Photo: FLWOutdoors.com Aaron Martens has given up on trying to find his license.

Martens Going to Court, FLW Changes Rule

Thursday, September 4, 2003

(Editor's note: This article is by BassFan contributor, and Alabama resident, Jonathan Manteuffel.)

It's been over 2 months and Aaron Martens still hasn't been able to prove that he had a valid Alabama fishing license prior to competing in the FLW Tour's Forrest Wood Open tournament on Wheeler Lake.

He's turned his house and boat inside out looking for the missing license, but to no avail. He's quit stressing over it, though. "I haven't thought much about it lately," he said. "I have much bigger things to be concerned about, like my wife having a baby (their first child was born Aug. 30) and the FLW Championship."

Meanwhile, he's been granted a continuance on his date in Morgan County District Court: it was Aug. 8, then continued to Aug. 22 and now is Sept. 15.

For anyone who's forgotten, Martens received a citation on June 21, the final day of the Wheeler event, for fishing without a valid license on his person. He ended up winning the event, and FLW officials determined that no rules were broken and awarded Martens the $200,000 top prize. The ensuing controversy surprised both FLW Tour officials and Martens, who set out to prove that he had purchased an Alabama license prior to the event.

He "worried about it pretty bad at first" because he was concerned about proving his claim that he and his neighbor in Birmingham, Ala. had bought fishing licenses together at the local Wal-Mart. So far no one has found any evidence of that license having been purchased, and Martens has given up. "I'm just going to go to court," he said. "I'll plead my case and let the judge decide. I'm not a poacher. I want to get this off my record." The fine, if upheld, is $100, according to the district court clerk.

Final-Day Scare

Around midway through day 4 at Wheeler, Martens was approached by a state Water Patrol boat. When the officer asked to show his license, Martens couldn't find it anywhere in the boat. "I was thinking 'Oh my God, where is it?'," he said. "I was fishing from a Tour boat in the finals, and I thought maybe I left (my license) in my own boat. I called my wife, and she couldn't find it either."

The officer came back in a couple of hours. "He was persistent," Martens said. "I had about 11 pounds in the livewell when I got checked. I was scared he was going to tell me to put them back in the lake. I know in some states they do (that) and (in) others they let you keep them. But (the officer) didn't say anything about the fish I already had. In fact, he said I could just keep fishing." So Martens continued to fish, eventually culling up about a pound.

Chris Champion, the Alabama Department of Conservation/Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries law enforcement officer who issued the citation, told BassFan: "Mr. Martens was treated the same as anyone else. No officer in the state that I know of confiscates fish just for fishing without a license.

"We police a recreational activity," he noted. "We're one of the few law- enforcement (agencies) that want people to come back next week and do the exact same thing they just got 'arrested' for doing. We don't want to discourage people from enjoying the outdoors."

Champion issued the citation when Martens couldn't produce his license. At that time, Martens said he was sure he'd bought one at Wal-Mart. Champion returned some time later, to see if Martens had located his license (by calling his wife to have her search his personal boat).

On that visit, Champion didn't talk directly with Martens, but talked briefly with the FLW official observer in a nearby boat. "He and Martens must have discussed the incident after I left because (the observer) mentioned that Martens said he might have actually bought the license online at Bass Pro Shops," Champion said. Regardless of what he might have said or thought at that time, Martens insisted he had a license but just couldn't find it.

When he got back to the dock, before the weigh-in, he brought the citation to the attention of FLW Tour officials. Since the issuing officer had elected not to confiscate Martens' catch and allowed him to continue fishing, tournament officials concluded that no rules had been broken. So Martens weighed-in his 12- 06 limit, giving him a two-day total of 25-10 over days 3-4 and the win by 11 ounces over Tim Horton.

It was Martens' first Tour win, but at the time he said he couldn't enjoy it because it was tainted by the only controversy he's ever been caught up in.

Negative Feedback

The reaction to Martens not having a valid license with him has been mostly negative. He said that bothered him because he's always been outspoken when it comes to environmental issues, catch and release, and other efforts to promote and enhance the environment and the fish he loves to pursue. He also knows license fees fund much of those efforts. "Nobody (on the Tour) goes out without a license on purpose," he noted.

