Martens Will Take 3-Pound Advantage Into Final Day

Aaron Martens' bag on day 3 of the California Delta Bassmaster Elite Series wasn't nearly as impressive as the one he caught the day before. Still, his 19-02 stringer moved him up the leaderboard for the second straight day – this time to the top.

If he can stay there through 1 more day of fishing, he'll exorcise a lot of the demons from a place that's given him a great deal of heartache ever since he was a young Golden State ace. It'll also end a tour-level win drought that's nearly 4 years old.

His 69-13 total has him a little more than 3 pounds up on rookie Derek Remitz, a fellow Alabamian who's vying for his second straight victory to start the season. Remitz weighed just 15-13 today, which was more than 7 pounds lighter than either of his previous two bags.

Everybody else is at least 10 pounds back and will need either a monster sack or major slip-ups by both Martens and Remitz to have a shot at holding up the oversized stage check.

Rookie James Niggemeyer of Texas caught 17-10 today and is a distant 3rd with 56-02. Oklahoma's Jeff Reynolds is 4th with 55-00 (18-11 today) and Brent Chapman is 5th with 52-14 (14-05 today).

Here's a list of the Top 12 who'll fish tomorrow (red numbers indicate deficit margin):

1. Aaron Martens: 69-13
2. Derek Remitz: 66-11 (3-02)
3. James Niggemeyer: 56-02 (13-11)
4. Jeff Reynolds: 55-00 (14-13)
5. Brent Chapman: 52-14 (16-15)
6. James Charlesworth: 52-09 (17-04)
7. Greg Hackney: 52-05 (17-08)
8. Kevin VanDam: 51-14 (17-15)
9. Jared Lintner: 51-13 (18-00)
10. Stephen Browning: 51-04 (18-09)
11. Skeet Reese: 51-02 (18-11)
12. Chris Lane: 50-15 (18-14)

It was another fine spring day in the Central Valley as the air temperature reached the mid-70s and the wind didn't blow hard enough to cause any problems. The biggest issue that confronted the Elite anglers was a large-field local tournament.

Some of the local-tourney entrants had followed the Elite competitors over the past 2 days, and today they moved in on some of the pros' best water. The good news – for cut survivors, anyway – is that it was a 1-day event.

Martens, who vaulted from 10th to 2nd on day 2 with the tournament's only 30-pound bag thus far, caught about half the number of keepers (15) that he'd averaged on days 1 and 2. He's confident he can catch another good stringer tomorrow, but will strive for a great one due to the penchant for heroics Remitz has exhibited over his first 7 tournament days as a pro.

Remitz might finally get the overcast sky he's been hoping for tomorrow, along with the strongest breeze of the tournament. The forecast is for mostly cloudy conditions and a west/southwest wind to 10 mph.

Greg Hackney made the biggest move today, climbing from 31st to 7th with a day-best 22-04 bag. Skeet Reese (30th to 11th, 20-15) and Chris Lane (21st to 12th, 18-10) also moved into the Top 12.

Those who fell out were day-1 leader Mark Tyler (4th to 13th, 9-13), Rick Morris (5th to 20th, 7-15) and Tommy Biffle (11th to 19th, 10-15).

It might look like a two-man race, but others could wipe out their deficit with a couple of double-digit fish. Plenty of those live on the Delta, although they've kept a low profile to this point.

Also, the tide won't begin to recede until early afternoon tomorrow, leaving only about an hour of optimal fishing levels before weigh-in.

The winner will be determined by highest combined weight over 4 days.

Martens Has Work Left

Martens' 3-pound advantage is a scant margin on the Delta, and he thinks he'll need another big sack to nail down the win.

"It's going to be a battle," he said. "I can't be overconfident – I have to go out and catch all I can. If I make the right moves at the right time, I might catch some big ones."

He had an 11-pounder and a 9 1/2 in his day-2 haul. His biggest today was a 6-01, but he had a bigger bite early this morning.

"It was probably an 8-pounder, and I farmed it. It just ran laterally through the weeds and came off. I don't think I did anything wrong – the hook wasn't straightened or anything like that.

"I missed some other bites too, but I don't know how big they were."

He plans to hit several spots tomorrow that he didn't visit today.

"I'm going to move around and keep changing all the time. I'll fish for big bites, but I also have to catch a limit in the process.

"I won't be semi-comfortable until I have about 30 (pounds)."

2nd: Remitz Thinking Big

The 30-pound mark is on Remitz's mind as well.

"Aaron's probably going to whack them, so I'm thinking I'll need that," he said. "We're supposed to get some clouds and wind tomorrow, and I'm really hoping that happens.

