Chapman Stuns Himself With 19-07 First-Day Sack

In the wake of an extremly difficult practice period, it was no big surprise that none of the bags caught on the first day of the Dardanelle Bassmaster Elite Series topped 20 pounds. Brent Chapman, however, absolutely shocked himself by making a strong run at that mark.

"I thought I'd be real fortunate to catch five, and if they weighed 10 pounds I'd be excited," said the Kansan, who sat atop the day-1 leaderboard with 19-07. "If you'd have told me I could've had that weight after 2 days I probably would've signed on the dotted line this morning."

He's 1-11 up on Kentuckian Mark Menendez – one of four competitors who ran an aluminum boat to better access the backwaters, but the only one of that quartet who landed higher than 79th place. He weighed 17-12.

Texan Alton Jones was 3rd with 17-05. Alabama's Matt Herren claimed the 4th slot with 17-01 and Oklahoma's Fred Roumbanis completed the Top 5 with 16-12.

Here's a look at the current Top 12 (red numbers in parentheses indicate deficit margin from leader):

1. Brent Chapman: 19-07
2. Mark Menendez: 17-12 (1-11)
3. Alton Jones: 17-05 (2-02)
4. Matt Herren: 17-01 (2-06)
5. Fred Roumbanis: 16-12 (2-11)
6. Cliff Pace: 16-11 (2-12)
7. Denny Brauer: 16-06 (3-01)
8. Chris Lane: 15-14 (3-09)
9. Skeet Reese: 15-13 (3-10)
10. Billy McCaghren: 15-11 (3-12)
11. Kevin VanDam: 15-06 (4-01)
12. Stephen Browning: 15-05 (4-02)

The field had to wait out a fog delay of slightly more than 3 hours this morning, which cost those in the early weigh-in flight almost half of their fishing day. On the flip side, the water level was up 6 inches to a foot from where it was in practice, which brought some shoreline vegetation into play and benefited some anglers who were plying the extreme shallows.

Less than half of the 100-angler field caught a limit and the 50th-place money cutoff currently sits at less than 10 pounds. There could be a big shake-up in the standings tomorrow if everybody gets a full day, but BASS is considering shortening it on the back end due to a forecast that calls for violent weather in the afternoon.

Once the fog lifted, the dominant conditions today were overcast skies and wind. Thunderstorms were predicted to hit the Russellville, Ark. area tonight and and then return sometime after lunch tomorrow.

The field will be cut to 50 after tomorrow's weigh-in, and then to the Top 12 for Sunday. The winner will be determined by highest 4-day weight.

Chapman Had No Clue

Chapman figured he'd be hard-pressed to make the Top 50 after an uninspiring practice. But he had some welcome newcomers at his primary spot today.

"I think what happened was a whole wad of fish pulled in there," he said. "When the water came up, the fish came with it. We're supposed to have heavy rain tonight and tomorrow and I don't know what that'll do, but at this point I'm already way ahead of where I thought I'd be.

"I'm in an area that obviously has some good fish. I got there at about 1:00 and fished for about 2 1/2 hours and I had it all to myself. It was pretty much call your shot."

He divulged that he's working a crankbait pattern and also doing some flipping. He caught about a dozen keepers, including a 5-04 and another that was almost 5.

"It was definitely a fun one and hopefully tomorrow I'll get a full day to fish in there. But I'm so surprised by this that no matter what happens, I'm ready to get it on."

2nd: Menendez Rolls a 6

Menendez's bag was headed up by the big bass of the day – a 6-pounder. His relatively short run took him about 75 minutes each way in his tin G3 with a 90-horsepower Yamaha.

"I'd never trade in my Skeeter, but it's nice to sort of get back to the roots of all my fishing," he said. "It's a lot of fun to fish old-style like I used to.

"Plus, there's no way I could get back to where I'm fishing with a boat that's any bigger."

He went through about 10 keepers, all enticed by a Strike King Rage plastic bait.

"I caught what I needed and got out of there. I'm pretty much putting everything in that one basket, and I'll have to wait and see if I can do it again. That big bite was a fortunate thing."

