At age 70, Tommy Martin is making a strong bid to fish his 20th Bassmaster Classic. The Texan is the only angler to have caught a limit on both days of the Table Rock Bassmaster Central Open and he leads the event with a 22-05 total with one day to go.
“Today I started out deep and stayed deep all day and had about eight keepers," he said. "I'm fishing anywhere from 20 to 50 feet deep. Yesterday, when the wind was blowing, the fish were 20 to 26 feet and today they were 30 to 50 feet.
“They were on fire this morning. When I got to my spot, I caught four in about 10 minutes, which really gave me a lift. We just had one of those good days today. Here on Table Rock in the fall, if you can catch five keepers a day, you are going to be real high in the standings.”
Meanwhile, Janet Parker's bid to finish among the Top 5 in the final Central points and thus become the first female to qualify for the Elite Series ended with her 100th-place finish. She came in at No. 2 on the list, but currently sits in 20th with the opportunity for only minimal movement based on what occurs tomorrow.
“I fished as hard as I could, tried the best that I could,” she said. “I used everything in my bag of tricks. I’m disappointed in the outcome, but I’m not disappointed in myself because I gave it my best shot.”
Here are the numbers for the 12 anglers who'll fish tomorrow.
1. Tommy Martin -- Hemphill, TX -- 10, 22-05 -- 305
Day 1: 5, 10-06 -- Day 2: 5, 11-15
2. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 9, 21-07 -- 295
Day 1: 5, 12-08 -- Day 2: 4, 08-15
3. James Niggemeyer -- Van, TX -- 8, 20-00 -- 290
Day 1: 5, 14-03 -- Day 2: 3, 05-13
4. Robbie Dodson Jr -- Harrison, AR -- 6, 19-13 -- 290
Day 1: 5, 15-09 -- Day 2: 1, 04-04
5. Kevin Short -- Mayflower, AR -- 7, 18-01 -- 280
Day 1: 3, 07-10 -- Day 2: 4, 10-07
6. Casey Scanlon -- Lenexa, KS -- 8, 16-15 -- 276
Day 1: 5, 10-01 -- Day 2: 3, 06-14
7. Jimmy Johnson -- Ganado, TX -- 8, 16-00 -- 272
Day 1: 4, 07-09 -- Day 2: 4, 08-07
8. Shawn Kowal -- Linne Creek, MO -- 7, 15-06 -- 268
Day 1: 5, 11-06 -- Day 2: 2, 04-00
9. Christopher Lee -- Keithville, LA -- 6, 15-05 -- 264
Day 1: 3, 08-04 -- Day 2: 3, 07-01
10. Ricky Campbell -- Waxahachie, TX -- 6, 15-04 -- 260
Day 1: 2, 04-05 -- Day 2: 4, 10-15
11. Roger Hughes -- Bartlesville, OK -- 7, 15-03 -- 257
Day 1: 4, 08-12 -- Day 2: 3, 06-07
12. Roland Martin -- Naples, FL -- 8, 14-10 -- 254
Day 1: 3, 05-05 -- Day 2: 5, 09-05
