The red-hot rookie finally faltered a bit, and the perennial runner-up at long last tasted victory at BASS' top level.
Native Californian Aaron Martens, who'd finished 2nd six times in Bassmaster Tour events without a victory, caught 15-15 today to win the California Delta Bassmaster Elite Series by more than 7 pounds over Alabama rookie Derek Remitz. Martens, an Alabama resident himself these days, finished with an 85-12 total and became the 18th angler to eclipse $1 million in career BASS earnings.
The 24-year-old Remitz, the day-2 leader who won the season opener at Amistad, managed just 11-11 today and ended up 2nd with 78-06. Arkansas' Stephen Browning busted the day's best bag (24-04) and climbed seven places to finish 3rd
California's Skeet Reese caught a big bag for the second straight day (23-04) and also climbed seven spots to claim 4th. Kansas' Brent Chapman boated a 9-09 hawg that anchored a 20-14 sack, and he completed the Top 5 with 73-12.
Here's how the rest of the Top 12 finished:
6. Kevin VanDam: 72-05
7. Jared Lintner: 69-15
8. Jeff Reynolds: 68-14
9. Chris Lane: 67-12
10. Greg Hackney: 65-15
11. James Niggemeyer: 65-14
12. James Charlesworth: 62-14
Remitz got the clouds and wind he'd hoped for, but he found that his primary spots had been drained of big fish. He'd have needed a little more than 19 pounds to deny Martens a win on a venue that had flustered him many times over the years.
Martens promised the weigh-in crowd that he'd hang around until the last autograph was signed.
Everybody else would have needed a stringer that equaled or surpassed the 30 pounds Martens brought to the scales on day 2. Several caught impressive bags, but they were nowhere near enough.
A Big Day for Martens
Martens had a lot to be happy about – his first Elite Series win, his first win anywhere since the 2005 U.S. Open at Lake Mead, the million-dollar thing and taming a place that had been his nemesis prior to his move back east.
"This is awesome, dude," the 2005 Angler of the Year said. "It's been too long since I had a win and I've been wanting to win one (on the Elite Series). What better place to do it than on the Delta?"
Today's bag was his lightest of the tournament by more than 3 pounds, so it wasn't exactly a stress-free day of fishing.
"I was worried the whole time. Every time I stuck a fish, it was a 2-pounder, 2-pounder, 2-pounder."
He was pretty sure he'd won when he saw Remitz at the weigh-in.
"Derek looked bummed. He said I was only going to need about 9 pounds or something. I know he's truthful, but I still wasn't sure."
His primary pattern was dropshotting worms around tule clumps. He caught more than 20 keepers today, but his biggest was a 4-pounder.
He's proud of the earnings benchmark he surpassed, but that was a secondary achievement.
"That's cool too, but I wanted to win a tournament."
Full details of his winning pattern, as well as those of the other top finishers, will be posted soon.
Stephen Browning's 24-04 bag topped all others on the final day.
3rd: Browning Pumped
Browning was thrilled to catch the biggest final-day bag and leapfrog more than half the field.
"I feel like I won the tournament," he said. "As far back as I was, I was just hoping for a Top 5.
"To go from 10th to 3rd in that group, I feel like I did a wonderful job."
His day didn't start out on such an upbeat note – he didn't get a bite in 2 hours from the spot he'd focused on over the first 3 days.
"That put me in the position of having to make an adjustment, and basically, I just hit the banks and started fishing. The biggest key for me was I fished inside levees instead of on the main canals."
He finished mid-pack the last time the Bassmaster Tour visited the Delta in 2003.
"I like river systems – I grew up fishing the Arkansas River. This doesn't really remind me of that, but anytime you can go out and catch fish of this size in the 3- to 8-foot range, I'm very comfortable."
4th: Reese Adjusted Nicely
Reese drew satisfaction from the fact that he bounced back for a strong finish after struggling over the first 2 days. He cleared the 20-pound mark on days 3 and 4.
"I'm pleased after the way I started out," he said. "I adjusted well the last 2 days and put a couple of solid bags together.
"I just wish I hadn't fished like an idiot the first 2 days."
He fished new water today that he hadn't yet visited in the tournament because it had been muddied by the wind on the final practice day. His biggest fish weighed 6-07.
"Yesterday I started getting it right, and today I fished like a freak."
A 9 1/2-pounder allowed Brent Chapman to hang onto 5th place.
5th: Chapman Stays Put
Brent Chapman finished the day in the same place he started, and that was a significant achievement considering all of the strong bags that were caught. Of course, he couldn't have done it without the 9 1/2-pound bruiser.
"I feel great – I had a really good tournament," he said. "I was just kind of disappointed today that I had the 9 1/2 and a 5, and then three other fish that were barely 2 pounds.
"I had both of those big ones by 10:00."
He also gained a bit of knowledge that should help him when he comes back.
"On the second day, I learned that I should have been flipping tules instead of milfoil when the tide was low. That was a big discovery."