3rd: Jones Switched Gears

Jones had wanted to spend the first half of the day sight-fishing, but the fog delay threw a monkey-wrench into that plan.

"I went out and just fished, and on the way in I stopped at my sight-fish, fully expecting them to have been exploited," he said. "Two were still there – a (3 1/4-pounder) and a 4-05, and I caught both of them. That took me from 15 pounds to more than 17,"

The runner-up at Amistad 2 weeks ago has ended each of the 5 competition days of the current season in 3rd place or higher. He and Chapman frequently work together and he said their patterns are similar.

"The key for me is knowing how the females are positioned. Some are on the beds and some aren't.

"I had a fair amount of company today, but I've saved some stuff and I'm guardedly optimistic that I'll have fresh water to fish tomorrow – they're out-of-the-way-type places. But then the whole deck is going to get shuffled with that big cold front coming in tomorrow night."

4th: Herren Capitalized

Herren was another angler who had no confidence coming off of practice. He thinks the higher water level was the key to his day.

"I wasn't expecting to catch that – I'm as shocked as anybody," he said. "The biggest thing was the water came up about a foot. It was a significant rise and I think it basically turned those fish on.

"I've just got the one area. If they're not there tomorrow I'll have to grub around and try to find something else."

He got a few bites there in practice, but nothing that told him he could pull out a Top-5 sack on day 1. "I had three little pulls that I shook off . Then I show back up there today and, lo and behold, they're good ones."

A 4 1/2-pounder was the best of the six keepers he caught.

"I like fishing (the Arkansas River) – it suits my style – but this week it's been hard to get in tune with it. Hopefully I can keep making the right adjustments as this thing goes on."

5th: Roumbanis Caught a Bunch

On a day when the majority of the field failed to catch a limit of keepers, Roumbanis did it four times over.

"I had a limit so fast it was unbelievable," he said. "Boats were still coming off of pad.

"I probably caught 20 keepers, and I had one big bite, but I lost it. I had one 4-pounder and everything else was about the same size."

He's in a community area and said most of the anglers he's sharing water with fared better than average.

"There's quite a few boats working the area and that might be a problem, but it seems like there are fish everywhere. It's really hard to get over 16 pounds because there are so many 3-pounders.

"What it's going to come down to is one big bite, and I'm going to need to land that bite."

6th: Pace Stayed Put

Cliff Pace pulled his bag from one area where he'd gotten a few bites in practice. He said he didn't know that type of quality was in there.

"It's pretty much all I've got," he said. "I don't know whether I can catch them again because nothing on a river system is a guaranteed deal. The conditions change and I'm fishing shallow, and I don't know if weather will affect how they bite."

"There's just a lot more variables than there is on a regular lake. If they drop a foot of water out of this place, I could be in a lot of trouble."

He got about 10 bites throughout the day.

"It was a place where I didn't spend a lot of time (in practice). When I went back today, it was better than I thought."

98th: Reehm's Gamble Was a Bust

Russellville resident Clark Reehm and Arkansas River ace Scott Rook were on a lot of people's radar coming into this event. They ended up in the same backwater area, both in aluminum boats, but their fish didn't cooperate.

Reehm didn't catch a fish there and Rook weighed two for just 3-03. The only fish Reehm weighed was a smallmouth – there aren't many of them in Dardanelle – that went a paltry 1-01.

"The bite back there was on big-time (on the final practice day)," he said. "Rook and I were lying to each other about how we weren't getting bit, but that was the old dog-and-pony show. Today they just didn't fire.

"I know a place where I could've caught a limit, but I didn't think I could get a big sack there. I went where the 20-pound potential was."

He said he's not sure which boat he'll show up with tomorrow.

"If I've got the little boat, that means I'm going back. If it's the big boat, then I'm scrapping to get points and possibly make a check, but that'll be pretty tough."

Notable

> Day 1 stats – 100 anglers, 41 limits, 14 fours, 9 threes, 18 twos, 16 ones, two zeroes.