Still, fans have pointed fingers – at Martens for suddenly becoming a "bad example" in fishing; at FLW for not disqualifying him; and at the state of Alabama for not confiscating his catch and requiring him to purchase a new license before resuming fishing. A few fans have come to Martens' defense, pointing out that he was the one who told tournament officials about the issue, and before the weigh-in. The difference of opinion is largely just that – opinion, and a matter of interpretation.

"I think FLW does it right," Martens said. "If a guy got disqualified, and then 2 days later found his (valid fishing) license, that'd be horrible. That's wrong, if that happens. I still fished hard, and caught the bass."

Horton's View

Horton, who would have won if Martens had been disqualified, said: "Aaron probably just made an honest mistake. I read the rules, and I couldn't see anything in the FLW rules that says he should be disqualified for not having a license. However, I don't agree with someone winning a tournament without having a valid fishing license."

Horton said he's concerned about the image of professional anglers when public perception is that FLW Outdoors dismissed the citation as a non-issue. "I think Aaron has unfairly taken the brunt of the criticism over this," he said. "FLW should be very aware of how the general public perceives us. The sport is growing, and more people are putting us under the microscope every day.

"I really feel that the tournament organizations and the anglers should keep striving to show a positive image to the fishing public," Horton said. "And the best ways to do that are by strict enforcement of the rules, providing an equal opportunity for each angler to participate and doing so on a level playing field."

Enforcement Styles Differ

It would be hard to find anyone to disagree with that. Tour officials owe it to the competitors and the fans to be consistent in the rules and how the rules are applied, no matter where events are held. But states, and even individual fish and game wardens, don't feel the same obligation to act in concert with their counterparts.

As one example, look at how Alabama and California each would act under the same circumstances. (Martens owns a home in both states, but is a legal resident of California.)

California
An official, who asked not to be identified by name, with the California Department of Fish and Game's Enforcement Division said that if someone were cited for fishing without a license, the warden would most likely confiscate and photograph the fish for evidence (and release if live, or retain and freeze if dead). An individual warden may decide to allow the cited individual a day or two to find his license if he claimed to have one, and if the license was found and shown to the warden, he could choose not to turn in the citation. If the citation was turned in, the person must show up in court. If a valid license is found and shown to the judge on the court date, the judge may or may not choose to dismiss the case. But finding the license is up to the angler: California will not assist in proving a valid license exists – it can't, since no records of buyers are retained. At the time of purchase, a duplicate license (receipt) is issued to the buyer. The state advises keeping it in a safe place in case the original is lost.

Alabama
Capt. Johnny Johnson, the head of Alabama's Law Enforcement District 1 (where Martens was fishing when he received his citation), said that while it is most likely within their power to order fish to be released, they see no purpose in it if the individual seems to be otherwise acting within the law. (Short fish on lakes with minimum length limits and over-the-daily-creel limit fish are ordered to be released.) Further, he believes it would create "a bad taste in the mouth" of the "mom and pop" anglers who simply forgot to buy a license. The state doesn't want to lose that group of "forgetful" participants who will likely not forget again, and doesn't want to create a negative image of their department, he said. "We try to treat these professional fishermen the same as anyone else," he added.

License Terms

Some states have fishing licenses that "turn over" at a prescribed annual date, regardless of when one is purchased. But others, including Alabama, have licenses that are valid for 1 year from the date of purchase.

Several "everyday Joe" Alabama anglers contacted about this commented that under Alabama's system it's not uncommon to let a month or two go by before realizing that their license has expired. On the flip side, everyone – including Martens – knows you have to have a license to fish.

Several tour pros, who asked that their names not be used, told BassFan after the Martens incident that keeping track of which licenses they have and which ones are valid is harder than most fans apparently realize. They also said that the one license they are most likely to forget to buy is the one for their home state.

Searching Alabama's License Archives

Alabama's License Unit archives duplicate copies of licenses sold, and will assist in a records search to validate the purchase if a license is lost. But as can be seen in Martens' case, that process is not without flaws.

