James Overstreet/BASS

Chapman caught a 6-pound, 5-ounce largemouth and captured the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open title in extra innings after the two anglers tied for the lead on Day Three.

The tournament victory came with a berth in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic on his home water: Grand Lake. The pressure is off for this year’s Elite Series, provided Chapman fishes the remaining two Central Open events.

“This is a big weight off my shoulders,” Chapman said. “First, this tournament is over. The bigger reason is that I made the Classic and finally got another win.”

The clinching bass very nearly never made it into the boat. Chapman was fishing a small creek that had warm water from a discharge running into the back of it. When he arrived Sunday morning, the current had disappeared and the water was in the high 40s, a severe temperature drop. Read Complete Story

LEWISVILLE, Texas – The leader blanked and two challengers ended up in a tie for first place, forcing a fish-off in the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open at Lewisville Lake.

Pro division leader Bradley Hallman failed to catch a keeper today and dropped to third place, while Elite Series pro Brent Chapman weighed in three keepers, and Josh Bertrand brought one fish to the scales. Both finished tied for first with 20 pounds, 9 ounces. They will compete in a fish-off from 7 a.m. to  noon CST tomorrow with the takeoff and weigh-in at the Lewisville Lake Park at 100 E. Lake Park Rd.

Chapman’s best spot is in the back of a creek that he found in practice.

“I knew there would be a lot of boats in there, but I felt like if I could just get in there and put my Power-Poles down and camp on that one spot, I might be able to catch a few,” said Chapman. “I was real fortunate. I got in there and had four quality bites and put three in the boat and was off   to a good start (the first day). I went in there yesterday and spent almost the entire day in there and never had a bite.”