By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor
Brent Chapman was up before the roosters on Tuesday morning, but his early rise wasn't so he could beat the crowds to the launch ramp. It's November in Kansas and that means it's prime deer hunting season.
For Chapman, though, the hour ride to and from his family's farm and subsequent hours in a tree stand offer up ample time to reflect back on what can be classified as a sub-par Elite Series season for the 42-year-old former Angler of the Year.
"It's a one-week-a-year kind of thing for me," he said.
He cashed checks in just three of eight Elite Series tournaments, went 0-for-3 in the Central Opens in terms of money finishes and won't be part of the Bassmaster Classic field come February for the first time since 2007. It's no surprise that Chapman is anxious to put 2014 in his rear view mirror.
"I'm definitely looking forward to putting it behind me," he said. "I really enjoy this off time and it couldn't have come soon enough this year. I'm glad the season is over and I get to spend my time in the woods, which gives me time to reflect and get my head back on straight. Come December, I'll start to focus hard and get dialed in on 2015. With me not fishing the Classic, I'll have extra time to get ready."
After watching Greg Hackney use a down 2013 campaign and missed Classic as fuel for his AOY charge this season, Chapman sees no reason why he can't follow the same script next year. He's done it before.
"I look back and know what came out of 2011," he said. "I made the Classic, but it was still a frustrating year. I turned that into an AOY the following year. It was the same with Hack this year so that's who I'll look at it. Hopefully, it'll be a motivator and come March I'll be raring to fish."
'Weird Year'
Chapman came out of the season-opening Southern swing to Lake Seminole and the St. Johns River with mid-50s finishes and with a feeling that if he made those his worst showings of the season, he could keep his Classic qualification streak intact.
"Seminole was hit and miss and I came up short," he said. "I had a good first day at the St. Johns and thought I had a money spot secured, but the weights went up on the second day and that hurt me. That was a bummer.
"I still had a good start with decent points. I just needed to get back into getting some checks and I'd be there. I did that at Toledo Bend and Table Rock and I felt like my momentum was back."
After posting finishes in the 20s at Toledo Bend, where he won in 2012, and at Table Rock, he had climbed up to 27th in AOY points at the halfway point of the season, well within striking distance of a Classic berth.
The next two points events – Lake Dardanelle and the Delaware River – are where his season came unraveled. He sandwiched a 96th at Dardanelle and 89th at the Delaware around a 78th at BASSFest at Lake Chickamauga.
"Dardanelle was the typical curse of having a good practice and putting all of my eggs in one basket," he said. "Sometimes, the worst thing is having a great practice, unfortunately. The water was up and then they sucked it out. The only thing I can attribute it to was it got cold and the fish that were in the vegetation I was fishing got out of it. I was fishing shallow flats and I think the guys that did well were fishing shallow but were near deeper water.
"I got so dialed in during practice and I got stubborn and it hurt me. Rubbing salt in the wound was seeing how guys caught them – swimming a jig and throwing a square-bill, which is what I love to do."
He said making a scouting trip to the Delaware probably backfired on him as he wound up trying to hit too many spots once he came back for official practice and the tournament.
"I knew it would be tough and that's usually my type of deal," he said. "I'm still scratching my head on it a bit. I think I tried to fish too much there. A lot of guys got flack for not pre-practicing, but I think it hurt me. I tried to fish too much instead of hunkering down and fishing one or two places."
Last-Ditch Effort
Chapman came to the season finale at Cayuga Lake with an outside shot at getting inside the Top 50 in points and earning a berth in the year-end AOY Championship. He notched a 7th-place finish in the heart of the Finger Lakes, but still fell short of the AOY event by 7 points.
"That was the only exciting part of whole year," he said. "It was kind of heartbreaking to barely miss it. Going up there, I thought if I had a Top 10 I'd squeak into that Top 50. That hurt a little bit.
"The other thing was I've done pretty well in the Opens in the past and those hurt just as bad this year."
Ready For Fresh Start
Chapman said he supports the changes B.A.S.S. has put in place for next season, such as the qualification criteria, the elimination of the automatic Classic berth for Elite Series winners and the move to make BASSFest a points event.
"The win-and-you're-in deal has helped me out in the past, but part of me wishes it wasn't in the Opens still," he said. "I wish it was still Top 3 in each division, but that's why I'm going to fish them.
"I'm excited to go west. I love going out there. The (California) Delta has always been a good place and I'll be looking for some redemption out there. I've also heard great things about Havasu. I'm excited that we're going back up to Waddington (N.Y.). That was just a blast."
As far as the criteria that was settled on for continued Elite Series qualification, Chapman said it was something that had to be done even though he knows it's going to leave some competitors on the outside looking in.
"I hate it for the guys who aren't going to be out there next year, but it is a performance-based sport we're in," he said. "Now we know going forward what the expectations are.
"I hate to see it hurt anybody because some of the people who won't be out there, I consider them my friends and I respect them, but of the ones I've talked to they said they knew they didn't perform and it's re-motivated them."
Chapman said he likely won't cast a bait for bass until the calendar turns to 2015, which is when he'll be ready to get back after it.
"If I do anything over the next 2 months, it'll be crappie fishing," he said. "By not fishing, come January the shows start up and you start talking fishing and it'll pump me up and light that fire again. That's what works for me. Some guys fish all year long, but I just can't do it. That burns me out."
Notable
> Next week, Chapman is heading to Arizona to go an elk hunt with fellow Elite Series angler Clifford Pirch, who operates a guide service there. "For years, it's been a bucket-list thing for me, but I've always been hesitant to book a trip with a guide because you never know what you'll get out of it. Knowing Clifford, if he works half as hard as a hunting guide as he does at fishing, I think we'll have a great time."