> BassFan Big Stick John Murray, whose bag was one fish shy of a limit, is tied with Kevin Short for the final money position. "It was a pretty good day compared to practice," he said. "I picked one creek and milked it for everything I could. I had a couple of nice ones pull off, but everybody's losing fish because they're eating it weird."

> Rick Clunn was the fourth member of the aluminum-boat contingent. He's in 79th with two fish for 3-10.

> Reehm said his smallmouth was the only one he's heard of at Dardanelle this year. "I caught it at about 4:00 and I was tickled to have it. At least I got to walk across the stage."

> The only fish Grant Goldbeck brought to the scale failed to meet the 15-inch minimum length requirement for largemouths. Under BASS rules, such instances result in the loss of that fish plus a 1-pound penalty, so his day-1 weight was a pound on the negative side.

Weather Forecast

Here's the weather forecast for the remaining tournament days. For more weather information, including satellite and radar imagery, visit OutdoorsFanWeather.com.

> Fri., March 27 - P.M. T-Storms - 63°/46°
- Wind: From the NE at 12 mph

> Sat., March 28 - Showers - 50°/33°
- Wind: From the SW at 13 mph

> Sun., March 29 - Sunny - 64°/43°
- Wind: From the W/SW at 8 mph

Day 1 Standings

1. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 5, 19-07 -- 305
Day 1: 5, 19-07

2. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 5, 17-12 -- 295
Day 1: 5, 17-12

3. Alton Jones -- Waco, TX -- 5, 17-05 -- 290
Day 1: 5, 17-05

4. Matt Herren -- Trussville, AL -- 5, 17-01 -- 285
Day 1: 5, 17-01

5. Fred Roumbanis -- Bixby, OK -- 5, 16-12 -- 280
Day 1: 5, 16-12

6. Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 5, 16-11 -- 276
Day 1: 5, 16-11

7. Denny Brauer -- Camdenton, MO -- 5, 16-06 -- 272
Day 1: 5, 16-06

8. Chris Lane -- Lakeland, FL -- 5, 15-14 -- 268
Day 1: 5, 15-14

9. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 5, 15-13 -- 264
Day 1: 5, 15-13

10. Billy Mccaghren -- Mayflower, AR -- 5, 15-11 -- 260
Day 1: 5, 15-11

11. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 5, 15-06 -- 257
Day 1: 5, 15-06

12. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs National Pa -- 5, 15-05 -- 254
Day 1: 5, 15-05

13. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 5, 15-02 -- 251
Day 1: 5, 15-02

14. Bill Lowen -- North Bend, OH -- 5, 15-01 -- 248
Day 1: 5, 15-01

15. Kelly Jordon -- Mineola, TX -- 5, 14-14 -- 245
Day 1: 5, 14-14

15. Gary Klein -- Weatherford, TX -- 5, 14-14 -- 245
Day 1: 5, 14-14

15. Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu City, AZ -- 5, 14-14 -- 245
Day 1: 5, 14-14

18. Shaw E Grigsby -- Gainesville, FL -- 4, 14-13 -- 239
Day 1: 4, 14-13

19. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 5, 14-11 -- 237
Day 1: 5, 14-11

20. James Niggemeyer -- Van, TX -- 5, 14-06 -- 235
Day 1: 5, 14-06

21. Jami Fralick -- Dallas, NC -- 5, 13-08 -- 233
Day 1: 5, 13-08

22. Pete Ponds -- Madison, MS -- 5, 13-06 -- 231
Day 1: 5, 13-06

23. Terry Butcher -- Talala, OK -- 5, 13-05 -- 229
Day 1: 5, 13-05

24. Brian Clark -- Haltom City, TX -- 5, 13-00 -- 227
Day 1: 5, 13-00

24. Charlie Hartley -- Grove City, OH -- 5, 13-00 -- 227
Day 1: 5, 13-00

26. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 5, 12-14 -- 223
Day 1: 5, 12-14

