Nothing is certain in this game, but it would be hard to imagine Brent Chapman falling from his perch atop the Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year standings. He increased the lead over his closest rival from 13 points to 40 points with his second-place bag of 16-12 Thursday.
In addition to finding catchable fish yesterday, Chapman is almost bullet-proof against any unexpected mechanical breakdowns; his prime spot is easy trolling motor-only distance from the Oneida Shores Park check-in site.
It will be interesting to hear Chapman reveal the clues he found at Oneida Lake when he came here over a month ago for three or four days before it went off-limits. That pre-practice is something Chapman almost never does. But with the AOY title at stake, he felt like he needed it. And, apparently, it paid off.
"If I hadn't pre-practiced, I'd be pulling my hair out right now," Chapman said Thursday.
But when he got here this week, he initially thought that was wasted time, after the amount of aquatic vegetation in the lake had "exploded" since his previous visit.
If nothing else, that pre-practice gave Chapman a chance to slow down and closely examine the lake, which he'd fished in Elite Series events several times.
"I know what to do (Friday)," Chapman said. "That's the only reason I came up to pre-practice. I've always felt like I was chasing my tail in tournaments up here. I wanted to really look at this place."
It's paying off again today, as he already has two fish in the boat.