"I'm not banking on it, but I'm hoping (the forecasters) are right."

He caught only seven keepers today as he elbowed his way amongst the anglers in the local tournament. His biggest weighed about 4 pounds.

"It was a little busy out there today. It wasn't bad in my first area, but a few of the others were loaded up. There was a lot of pressure, and there were a lot of other boats just tooling around too."

He stayed with his grassy-flats pattern, and he's confident it has the potential to produce the type of sack he thinks he'll need.

"They're there, it's just a matter of getting them to bite. I might try finessing them a little more."

He won't have the pressure of being the leader tomorrow, and he's oblivious to that concept, anyway.

"I really don't think about pressure or stress. Once I get out there, I just focus on fishing."

3rd: Niggemeyer Stoked

Niggemeyer's first Top 12 was a thrill in the wake of his last-place finish in the season opener at Amistad.

"I learned some valuable lessons there, and sometimes the hardest ones to learn are the ones you have to learn again," he said. "It rocked my world, but a friend here in California (his native state) told me I should think about it for 2 or 3 days, then just put it behind me and go.

"Basically what happened there was my friends were all catching huge fish (in practice ) and I wasn't. I got caught up in the dock talk and it hammered me."

He's flipped and pitched throughout this event, and he thinks another 25-pound bag like the one he caught on day 2 is possible tomorrow.

"I'm going to go for it. The way I see it, the worst I can do is 12th place, and you don't get that many opportunities to be within striking distance at this level.

"The two guys at the top are steady Eddies, but I'll go out and do the best I can and see what happens."

5th: Chapman Salvages Something

At the start of the day, Chapman would have been very disheartened to find out that he'd only catch a 14-05 bag. But with the way the day transpired, that wasn't too bad.

"I was really disappointed," he said. "But considering I only had three little fish with about an hour to go, I was happy with the way it turned out.

"I thought I could go out and catch 18 pounds or so fairly easily. I've learned that the tide is a lot more important that what I'd thought."

He'll stick to his flipping pattern tomorrow.

"I'm not going to change a whole lot as far as what I'm doing. I was fishing the same area VanDam was and that place has pretty much dried up, so I'm just going fishing.

"I found one place in practice I haven't been to yet, so I'll go try that and see what happens."

6th: Charlesworth Content

Florida rookie James Charlesworth will be pleased if he can hang onto his current position.

"If I could finish in 6th place, I'd be ecstatic," he said. "The rookies are making a big statement here.

"Niggemeyer and myself didn't do well at Amistad, and it's great to bounce back and show that we not only belonged in the Classic, be we belong out here as well."

Today's bag was his smallest of the tournament, and he said traffic was a hindrance.

"I was in among not only (local) tournament fishermen, but jetskiers, pleasure boaters, giant yachts and everything else. It really did hurt me as far as big fish – it just killed that bite."

He caught about 30 keepers, but none bigger than 3 pounds.

"I've got a 9-pounder on a bed located, but I couldn't catch her today because of the tides. Tomorrow the tide's going to be worse, but I'll go and see if I can find her."

27th: Jones Tumbles

Texan Alton Jones got crowded out of his best spot in Franks Tract and dropped from 13th place to finish 27th with a 9-pound limit.

"That local tournament had about 100 boats, and I think half of them decided to fish the two stretches of bank I'd been fishing," he said. "They were courteous and everything, but it was so crowded that I lost confidence in the area.

"I punted and went and fished some areas that'd been overlooked, and now I know why they were overlooked. I thought I'd fish a lot faster than I had been and find an area that was hot, and then slow down. I just never found a place where I wanted to spend much time."

Now it's off to Clear Lake, where he won in 2003.

"I'm really trying to not think about that because the fishing is going to be completely different. The weather is supposed to be really bad next week and I'm not gearing up for sight-fishing, and that's what fishing memories would involve.

"I think come Thursday, the fish will be pretty difficult to see because of the weather. It'll be like going to a lake I've never been to."

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 50 anglers, 48 limits, 1 four, 1 three.

> Martens' wife Lesley gave birth to a son (the couple's second child) on Tuesday. He won't get to see the baby until after next week's event at Clear Lake.

> Niggemeyer's biggest fish in practice was a 3 1/2-pounder. "I was shocked to make the cut," he said. "I went to a spot (on day 2) where I'd seen a big one, and I caught my biggest fish of the tournament. That changed my whole outlook."

> Day-1 leader Tyler's weights dropped by about 7 pounds a day – from 23-15 to 16-09 to 9-13. He missed the cut by 10 ounces.

