Brent Chapman's Pattern, Baits & Gear

Brent Chapman has three top-20 finishes in four trips to the St. Johns after he mounted a weekend rally last week to notch his first top-5 outcome since the Alabama River in 2013. "This one was similar to the others," he said. "I've had three good tournaments here, but the 2014 event left a bad taste in my mouth. My problem then was I underestimated what the weights were going to be and I did it again this time. I thought 12 pounds (per day) would get a check. It was way better than that. People are learning it and the bar has been raised." In 2012, when he finished 4th, Lake Woodruff was a big part of his success. He checked it during a pre-practice trip and immediately wrote it off. "They sprayed it and it was nothing it was the year it was so good," he said. Once practice got started, he said it was hard to gauge what kind of quality he was around. "I don't even set the hook on fish so it's hard to tell how practice went," he said. "You can make a flip here and catch a 13-incher or a 13-pounder." He was boat 80 on day 1 so he didn't have first dibs on any premium sight-fishing locations. Still, he figured out how to salvage the day with 13-05. "That took the wind out of my sails as far as getting on one of those good fish," he said. "I have enough experience here, thought, and I like fishing Florida that I'm type to put my poles down and really fish slow." He targeted the edges of the eelgrass as well as the holes that fish would use as bedding areas. He was one of the few anglers who crossed paths with Clunn and also got on the vibrating jig program. "I had waypoints in another area and had kind of written it off, but after day 2 I knew I had to do something to make something big happen," he said. "Lo and behold I sat down in that area and lost one and caught one. Then an hour or so later, Clunn shows up and so does Cliff Crochet."

Flipping/pitching gear: 7'6" Wright & McGill Brent Chapman Insight Pro Advantage casting rod, Wright & McGill Brent Chapman Insight Pro Advantage casting reel (7:1 ratio), 20-pound Gamma Edge fluorocarbon line, 3/8 Picasso tungsten worm weight, 3/0 Lazer TroKar flipping hook, 4" TightLines UV Whisker Beaver (watermelon red).

Vibrating jig gear: 6'8" Wright & McGill Brent Chapman Insight Pro Advantage crankbait rod, same reel (6.4:1 ratio), 60-pound Gamma Torque braided line, 3/8-oz. Picasso Shock Blade, unnamed swimbait trailer (shad). Chapman also caught a couple keepers on a Texas-rigged TightLines UV Enko stickbait.

Main factor: "My past experience here and slowing down and being thorough."

Performance edge: "My Power-Poles allowed me to be thorough and execute."

St. Johns River 2-5 Patterns BassFan 3/24/16 (Todd Ceisner)

4 Colors

Picasso Shock Blade Large Blade Vibrating Jig

$13.79

5 Colors

Tightlines UV Whisker Beaver 4"

$5.99

Lazer Trokar Flippin Hook

$5.99 - $15.99

Video

6 Options

Picasso Tungsten Worm Weights

$4.97 - $7.89

12 Colors

Clearance

Picasso Shock Blade Vibrating Jig

$6.97 - $12.29

5.0

1 Review

4 Colors

Tightlines UVenko 5" 8pk

$6.99

Video

Gamma Torque High Performance 100% Spectra Braid

$17.99 - $45.99

Gamma Edge Fluorocarbon Line

$20.95 - $289.95

5.0

2 Reviews

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