight total of the day (46-8)
- Russ Lane takes home the Berkley Big Bass of the Day with a 7-12 hog he caught in Period 1.
- Alton Jones Jr. had the second-biggest bass of the day with a 6-14.
- No anglers ended the day without a scorable bass.
- Brandon Coulter is the 20th-place angler on SCORETRACKER® with 11-7. Coulter will begin Sunday with a 1-11 edge over the Toro Cut Line and Cody Meyer.
What’s Next
The 40 pros in Group B get their first cracks at Lake Travis on Saturday. The anglers will fish for three periods and a scorable bass must weigh at least 1 pound, 8 ounces. Local weather calls for rain and possible thunderstorms in the morning and early afternoon.