AUSTIN, Texas (April 30, 2021) – Pro Brent Chapman of Lake Quivira, Kansas, caught 21 bass totaling 46 pounds, 2 ounces, to grab the early lead in Qualifying Group A on Day 1 of the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour Stage Two at Lake Travis event. The six-day event features professional anglers competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.
Chapman will bring a 5-pound, 6-ounce, lead into Sunday’s second day of competition for Group A. In second place on the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard is Mark Rose of Wynne, Arkansas, who has eight career victories – including a Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit (then FLW Tour) win on Lake Travis in 2017 – who caught 16 bass weighing 40-12. Texas pro Alton Jones Jr. of Waco sits in third place, 19½ pounds back of Chapman with 16 bass weighing 26-10.
The 40 anglers in Group A will now enjoy a day off Saturday, while the 40 anglers in Group B will begin their first day of competition. Group A resumes competition on Sunday.
Chapman had a huge third period rally Thursday, catching 18 pounds in the final period alone to overtake Rose and never relinquish the lead. He did most of his damage with a vibrating jig, but he also added a few keepers with a squarebill crankbait.
“What a day. If someone had told me I’d be leading after Day 1 of this event, I’d have told them they were crazy,” Chapman said. “It just goes to show you what hard work in practice does. I had an absolute blast on the water today doing what I love to do.”
Chapman caught most of his fish fishing stained water in the back of a creek, an area that he said he found on a prior trip to Lake Travis.
“The last time I was here, I went way up the river and flipped a big worm and a jig and caught fish in the dirtier water,” Chapman said. “I went up there again, but the lake is nearly 12 feet lower than the last time, so I think I’m a little too early for that deal. I got into this little creek that I remembered – it has a little bit of an off-color to it – and caught several fish there during practice.
“The thing that is most intriguing to me about that spot is that I caught a 4 (pounder) and several 2½ (pounders), so it seems like the average fish in this creek is a little better than everywhere else. It just seems like it has all of the perfect ingredients. I’m really looking forward to getting back out here Sunday, it should be a fun one.”
The top 20 pros in Group A after Day 1 on Lake Travis are:
1st: Brent Chapman, Lake Quivira, Kan., 21 bass, 46-2
2nd: Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., 16 bass, 40-12
3rd: Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, nine bass, 26-10
4th: Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., 13 bass, 23-10
5th: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 11 bass, 22-8
6th: Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan, nine bass, 22-0
7th: Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., 13 bass, 21-14
8th: Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 11 bass, 21-11
9th: Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., nine bass, 21-6
10th: John Cox, DeBary, Fla., 10 bass, 20-10
11th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., nine bass, 19-9
12th: Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, seven bass, 15-15
13th: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., eight bass, 15-11
14th: James Watson, Lampe, Mo., seven bass, 15-1
15th: Russ Lane, Prattville, Ala., five bass, 14-6
16th: Tommy Biffle, Wagoner, Okla., four bass, 14-5
17th: Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., eight bass, 13-13
18th: Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., seven bass, 12-1
19th: Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., five bass, 11-15
20th: Brandon Coulter, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 11-7
Overall, there were 244 bass weighing 526 pounds, 14 ounces caught by the 40 pros on Friday, which included one 7-pounder, one 6-pounder and 11 4-pounders caught from Lake Travis.
Russ Lane won Friday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, weighing in a 7-pound, 12-ounce largemouth on a swimbait during Period 1.
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Major League Fishing (MLF) Archive