At 8:20 a.m., Brent Chapman put his belly on the boat deck and reached into the water to tie his boat to the top of a tree. Staying in one spot has paid off for him, as he's added two bass in the last 20 minutes — a small spotted bass and a 2 1/2-pound largemouth. That gives him four fish that should weigh around 10 1/2 pounds.
The last one was caught on a jig. But bass have been breaking the surface near him occasionally, and he'll reel in quickly to fire out a topwater lure.
Chapman said 8:30 a.m. was going to be his cutoff time for this spot, if the fish weren't biting. Obviously, he's finding reasons to stay, now that Mark Zona is no longer haunting him.