He’s hoping to catch fire

Chapman must do well at Table Rock Lake to ensure a spot in the Bassmaster Classic.

By BRENT FRAZEE

The Kansas City Star

For Brent Chapman, it all comes down to this.

If he does well in the CITGO Bassmaster Elite tournament at Table Rock Lake this weekend, he goes to the Bassmaster Classic.

If he doesn’t, another season will end in disappointment.

“For a bass fisherman, the Classic is like the playoffs,” said Chapman, 34, who lives at Lake Quivira. “This is what everyone shoots for. This is how you are judged.

“I didn’t make it last year after qualifying for (three) straight, and it didn’t feel good. I want to get back.”

Entering the tournament, Chapman is sitting on the bubble. The top 37 fishermen in the Elite series regular-season standings advance to the Classic, along with 13 others who qualified via other circuits. Chapman is in 37th place.

At first glance, it would appear that he has a good chance of advancing.

He has long excelled at Table Rock, the site of the Elite series’ final regular-season tournament. Just last September, he won the Busch Shootout there in a tournament featuring the 12 fishermen who recorded the heaviest one-day catches of bass during the regular season. That earned him $100,000 and plenty of respect on the pro tour.

But that was then and this is now, Chapman says.

He worries that the way he caught bass in that tournament won’t necessarily work in this event, which opens Thursday and continues through Sunday.

“I was using a shallow-running crankbait then,” he said. “But the big difference is, there were only 12 fishermen in that tournament. There will be 100 in this one.

“I’m afraid that some of the areas I fished before will get beat up pretty bad.”

Chapman caught most of his fish shallow in the James River arm of Table Rock last year. But he knows that the best catches of bass lately have come on deep-water tactics in other arms of the lake — another cause for concern.

“My biggest weakness is fishing deep,” Chapman said. “I am most comfortable when I’m working the shallows.

“But I’m ready to do whatever it takes. I’ll try to have a few options going in, then give it everything I have.”

Chapman has been in these pressure situations before. He has qualified for six Classics and has won two major titles — the Busch Shootout and the Top Gun Championship, both last year.

This year, he has added to his reputation as one of the nation’s top pros. He finished second in a Bassmaster tournament at Lake Champlain in mid-July, and he has earned $95,700 in BASS events this year.

Now he’d like to cap it off with another return to bass fishing’s biggest championship.

“I’d rather this tournament be held in March or April here at Table Rock,” he said. “Then I’d feel real confident going in.

“But I do know the lake well, and it has a lot of big fish in it. It’s just up to me to figure out what they want.”

Chapman won’t be the only one facing that stress. The Angler of the Year race also will be decided this weekend at Table Rock.

Michael Iaconelli of Runnemede, N.J., leads, but Steve Kennedy of Auburn, Ala., could overtake him with a good tournament.

Several Missouri pros also will be out to earn berths in the Classic. Denny Brauer of Camdenton enters the tournament in 14th place in the season standings, Rick Clunn of Ava is 30th and Mark Tucker of St. Louis is 31st.

“Being on Table Rock in September, I would not make any bets about catching fish,” Brauer said. “It really has the possibility of breaking some hearts or making some heroes. It’s going to be interesting.”

•WOMEN BASSMASTERS: The men won’t be the only professional anglers competing for championship berths this weekend.

The competitors on the new Mercury Marine Women’s Bassmaster Tour also will be in Missouri, taking part in their regular-season finale at Bull Shoals Lake.

They will fish Thursday through Saturday, with the weigh-in for the first two days at Theodosia Marina and the final day at the What’s Up Dock in Kimberling City, Mo., where the men’s tournament will be based. At stake will be 12 berths in the first Women’s Bassmaster Classic.