Lake St. Clair Elite Series

Brent Chapman – Competition recap
Saturday, August 24, 2013

Day 1: 5, 15-11
Day 2: 5, 15-01
Day 3: 5, 14-04
Total = 15, 45-00 (45th place)

Obviously I'd love to be fishing tomorrow and have a shot at winning, but I came here and did what I needed to do. It wasn't real pretty, but I got the job done: I got a paycheck, I'll get some of the Angler of the Year money and I'm going to the Classic.

My intentions were to go to Erie and I had a spot right at the mouth where I thought I could catch a limit, and then go out onto the big part of the lake and try for bigger ones. I ran down there the first morning when it was rainy and windy and nasty and I only caught one off my limit spot in an hour and a half. I didn't want to run that big water because I knew the bites out there were few and far between, so I bailed and came back to St. Clair and fished some stuff I'd found in practice.

I stayed in St. Clair the rest of the way and caught most of them on a jerkbait from 7 to 10 feet of water, and today I caught some cranking fish in 20 feet.

I hadn't been to the cranking spot the first 2 days and I caught four nice ones there today, and I never saw another boat even remotely close. I wish I'd spent more time looking for that stuff.

I think there might've been just a few subtle differences in my decision-making this year as opposed to last year (when he won the AOY). I might've fished a little too conservatively this year. Last year, with the Classic already made (via an Open win before the season started), I gambled big and it paid off big.

Brent Chapman – Practice wrap-up
Wednesday, August 21, 2013

I definitely found some healthier fish the last 2 days, but the question is whether the wind will allow me to go there. I didn't have a lot of bites, so I'm really kind of second-guessing it (going to Erie). I don't know how to strategize for this tournament because I don't know how well everybody's going to catch them. If they told me I could leave here with a 49th-place finish, I'd probably sign on the dotted line.

There's so much on the line that I really haven't figured out what I should do – whether I should play it conservatively the first day and see how the cards fall. I won't decide until tomorrow morning.

I caught a 6-pound smallmouth in Erie, which was my biggest ever. The fish there look like the (St. Lawrence River) fish, but not in numbers like that – at least for me.

I'm keeping my eye on the weather and keeping my fingers crossed. If I'd had more bites in Erie I'd be more gung-ho to go. Once you commit, if they don't bite, it could be a bad deal.

Aaron Martens – Practice wrap-up
Wednesday, August 21, 2013

I put a good 16 hours on my motor in the last 2 days going to Erie and back. It's going to be a test of wills (on day 1). If the wind gets up to 20 mph, it could be kind of a nightmare because you still have to run many miles after you get there.

I spent a little bit of time on St. Clair, but I never caught any good ones. I saw a lot of small fish and there has to be schools of bigger ones somewhere.

I think it'll take 20 pounds a day to win and 15 to 16 a day to make the Top 50. That's really low – it should be 17 or 18 (for the 50-cut). This place is off and even the fish in Erie are kind of light. I'm getting some fat ones, but most of them are a little lean compared to what they should be.

The trick is getting the bigger ones because they're healthier.

Brent Chapman – Day 1 practice report
Tuesday, August 20, 2013

This is definitely not the St. Lawrence River. I got a fair amount of bites out there, but the size doesn't come close to what we saw in New York. I hope it was that way for everybody else, too.

These fish are real skinny – they're some of the most unhealthy-looking smallmouth I've ever seen. I don't know what that means, but obviously with that being the case, I expect the weights to be a little bit lower this week.

Some big ones live out there somewhere, though. I'll keep hunting around and hopefully I'll find them tomorrow.