6th: VanDam Not Down
Kevin VanDam of Michigan turned in his worst finish of 2007 – he was 3rd at the Bassmaster Classic and 5th at Amistad. It was his ninth finish of 13th or better in his last 10 events.
"These last two tournaments, I've had good events, but I didn't have a chance to win either one," he said. "They were both pretty much dominated by the leaders, so I don't feel bad.
"I had opportunities to do better here and there, and I had some close calls with some giants today. But it's so hard for me to be consistent here because of the tides and all that.
"What really hurt me was the first 3 days being flat and calm," he added. "I had to fish slowly, and that's not my deal."
He caught weigh-in fish on one of his older Strike King signature series spinnerbaits, a Strike King Red Eye Shad crankbait and a tube.
Notable
> Day 4 stats – 12 anglers, 12 limits.
> Remitz still leads the Angler of the Year race, but VanDam moved up three spots into 2nd. To view the updated points standings, click here.
> Martens' only previous tour-level victory was at the 2003 Wheeler FLW Tour.
> VanDam said he was happy to see Martens win. "It's not that I was glad that Derek didn't win, because I really like him too. But Aaron had had so many close calls, and I think it was starting to get into his head. I know this was a huge relief for him. When I saw him behind the stage, I gave him a high-five, and I could tell what it meant by the look on his face."
> Greg Hackney (10th) junk-fished throughout the tournament and caught weigh-in fish on several different baits. He purposely avoided crowds. "I hardly saw another competitor. I think I saw three in 4 days, and they were just riding by."
> Texas rookie James Niggemeyer dropped from 3rd to 11th with a paltry 9-15 today, but that didn't ruin his mood. He was the last-place finisher at Amistad and had a tough practice here. "Outside of a win, (a Top 12) was the best possible outcome. Amistad was a gut shot and it took some of the wind out of my sails. It's nice to see that I can still go out and fish the way I fish and be successful."
Day 4 (Final) Standings
1. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, Ala. -- 20, 85-12 -- 310 -- $103,000
Day 1: 5, 20-01 -- Day 2: 5, 30-10 -- Day 3: 5, 19-02 -- Day 4: 5, 15-15
2. Derek Remitz -- Hemphill, Texas -- 20, 78-06 -- 300 -- $30,000
Day 1: 5, 23-05 -- Day 2: 5, 27-09 -- Day 3: 5, 15-13 -- Day 4: 5, 11-11
3. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, Ark. -- 20, 75-08 -- 290 -- $25,000
Day 1: 5, 20-13 -- Day 2: 5, 16-08 -- Day 3: 5, 13-15 -- Day 4: 5, 24-04
4. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, Calif. -- 20, 74-06 -- 285 -- $18,000
Day 1: 5, 15-07 -- Day 2: 5, 14-12 -- Day 3: 5, 20-15 -- Day 4: 5, 23-04
5. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, Kan. -- 20, 73-12 -- 280 -- $17,000
Day 1: 5, 22-12 -- Day 2: 5, 15-13 -- Day 3: 5, 14-05 -- Day 4: 5, 20-14
6. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, Mich. -- 20, 72-05 -- 276 -- $15,500
Day 1: 5, 15-12 -- Day 2: 5, 22-04 -- Day 3: 5, 13-14 -- Day 4: 5, 20-07
7. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, Calif. -- 20, 69-15 -- 272 -- $15,000
Day 1: 5, 21-00 -- Day 2: 5, 21-00 -- Day 3: 5, 9-13 -- Day 4: 5, 18-02
8. Jeff Reynolds -- Idabel, Okla. -- 20, 68-14 -- 268 -- $14,500
Day 1: 5, 22-11 -- Day 2: 5, 13-10 -- Day 3: 5, 18-11 -- Day 4: 5, 13-14
9. Chris Lane -- Winter Haven, Fla. -- 20, 67-12 -- 264 -- $15,000
Day 1: 5, 20-04 -- Day 2: 5, 12-01 -- Day 3: 5, 18-10 -- Day 4: 5, 16-13
10. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, La. -- 20, 65-15 -- 260 -- $14,500
Day 1: 5, 18-04 -- Day 2: 5, 11-13 -- Day 3: 5, 22-04 -- Day 4: 5, 13-10
11. James Niggemeyer -- Van, Texas -- 20, 65-14 -- 257 -- $12,500
Day 1: 5, 12-10 -- Day 2: 5, 25-14 -- Day 3: 5, 17-10 -- Day 4: 5, 9-12
12. James Charlesworth -- Saint Cloud, Fla. -- 20, 62-14 -- 254 -- $12,300
Day 1: 5, 16-11 -- Day 2: 5, 21-15 -- Day 3: 5, 13-15 -- Day 4: 5, 10-05
Big Bass
Day 3: Chris Lane -- Winter Haven, Fla. -- 8-13 -- $1,000
Day 2: Aaron Martens -- Leeds, Ala. -- 11-02 -- $1,000
Day 1: Mark Tyler -- Vian, Okla. -- 10-06 -- $1,000
