Chapman charges into lead at Old Hickory

Brent Chapman of Shawnee, Kan., used a whopping two-day catch of 30 pounds, 3 ounces to grab the overall lead in the Pro Division heading into the semifinal round. Photo by Gary Mortenson. Angler: Brent Chapman.

May 16, 2002 • Gary Mortenson • Archives

Strand uses career-best stringer to grab first place in Co-angler Division

GALLATIN, Tenn. – Bolstered by the largest stringer of the day, pro Brent Chapman of Shawnee, Kan., vaulted into the lead during the second day of competition at the $550,000 FLW Tour event on Old Hickory Lake. Chapman, who was in 12th place after yesterday’s weigh-in, overcame a long history of disappointing finishes on Old Hickory by recording a monstrous two-day stringer weighing in at 30 pounds, 3 ounces.

“This has been a frustrating lake for me over the years, so it feels really good to be in first place right now,” said Chapman, who turned in an eye-popping 16-pound, 4-ounce stringer during today’s weigh-in. “I’m just tickled to death. My goal after two days was to make the cut. But to be leading the tournament heading into the semifinals is definitely a great feeling. The key, though, is to be leading the tournament after day four.”

Chapman, who has been targeting bass hanging out on rocky banks in 3 to 10 feet of water, said his confidence is growing daily.

“I feel good about this tournament, I really do,” he said. “I’ve got some really good spots and there haven’t really been any other boats in my area. I found two strong patterns in practice, but I haven’t had to use my backup pattern yet. So I’m pretty excited right now.”

Chapman has found success each of the first two days flipping jigs, however, he said he wouldn’t hesitate to start throwing crankbaits if the flipping bite dries up.

“The fish are really scattered right now. But if you can find the right rocky bank, it’s a pretty good deal,” he said. “When you start having success with jigs, you always know you could be a winning pattern. And that’s why I’m excited. However, if that pattern goes away, I feel pretty confident I can catch a limit throwing crankbaits.”

If the Kansas native can somehow make the final cut, he will guarantee himself the best FLW Tour finish of his career.

“My best finish to date was 11th place,” he said. “My goal is to catch 12 or 13 pounds tomorrow. That should be enough to get to the finals.”

Budding restaurateur finishes second

By his own account, Frank Ippoliti of Mount Airy, Md., has had a sub-par FLW season to date. However, after turning in a two-day total of 29 pounds, it appears that Ippoliti’s fortunes are about to change.

“I’ve had a really tough year and the main reason is because I just opened my first restaurant and I haven’t had a lot of time to focus on fishing,” said Ippoliti, who grabbed hold of second place heading into the semifinals after recording a 13-pound, 10-ounce catch in today’s competition. “Coming into this tournament, I only had about 6 hours of practice, so I didn’t have very high expectations. But everything has really worked out for me so far. I’ve been very fortunate this week.”

Ippoliti said that he has been using jigs to target largemouth bass suspended on rocks and wood in about 3 to 5 feet of water.

“Everything is going well right now,” he said. “I caught my limit by 8:30 a.m. yesterday and I caught my limit today by about 10 a.m. or 10:15 a.m. I’m going to stick with my pattern tomorrow. Hopefully, I haven’t run out of fish yet.”

While winning the tournament would be nice, Ippoliti said he is concentrating on turning in a strong performance in order to qualify for the FLW Championship in September.

“I’m battling to qualify for the championship right now, so I’m really happy I’m fishing well,” he said. “Making the championship has been one of my main goals all year. And I knew if I didn’t catch fish here, I’d be done for the year.”

Currently, Ippoliti is in 70th place in the year-end championship standings. However, only the top 48 anglers in both fields will qualify.

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top-five qualifiers were Chad Grigsby (third) of Colon, Mich., with a two-day catch of 27 pounds; Donald Eaton (fourth) of Covington, Ga., with a total catch of 25 pounds, 3 ounces; and Basil Bacon (fifth) of Springfield, Mo., with a catch of 24 pounds, 14 ounces.

Steve Kennedy of Hoover, Ala., won $750 and the day’s big bass award in the Pro Division after landing a 6-pound, 15-ounce largemouth. Kennedy finished the tournament in 31st place.

Strand makes a stand

Co-angler Danny Strand of Champaign, Ill., knew he was in big trouble after turning in a 1-pound, 10-ounce catch on the first day of competition. He also knew that it would take a miraculous performance on day two to qualify for the top-20 cut. So what did he do? Strand simply went out and recorded the greatest one-day stringer of his career during today’s competition – a 16-pound, 1-ounce sack that vaulted him from 97th place to first.

Needless-to-say, Strand was ecstatic with his performance.

“I’ve been fishing professional tournaments since 1987 and this is the best day of fishing that I’ve ever had,” said Strand, who now has two top-20 and two top-10 performances for his career on the FLW Tour. “What made it even more special was the fact that I was fishing behind a world-renowned angler (Jay Yelas). Usually those type of guys don’t miss a lot of fish.”

Strand, who lost a bid for a 20-pound stringer after losing a 5-pound largemouth during the afternoon, couldn’t credit Yelas enough for his finish.

“Jay Yelas is in the hunt for angler of the year and he still went out of his way to help me,” said Strand. “But that’s just the type of guy he is.”

Strand said that he used a white, 3/8-ounce J.D. Lure spinner bait to land the majority of his catch.

“Basically, we were targeting docks, boats and any other cover that provided shade,” he said. “For me, the key was slowing down my presentation. I think that actually had a bigger effect than the lure itself.”

Strand also won $500 for winning the day’s big bass award with 6-pound, 6-ounce catch.

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top five co-angler qualifiers were Jason Abram (second) of Bluff City, Tenn., with a two-day catch of 16 pounds, 3 ounces; Katsutoshi Furusawa (third) of Tokyo, Japan, with a total catch of 15 pounds, 9 ounces; Larry Caldwell (fourth) of Saint Peters, Mo., with a catch of 15 pounds, 6 ounces; and Tee Watkins (fifth) of East Point, Ky., with a catch of 13 pounds, 7 ounces.

Tomorrow’s takeoff is scheduled to take place at 8 a.m. at Bull Creek Boat Dock located at 200 Odoms Bend Road in Gallatin, Tenn.