Mississippi River Elite Series

Brent Chapman – Competition recap
Saturday, June 22, 2013

> Day 1: 5, 11-10
> Day 2: 5, 12-01
> Day 3: 5, 13-05
> Total = 15, 37-00 (31st place)

It was a real grind because it's such a numbers game here. I made the decision to run down to Pool 9 and I caught plenty of fish, but I didn't really catch the quality I'd hoped for. When you don't catch a lot of fish in practice, it can be hard to tell what you're actually on – it becomes a guessing game. I learned a lot, though, and I look forward to the next time we come back. I think I understand how to play the game a little differently here.

To leave with a 31st-place finish after being in 59th after the first day, I'm tickled with that. I feel like I fished well, but I just never got any real quality bites and that was different from last year – I had a couple 3-pounders and a 4 last year. It's amazing how that sometimes plays out.

I threw a spinnerbait, a swim-jig and a frog and I flipped a TightLines UV Beaver. I was really just kind of junk-fishing.

When I got down there today the water was muddy, and I ended up coming back up (to Pool 8). I had two little spots in there and I kind of wish I'd committed to them now.

Brent Chapman – Practice wrap-up
Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Last year I was pumped up about going out here and fishing, but this time I'm a little concerned. It's kind of hard to imagine that I'm on the same body of water. The high water they've had all season has changed some things.

On one hand, a lot of stuff looks real similar. On the other hand, I'm wondering where all the quality fish went that were here last year. It's got me scratching my head trying to figure out where they went.

I'm still debating about which pool I'm going to start in. I have some fish that are close to the launch and some that are real far away, and I'm not overly excited about any of them. I'd feel better if those places were right by each other, but I guess I can't be that lucky. By (Thursday) morning, I'm just going to have to make a decision and stick with it.

Whether my season's good or not could be determined by this event, so I need a good finish. I'm going to hope the weights aren't as high as they were last year.

Aaron Martens – Practice wrap-up
Wednesday, June 19, 2013

It's not as good as last year. Either some fish are missing or we're just hitting it at a bad time, but it's definitely tougher.

I could've caught a decent bag every day (of practice), but not like last time. Even in practice last year I could get bites all over the place and I could catch 12 to 14 pounds pretty easy. It doesn't seem like it's that way this time, unless I'm missing something.

I've caught quite a few little smallmouths – they're post-spawn and they're really skinny. I haven't really been fishing for them, though.

At least the weather has been nice – there's hardly any wind and it's just beautiful.

Brent Chapman – Day 1 practice recap
Monday, June 17, 2013

It's definitely different than last year. They had an early spring up here last year and a late spring this year, so the vegetation's not as far along as it was. The water levels seem really weird – where I fished today (in Pool 9) it was about a foot higher, but where we're camping it seems lower. It seems to be a littler dirtier too, so I'm kind of confused as to what's going on there.

Today I fished all my good stuff from last year and it's not in the same ballpark. Hopefully I can find something else tomorrow.

I suspect there's some fish still spawning, but it's probably at the tail end. From what I saw today, nothing's as far along as it was last year.

Aaron Martens – Day 1 practice recap
Monday, June 17, 2013

The river looks like it might be a little lower than last year – not much, maybe a foot or so. The grass isn't as thick as last year, probably because everything's a little behind because of the cooler weather they've had. The bait's harder to find, which is odd, but being behind always makes things a little different.

The fishing seems to be real hit and miss, but that's just how this place fishes. I fished a lot of stuff today and some places I caught nothing, and other places I caught a real big one but no other keepers. The water looks a little cleaner on the main river, but some places are dirtier, probably because the grass isn't there.

I think it'll probably be mostly largemouths again, but there might be some guys catching smallmouths. I haven't caught any good (smallmouths) yet, but I'll fish for them, too. A mixed bag would be good.

I think the spawn is mostly done. There might be some up on beds, but the majority are probably finished. I'm seeing a lot of bass fry.