27. Byron Velvick -- Del Rio, TX -- 5, 12-11 -- 221
Day 1: 5, 12-11

27. Kevin Wirth -- Crestwood, KY -- 5, 12-11 -- 221
Day 1: 5, 12-11

29. Davy Hite -- Ninety Six, SC -- 5, 12-01 -- 217
Day 1: 5, 12-01

30. Russ Lane -- Prattville, AL -- 5, 12-00 -- 215
Day 1: 5, 12-00

30. Jim Murray -- Arabi, GA -- 5, 12-00 -- 215
Day 1: 5, 12-00

32. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, CA -- 5, 11-14 -- 211
Day 1: 5, 11-14

33. Boyd Duckett -- Demopolis, AL -- 5, 11-07 -- 209
Day 1: 5, 11-07

33. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 5, 11-07 -- 209
Day 1: 5, 11-07

35. Jeremy Starks -- Charleston, WV -- 5, 11-00 -- 205
Day 1: 5, 11-00

36. Morizo Shimizu -- Osaka JAPAN -- 4, 10-13 -- 203
Day 1: 4, 10-13

37. Britt Myers -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 5, 10-12 -- 201
Day 1: 5, 10-12

37. Marty Stone -- Fayetteville, NC -- 5, 10-12 -- 201
Day 1: 5, 10-12

39. Gerald Swindle -- Warrior, AL -- 5, 10-10 -- 197
Day 1: 5, 10-10

40. Bradley Hallman -- Norman, OK -- 4, 10-10 -- 195
Day 1: 4, 10-10

41. Mark Tyler -- Vian, OK -- 4, 10-08 -- 193
Day 1: 4, 10-08

42. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 5, 10-03 -- 191
Day 1: 5, 10-03

43. Mark Tucker -- Saint Louis, MO -- 3, 10-02 -- 189
Day 1: 3, 10-02

44. Pat Golden -- High Point, NC -- 5, 09-14 -- 187
Day 1: 5, 09-14

45. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, OK -- 4, 09-14 -- 185
Day 1: 4, 09-14