Weather Forecast

Here's the Weather Channel's forecast for the final tournament day:

> Sun, March 25 – Mostly Cloudy – 71°/49°
- Wind: From the W/SW at 10 mph

Day 3 Standings

1. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, Ala. -- 15, 69-13 -- 305
Day 1: 5, 20-01 -- Day 2: 5, 30-10 -- Day 3: 5, 19-02

2. Derek Remitz -- Madison, Ala. -- 15, 66-11 -- 300
Day 1: 5, 23-05 -- Day 2: 5, 27-09 -- Day 3: 5, 15-13

3. James Niggemeyer -- Van, Texas -- 15, 56-02 -- 290
Day 1: 5, 12-10 -- Day 2: 5, 25-14 -- Day 3: 5, 17-10

4. Jeff Reynolds -- Idabel, Okla. -- 15, 55-00 -- 285
Day 1: 5, 22-11 -- Day 2: 5, 13-10 -- Day 3: 5, 18-11

5. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, Kan. -- 15, 52-14 -- 280
Day 1: 5, 22-12 -- Day 2: 5, 15-13 -- Day 3: 5, 14-05

6. James Charlesworth -- Saint Cloud, Fla. -- 15, 52-09 -- 276
Day 1: 5, 16-11 -- Day 2: 5, 21-15 -- Day 3: 5, 13-15

7. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, La. -- 15, 52-05 -- 272
Day 1: 5, 18-04 -- Day 2: 5, 11-13 -- Day 3: 5, 22-04

8. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, Mich. -- 15, 51-14 -- 268
Day 1: 5, 15-12 -- Day 2: 5, 22-04 -- Day 3: 5, 13-14

9. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, Calif. -- 15, 51-13 -- 264
Day 1: 5, 21-00 -- Day 2: 5, 21-00 -- Day 3: 5, 9-13

10. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, Ark. -- 15, 51-04 -- 260
Day 1: 5, 20-13 -- Day 2: 5, 16-08 -- Day 3: 5, 13-15

11. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, Calif. -- 15, 51-02 -- 257
Day 1: 5, 15-07 -- Day 2: 5, 14-12 -- Day 3: 5, 20-15

12. Chris Lane -- Winter Haven, Fla. -- 15, 50-15 -- 254
Day 1: 5, 20-04 -- Day 2: 5, 12-01 -- Day 3: 5, 18-10

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not be fishing tomorrow.

