Chapman's opportunity to prevent VanDam from making all sorts of history tomorrow is predicated on time. The more of it he gets in Venice, the better his chances of compiling the type of monstrous sack that'll likely be required to overtake KVD.

"I've never been this close before," he said. "Last year (when he finished 5th in the Classic at Alabama's Lay Lake) fueled the fire – that was a big motivator for me. It really fired me up for this year."

He fished for just 70 minutes today and made three culls in the final 15 minutes. All of his fish inhaled a TightLines UV Beaver.

"I had two 3-pounders and three 2s when I made one more pass down a key little stretch," he said. "I replaced all those 2-pounders with fish over 4, with one of them being a 5.

"I'm flipping Roseau cane, and if it has a patch of hyacinths, that makes it even better. What really hurt me is the tide is so low. If it was up a foot, they'd really get on that Roseau cane."

His trip to Venice was made a bit easier by following Gary Klein for a while, and then Kevin Wirth. Both had boats equipped with radar units, and he was told by a Lowrance representative that the company would do its best to have one on his rig for tomorrow.

"Without them, there were places where I would've had to shut down and idle, and every second counts. Read More