The license-issuance process in Alabama is entirely manual. No computer records are kept. But that's about to change for some license vendors, as all of the 40- plus Wal-Mart locations in Alabama are now transitioning to a computer license sales system, similar to what Bass Pro Shops has been using. Until that system is operational, however, any inquiry to the License Unit in Montgomery, Ala. entails a manual search of thousands of paper copies.

The Alabama fishing license is a triplicate copy record. The top copy is the actual license given to the purchaser. The other two copies go to the state. License Unit supervisor Erin Edney said that the normal procedure is for the license vendor to send in the second copy with monthly sales reporting records. The third copy stays in the books issued to the vendor. Those books are to be sent in to the License Unit monthly or when filled. In the case of Wal-Marts, where Martens thinks he bought his most recent Alabama fishing license, generally they turn in a book or two every month since those stores sell so many licenses, Edney said.

The License Unit relies on the stores to send in their books. She said: "We get frequent calls for lost licenses, and we always put the cases where a citation has been issued up front," as in the Martens case. "(Martens' wife Leslie) called and told us which Wal-Mart they thought the license was bought from," said Edney. "We didn't have any records from that location for the entire year. The man responsible for sending in their books had been told, erroneously, by another Wal-Mart employee that they should be sent in yearly (as had been done 3 years ago).

"We corrected that misunderstanding, and requested they send in all the books they had ready immediately," she said. "We received about 8 months of books all at once. We searched those books, but we didn't find (the record of Martens' license purchase)."

When notified of the unfruitful search results, according to Edney, Leslie Martens suggested they search the records of a different Wal-Mart. The License Unit staff obliged, but still found no records of Martens' purchase. "This went on several times, and each time we searched and didn't find it," said Edney.

When asked if they made any special effort in this case, since it involved a high-profile professional angler, Edney said no. "The only priority is that there was a citation involved. So it was put ahead of the calls where someone just lost their license and needed a replacement, but had not been given a ticket."

The Fallout: FLW Makes a Rule Change

Alabama enforcement officials are irritated at the fan uproar, but the recordkeeping in Montgomery probably isn't going to change until computerized systems go on-line. But FLW Outdoors is making a change – a rule change that will take effect at the start of the 2004 season in January.

The new rule, included in Rule 2, states that: "All contestants must have in their possession a valid fishing license." This rule change will apply to all tours run by FLW Outdoors, including EverStarts, BFLs, and the RCL walleye tour.

According to FLW Outdoors communications director Dave Washburn, the rule change was made "after careful deliberation. It wasn't necessarily the result of overwhelming public outcry, but it was the right thing to do so that any future incidents can be resolved quickly and resolutely without having to make judgment calls regarding angler intentions. The rule is now cut and dry."

Although the rule won't be applied to the FLW Championship Sep 10-13, it's a safe bet that every competitor – including Martens – will have a valid Virginia fishing license in their possession at all times.

Notable

> On the FLW rule change, Horton said: "It's a step in the right direction."

> When asked how BASS would have acted if faced with the same situation, tournament director Trip Weldon said: "That's a hypothetical situation that I hope I never have to face. I can only tell you that BASS rules require the participants to obey all state laws. Any appeals have to be filed within 7 days." The official wording of the applicable BASS rule is: "All competitors are bound by the prevailing statutes and regulations of the various states within which they fish."

> In past years, BASS has required all competitors (boaters and non-boaters) to show a valid license at pre-tournament registration. That check wasn't done on the Bassmaster Tour this past season except at the Classic, which was the first BASS event after the Martens-FLW license flap. FLW has never checked licenses.

> Several of the people interviewed for this article expressed frustration that "this whole thing has been blown all out of proportion" to the attention it deserves. "When you have that much money involved, it changes people," said one Alabama official. "Nobody would even care if he'd finished way down in the standings, or maybe even in the Top 10 but didn't win."

> The newest Martens, born Aug. 30th, won't need a fishing license in most states until she is 16.

> With $500,000 on the line at the FLW Championship, Martens has a lot on his plate. He's worried about being too worn out from the arrival of the baby, and is concerned about leaving for a 4-week tournament swing so soon after the birth. "But I'll be there" in Richmond, he said. "I have to at least show up for the $12,200" guaranteed to all participants. "I'll do okay. I'll go for the win."