46. Jason Williamson -- Aiken, SC -- 5, 09-12 -- 183
Day 1: 5, 09-12

47. Terry Scroggins -- San Mateo, FL -- 3, 09-12 -- 181
Day 1: 3, 09-12

48. Ish Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 4, 09-10 -- 179
Day 1: 4, 09-10

49. John Murray -- Phoenix, AZ -- 4, 09-06 -- 177
Day 1: 4, 09-06

49. Kevin Short -- Mayflower, AR -- 4, 09-06 -- 177
Day 1: 4, 09-06

51. Dave Wolak -- Wake Forest, NC -- 4, 09-05 -- 173
Day 1: 4, 09-05
52. Paul Elias -- Laurel, MS -- 4, 09-02 -- 171
Day 1: 4, 09-02
53. Greg Vinson -- Wetumpka, AL -- 4, 09-01 -- 169
Day 1: 4, 09-01
54. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 4, 08-15 -- 167
Day 1: 4, 08-15
55. Guy Eaker -- Cherryville, NC -- 3, 08-10 -- 165
Day 1: 3, 08-10
56. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, AR -- 3, 08-07 -- 163
Day 1: 3, 08-07
57. Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, AR -- 4, 08-00 -- 161
Day 1: 4, 08-00
57. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 4, 08-00 -- 161
Day 1: 4, 08-00
59. Jeff Connella -- Bentley, LA -- 3, 07-07 -- 157
Day 1: 3, 07-07
60. Randy Howell -- Springville, AL -- 3, 07-03 -- 155
Day 1: 3, 07-03
61. Todd Auten -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 2, 07-03 -- 153
Day 1: 2, 07-03
62. Bobby Lane -- Lakeland, FL -- 5, 07-00 -- 151
Day 1: 5, 07-00
63. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 3, 07-00 -- 149
Day 1: 3, 07-00
64. Wade Grooms -- Bonneau, SC -- 2, 06-14 -- 147
Day 1: 2, 06-14
65. Chad Griffin -- Cresson, TX -- 3, 06-11 -- 145
Day 1: 3, 06-11
66. Matthew Sphar -- Pavilion, NY -- 2, 06-03 -- 143
Day 1: 2, 06-03
67. Rick Morris -- Virginia Beach, VA -- 2, 06-01 -- 141
Day 1: 2, 06-01
68. Dustin Wilks -- Rocky Mount, NC -- 3, 06-00 -- 139
Day 1: 3, 06-00
69. J Todd Tucker -- Moultrie, GA -- 2, 05-13 -- 137
Day 1: 2, 05-13
70. Scott Campbell -- Springfield, MO -- 2, 05-05 -- 135
Day 1: 2, 05-05
71. Yusuke Miyazaki -- Forney, TX -- 2, 05-03 -- 133
Day 1: 2, 05-03
72. Kevin Langill -- Terrell, NC -- 2, 05-01 -- 131
Day 1: 2, 05-01
73. Jon Bondy -- Windsor CANADA -- 2, 04-06 -- 129
Day 1: 2, 04-06
74. Ken D Cook -- Lawton, OK -- 1, 04-05 -- 127
Day 1: 1, 04-05
75. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, TX -- 2, 04-03 -- 125
Day 1: 2, 04-03
76. Kotaro Kiriyama -- Moody, AL -- 2, 04-02 -- 123
Day 1: 2, 04-02
77. Peter E Thliveros -- St Augustine, FL -- 2, 03-14 -- 121
Day 1: 2, 03-14
78. Luke Gritter -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 2, 03-13 -- 119
Day 1: 2, 03-13
79. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 2, 03-10 -- 117
Day 1: 2, 03-10
80. Kenyon Hill -- Norman, OK -- 2, 03-08 -- 115
Day 1: 2, 03-08
81. Michael Iaconelli -- Runnemede, NJ -- 2, 03-05 -- 113
Day 1: 2, 03-05
82. Jimmy Mize -- Ben Lomond, AR -- 1, 03-05 -- 111
Day 1: 1, 03-05
83. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, AR -- 2, 03-03 -- 109
Day 1: 2, 03-03
84. John Crews -- Salem, VA -- 1, 02-15 -- 107
Day 1: 1, 02-15
85. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 1, 02-13 -- 105
Day 1: 1, 02-13
86. Jason Quinn -- York, SC -- 2, 02-12 -- 103
Day 1: 2, 02-12
87. Zell Rowland -- Montgomery, TX -- 1, 02-12 -- 101
Day 1: 1, 02-12
88. Brent Broderick -- Oregonia, OH -- 1, 02-10 -- 99
Day 1: 1, 02-10
89. Timmy Horton -- Muscle Shoals, AL -- 1, 02-06 -- 97
Day 1: 1, 02-06
89. Marty Robinson -- Lyman, SC -- 1, 02-06 -- 97
Day 1: 1, 02-06
91. Jeff Reynolds -- Idabel, OK -- 1, 02-05 -- 93
Day 1: 1, 02-05
92. Derek Remitz -- Grant, AL -- 1, 02-04 -- 91
Day 1: 1, 02-04
93. Mark Burgess -- Norton, MA -- 1, 01-14 -- 89
Day 1: 1, 01-14
94. Vince Fulks -- Purcell, OK -- 1, 01-12 -- 87
Day 1: 1, 01-12
94. Elton Luce Jr. -- Brookeland, TX -- 1, 01-12 -- 87
Day 1: 1, 01-12
96. Matt Reed -- Madisonville, TX -- 1, 01-10 -- 83
Day 1: 1, 01-10
97. Mike Wurm -- Hot Springs, AR -- 1, 01-09 -- 81
Day 1: 1, 01-09
98. Clark Reehm -- Russellville, AR -- 1, 01-01 -- 79
Day 1: 1, 01-01
99. David Smith -- Del City, OK -- 0, 00-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 00-00
100. Grant Goldbeck -- Gaithersburg, MD -- 0, -1-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, -01-00

Big Fish

Day 1: Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 6-00 -- $1,000