Chapman, DeFoe Build Early Leads to Advance to Sudden Death
MUSKOGEE, Okla. – The final group of 10 anglers showed up to Fort Gibson Lake on a beautiful late-September morning for Elimination Round 3 of the 2020 Sqwincher Patriot Cup Presented by Venmo. The 10 pros weren’t told which eastern Oklahoma lake they would compete on until they arrived at the ramp, but they did know that only six of them would be moving on the Sudden Death Rounds.
The Top 6 had a comfortable cushion on the anglers below the Elimination Line, but the top two pros on SCORETRACKER® separated themselves from the rest of the field early on in the morning.
Chapman Chases Down DeFoe
Brent Chapman and Ott DeFoe seemed to be fishing a completely different lake than the other eight anglers as they were the only pros to catch more than 20 pounds of scorable bass.
DeFoe led after Period 1 with seven bass for 15-1, less than 2 pounds ahead of Chapmanin second place. In Period 2, Chapman tied on a 1/2-ounce spinnerbait with two copper blades to catch five bass for 8-6 to move into first place above DeFoe.
Chapman maintained his lead for the rest of the day, finishing with 18 bass for 33-5, more than 6 pounds ahead of DeFoe.
“I was really excited when I heard the Patriot Cup was coming to Oklahoma, and I got even more excited when I saw where we were fishing this morning,” Chapman said with a smile. “Fort Gibson Lake has always been a great lake for me and I love fishing it. It showed today how great a fishery it is.”
Bertrand, Lane, Christie and Rose Moving On
Josh Bertrand, Bobby Lane, Jason Christie and Mark Rose are moving on to the Sudden Death Rounds thanks to their Top 6 finishes. Bertrand held onto third place all round long and finished his day with 11 bass for 16-4.
Oklahoma pro Jason Christie made himself right at home on Fort Gibson Lake, ending his round in fourth place with 13 pounds. He was the only angler besides DeFoe and Chapman to land a 3-pound bass during Elimination Round 3.
While Bobby Lane may not be from Oklahoma, he does feel right at home during MLF Cup events. The 2017 General Tire World Champion is advancing to Sudden Death after catching eight bass for 12-12.
Mark Rose was the last angler in the Top 6, but had a comfortable 5-pound lead over seventh-place Wesley Strader. Strader caught a 2-11 largemouth near the end of Period 3 to inch closer to Rose, but the deficit was too much to overcome in a short amount of time.
Missed the Cut
Wesley Strader, Marty Robinson, Bradley Roy and Matt Lee were unable to catch enough scorable bass to keep pace with the rest of the field and ended up falling below the Elimination Line. Strader will be competing in the 2020 Summit Cup while the other three anglers did not qualify for the final MLF Cup event of the season.
Up Next
The Sqwincher Patriot Cup Presented by Venmo continues with Sudden Death Round 1 on Saturday, April 25 at 2 p.m. EST on Outdoor Channel. Nine anglers will race to be one of the first four pros to reach the Target Weight for the right to advance on to the Championship Round.