The California Delta used to frustrate the heck out of Aaron Martens. But that was before he moved to Alabama a few years ago to live in what's widely regarded as the center of the bass-fishing universe.
From the experience he's gained back east, the California native has more knowledge about how to attack a shallow-water venue like the Delta. And he's retained his ability to fish a dropshot rig – he might be the best in the world at that technique.
A combination of those concepts propelled him to victory at the recent California Delta Bassmaster Elite Series. The win was his first at BASS' top level, and the bonus money he earned from catching both the heaviest bag and largest fish of the tournament pushed the 2005 Angler of the Year past the $1 million mark in career BASS earnings.
His 85-12 total over 4 days was more than 7 pounds better than runner-up Derek Remitz, the Alabama rookie who's finished 1st and 2nd in his two Elite Series events to date. It was his first win of any sort since the 2005 U.S. Open at Lake Mead.
Here's how he did it.
Practice and Competition
> Day 1: 5, 20-01
> Day 2: 5, 30-10
> Day 3: 5, 19-02
> Day 4: 5, 15-15
> Total = 20, 85-12
Martens spent most of his practice time looking for big bed-fish. He located some, but the boat-draw forced him to change his plans.
"I found eight to 10 big ones, including four really big ones (10 to 12 pounds)," he said. "But I never went to them – too many guys knew about them and I was last out on the first day, so I said forget it.
"After that, I basically just went fishing."
He switched his focus to dropshotting (and occasionally flipping) tule clumps and milfoil – a pattern that wasn't heavily influenced by the Delta's big tidal fluctuations. He went to the ever-popular Franks Tract to begin day 1, but the water he'd planned to fish was out of shape due to strong winds on the final practice day.
"I couldn't see an inch down. It was milky-white, so I just went and fished near the ramp."
He quickly discovered that a tackle adjustment was in order. He started out with 12- and 14-pound line, but didn't get many bites. His co-angler, who was fishing 8-pound, was getting as many bites as he was from the back of the boat.
Martens caught most of his fish around tule clumps and milfoil.
He dropped down to 10-pound and immediately got more action. And the bites just kept coming – to the tune of 25 to 30 keepers a day.
His 20-01 bag put him in 10th place after day 1. He moved up eight spots the next day with a tournament-best 30-10 sack that included an 11-02 giant backed up by a 9 1/2-pounder.
He caught the bigger of those on a dropshotted Roboworm near Mildred Island in the far southern portion of the waterway. The other was his lone sight-fish of the tournament and came from an area known as the South Delta, which is actually a little bit north of Mildred.
He ran pretty much the same route on day 3 and caught a 19-02 sack to take the lead from Remitz, who began the day with a 3-ounce advantage but came in with a mediocre 15-13 stringer. He then spent most of day 4 in the southern part of Franks Tract at a rock levee known as "The Wall."
His 15-15 final-day bag was plenty, as Remitz slipped again to 11-11. Nobody else was within reasonable striking distance.
Winning Gear Notes
> Dropshot gear: 6'10" medium-light Megabass Aaron Martens signature series rod, Daiwa Steez 2500 spinning reel, 8- and 10-pound Sun Line Sniper fluorocarbon line, 1/16- and 1/8-ounce unnamed dropshot weights, 2/0 and 3/0 Gamakatsu ReBarb worm-bend hooks, 6" Roboworm Fat Straight Tail worm (Aaron's magic/red-flake and purple/red-flake).
> Weightless worm gear: Same rod, reel and line, 1/0 and 1 Gamakatsu shiner hooks, wacky-rigged 6 1/2" Yamamoto 7X Kut-Tail worm (junebug).
> Flipping gear: 7'2" medium-heavy Megabass Aaron Martens signature series pitching stick, Daiwa Steez casting reel, 22-pound Sun Line monofilament, 1/4-ounce unnamed weight, 4/0 Gamakatsu Superline worm-bend hook, 3 1/2" Roboworm Zipper Grub (Aaron's magic and MM3).
> Sight-fishing gear: 7'7" Megabass Randy Blaukat signature series flipping stick, Daiwa Zillion casting reel, 50-pound Spiderwire Ultracast line, 1/4-ounce Tru-Tungsten weight, NetBait Paca Toad (green-pumpkin).
The Bottom Line
Main factor in his success – "Patience. I had to fish painfully slow – so slow that it hurt even me. I like to fish fast, but I can do this if I have to."
Performance edge – "The spinning rod. I got bit with it, and it was easy to just drag the bait very slowly."
Much of the tackle referenced above is available at the BassFan Store. To browse the selection, and the great prices, click here..
