June 13, 2012
By Ned Kehde
On June 10, Brent Chapman of Lake Quivira,Kansas, won the Bassmaster Elite Series tournament at Toledo Bend Lake on the Texas and Louisiana border. This was his second Bassmaster tournament win in 2012. On Feb. 12, Chapman won the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open at Lewisville Lake,Texas.
Now his name sits at the top of the Toyota Tundra B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year race. He is in second place in the BassFan World Rankings.
Before this season, he had won only two Bassmaster events in his 18 years on the tournament trail. The first was the Central Invitational on the Red River at Shreveport/Bossier City,Louisiana, on May 20, 2000. The second one occurred at the Busch Shootout atTable Rock Lake,Missouri, on Sept. 17, 2005.
It is impossible to determine exactly why Chapman has excelled this year.
But we do know that Chapman has been working with Travis Perret of Overland Park, Kansas, since August of 2011.
Perret is a personal trainer and exercise therapist who specializes in chronic-pain therapy. From 2004 to 2008, he was director of The Egoscue Method Clinic of Kansas City. Now he is an Egoscue affliate with a private practice, working in conjunction with Henry Marquardt, who is a chiropractor in Overland Park, Kansas.
Until Chapman's 2012 Bassmaster season commenced in February at Lewisville Lake, Perret worked with Chapman and his wife, Bobbi, for an hour of rigorous exercises two to three times a week
Perret and Chapman focused on a number of exercises aimed at preventing fatigue and pain from confounding Chapman during the extremely demanding hours he has to endure when he is competing in a bass tournament.
Perret said that their six-month aim was to have Chapman at the top of his game mentally and physically when he wields his last cast at every tournament in 2012. According to Perret, a strong body can create a strong mind. Likewise, a strong mind creates a strong body. Perret thought that Chapman would eventually reach what he called the strong-mind, strong-body pinnacle if he kept working as hard as he did from mid-August to mid-February.
Perret also gave Chapman a series of less rigorous exercises to do during the tournament season, which will end on Sept. 8. Perret calls them maintenance exercises. And when Chapman returned to Kansas for a few short spells during this tournament season, he and Perret got together for some more rigorous workouts.
Here's what I know about Perret's methods and how they benefit anglers: I am 72 years old, and he has been working on with me for more than six years, and I am essentially pain-free and stronger than I was when I was 52 years old. A blog was posted on Feb 20 about my relationship with Perret, and it can be seen at http://www.in-fisherman.com/2012/02/20/perret-egoscue-and-me-my-quest-for-pain-free-fishing/ . Besides being virtually pain-free and stronger, I am fishing better than I ever have in the 64 years that I have been fishing.
Perhaps Perret has made Chapman a better angler too.
No matter where an angler lives around the world, Perret can work with them via online therapy. All Perret needs are four digital photographs, and then he will provide each angler with a personalized set of exercises.
If anglers are interested in becoming stronger anglers and preventing chronic pain from foiling their angling endeavors, they can contact Perret at 913-424-9354 or view his Web site at http://www.felixfishing.com/
Brent Chapman executing the kneeling groin stretch exercise under direction of Travis Perret.