13. Mark Tyler -- Vian, Okla. -- 15, 50-05 -- 254 -- $12,750
Day 1: 5, 23-15 -- Day 2: 5, 16-09 -- Day 3: 5, 9-13
13. Morizo Shimizu -- Murrieta, Calif. -- 15, 50-05 -- 250 -- $10,750
Day 1: 5, 12-11 -- Day 2: 5, 22-00 -- Day 3: 5, 15-10
15. Marty Robinson -- Landrum, S.C. -- 15, 49-14 -- 245 -- $10,600
Day 1: 5, 19-01 -- Day 2: 5, 16-06 -- Day 3: 5, 14-07
16. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, Ark. -- 15, 49-02 -- 243 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 11-10 -- Day 2: 5, 21-07 -- Day 3: 5, 16-01
17. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, Okla. -- 15, 48-06 -- 241 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 19-00 -- Day 2: 5, 10-15 -- Day 3: 5, 18-07
18. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, Fla. -- 15, 48-05 -- 239 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 22-10 -- Day 2: 5, 12-07 -- Day 3: 5, 13-04
19. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, Okla. -- 15, 47-11 -- 237 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 17-05 -- Day 2: 5, 19-07 -- Day 3: 5, 10-15
20. Rick Morris -- Virginia Beach, Va. -- 15, 47-07 -- 235 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 20-07 -- Day 2: 5, 19-01 -- Day 3: 5, 7-15
21. Fred Roumbanis -- Auburn, Calif. -- 15, 47-06 -- 233 -- $10,250
Day 1: 5, 14-06 -- Day 2: 5, 20-03 -- Day 3: 5, 12-13
22. Bill Lowen -- North Bend, Ohio -- 15, 47-02 -- 231 -- $10,250
Day 1: 5, 19-11 -- Day 2: 5, 9-03 -- Day 3: 5, 18-04
23. Denny Brauer -- Camdenton, Mo. -- 15, 46-13 -- 229 -- $10,250
Day 1: 5, 11-02 -- Day 2: 5, 17-07 -- Day 3: 5, 18-04
24. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, S.C. -- 15, 46-00 -- 227 -- $10,250
Day 1: 5, 14-01 -- Day 2: 5, 16-12 -- Day 3: 5, 15-03
25. Kenyon Hill -- Norman, Okla. -- 15, 45-11 -- 225 -- $10,250
Day 1: 5, 13-11 -- Day 2: 5, 15-09 -- Day 3: 5, 16-07
26. John Crews -- Salem, Va. -- 15, 45-05 -- 223 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-05 -- Day 2: 5, 15-02 -- Day 3: 5, 13-14
27. Ben Matsubu -- Hemphill, Texas -- 15, 45-01 -- 220 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-00 -- Day 2: 5, 25-04 -- Day 3: 5, 9-13
27. Alton Jones -- Waco, Texas -- 15, 45-01 -- 220 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-01 -- Day 2: 5, 22-00 -- Day 3: 5, 9-00
29. Bradley Hallman -- Norman, Okla. -- 15, 43-15 -- 217 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-15 -- Day 2: 5, 16-09 -- Day 3: 5, 12-07
30. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, Texas -- 15, 43-11 -- 215 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-02 -- Day 2: 5, 16-10 -- Day 3: 5, 12-15
31. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, Ark. -- 15, 43-06 -- 213 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-00 -- Day 2: 5, 12-07 -- Day 3: 5, 13-15
32. Matt Amedeo -- Clinton, Ohio -- 15, 43-04 -- 211 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-04 -- Day 2: 5, 12-11 -- Day 3: 5, 14-05
33. Dave Wolak -- Wake Forest, N.C. -- 15, 43-01 -- 209 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-08 -- Day 2: 5, 18-01 -- Day 3: 5, 13-08
34. Yusuke Miyazaki -- Mineola, Texas -- 15, 42-11 -- 207 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-13 -- Day 2: 5, 16-01 -- Day 3: 5, 12-13
35. Mark Tucker -- Saint Louis, Mo. -- 15, 42-10 -- 205 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-03 -- Day 2: 5, 14-08 -- Day 3: 5, 13-15
36. Bryan Hudgins -- Orange Park, Fla. -- 15, 41-04 -- 203 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-01 -- Day 2: 5, 14-01 -- Day 3: 5, 9-02
37. Zell Rowland -- Montgomery, Texas -- 15, 41-00 -- 201 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-12 -- Day 2: 5, 11-04 -- Day 3: 5, 11-00
38. Glenn Delong -- Bellville, Ohio -- 15, 40-12 -- 199 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 19-12 -- Day 2: 5, 11-15 -- Day 3: 5, 9-01
39. Lee Bailey -- Boaz, Ala. -- 15, 40-11 -- 197 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-15 -- Day 2: 5, 13-01 -- Day 3: 5, 10-11
40. Russ Lane -- Prattville, Ala. -- 15, 40-10 -- 194 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-13 -- Day 2: 5, 14-13 -- Day 3: 5, 9-00
40. Greg Gutierrez -- Red Bluff, Calif. -- 15, 40-10 -- 194 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-04 -- Day 2: 5, 16-05 -- Day 3: 5, 11-01
42. Mike Wurm -- Hot Springs, Ark. -- 15, 40-09 -- 191 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-10 -- Day 2: 5, 13-08 -- Day 3: 5, 9-07
43. Kevin Short -- Mayflower, Ark. -- 15, 40-04 -- 189 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-10 -- Day 2: 5, 17-03 -- Day 3: 5, 11-07
44. Kevin Wirth -- Crestwood, Ky. -- 15, 39-10 -- 186 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 19-00 -- Day 2: 5, 14-04 -- Day 3: 5, 6-06
44. Matthew Sphar -- Pavilion, N.Y. -- 15, 39-10 -- 186 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-10 -- Day 2: 5, 13-11 -- Day 3: 5, 10-05
46. Preston Clark -- Palatka, Fla. -- 15, 39-02 -- 183 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-00 -- Day 2: 5, 13-04 -- Day 3: 5, 9-14
47. James Kennedy -- Lacombe, La. -- 15, 37-13 -- 181 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-08 -- Day 2: 5, 11-00 -- Day 3: 5, 9-05
48. Jeremy Starks -- Charleston, W.Va. -- 15, 37-10 -- 179 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-06 -- Day 2: 5, 12-13 -- Day 3: 5, 9-07
49. Cliff Pace -- Petal, Miss. -- 14, 34-05 -- 177 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-01 -- Day 2: 5, 15-05 -- Day 3: 4, 4-15
50. Jeff Connella -- Bentley, La. -- 12, 33-03 -- 175 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-13 -- Day 2: 4, 12-01 -- Day 3: 3, 4-05

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