Chapman: Heading to Detroit

Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie are both among the best smallmouth fisheries in the world. Who doesn’t love catching a big beautiful smallmouth?

The Bassmaster Elite Series event at Chesapeake Bay is now behind us. Fishing was tough, but I was able to scrape together enough to finish in 11th place. To have a quality finish with so much at stake is very rewarding. My back was really against the wall in terms of qualifying for the GEICO Bassmaster Classic, but with this event I’ve moved up to 43rd in the standings. With another solid event next week in Detroit I should qualify for the Bassmaster Toyota Angler of the Year (AOY) championship and be in good position to make the 2016 Classic in Tulsa.

Heading to Detroit really brings up a topic that means a lot to me. Detroit, while not economically as strong as it once was, is best known for the automobile industry and American engineering, creativity and hard work. The automobile industry import/export lines have blurred over the past decade or two, but you can’t visit Detroit and not reflect on the hard work that really led American industry.

For decades, until recently, my family has engineered and produced products at our machine shop. It’s nice to see others in North America engineer, develop and test their products in house as well.

On my way into Detroit, I will be stopping by Cequent Performance Products’ headquarters, another quality American company that produces many products us bass fisherman use on a daily basis. They engineer and produce a number of products, including hitch balls, boat jacks, boat winches and straps, just to name a few. Some of Cequent’s brands include Reese, Draw-Tite, Tekonsha, Fulton, Aqua-Clear and many more.

Every time I have a chance to visit with the people of Cequent Performance Products, I am able to see their new designs and products, and with as much towing we do, I always find some cool new stuff that makes our life on the road a little easier. 

Back to fishing, I am really looking forward to getting back on the water in Detroit. Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie are both among the best smallmouth fisheries in the world. Who doesn’t love catching a big beautiful smallmouth? It can be a little nerve racking fighting a big smallmouth who likes to go airborne four or five times before being landed, but it sure is fun. 

I’ll need a solid finish to make the AOY championship on Sturgeon Bay in a few weeks. That’s the goal, but I wouldn’t mind finding myself in position on Sunday to make a run for a win. We’ll see how it goes.

Speaking of winning, I’d like to say congratulations to my good friend Aaron Martens. He’s fishing at the top of his game right now, and it’s impressive to watch. Aaron’s season is once again proof of how momentum plays a huge role in our sport. When you get on a roll it almost feels easy, and when you are struggling it seems like you really have to work for every bite.