Aaron Martens relied primarily on a dropshot rig to win the California Delta Bassmaster Elite Series. But not many anglers have the supreme confidence in that technique that he does, and there might not be a single one who can match his skill level.
The anglers who finished in the 2nd through 5th positions employed tactics that are more traditional for the tidal maze that spans the gap between the Central Valley and San Francisco Bay. All threw either a lipless crankbait or a Senko, and one utilized both.
2nd: Derek Remitz
> Day 1: 5, 23-05
> Day 2: 5, 27-09
> Day 3: 5, 15-13
> Day 4: 5, 11-11
> Total = 20, 78-06
Alabama rookie Derek Remitz, who won the season opener at Amistad, keyed on the grassy parts of flats in the big community hole known as Franks Tract.
"In practice I stayed too close to the banks and I was just catching the little bucks," he said. "I moved out farther on the first day of the tournament and I started to get the bigger females."
He caught the majority of his fish on a Rat-L-Trap, but enticed an 8 1/2-pounder on day 2 with a Texas-rigged Zoom Trick Worm.
"With the Rat-L-Trap, I'd just get 100 to 200 yards off shore and fan-cast around. There were clumps of coontail and milfoil out there, and a lot of fish were holding on the high spots in those areas."
> Cranking gear: 7' medium-action St. Croix fiberglass cranking rod, Shimano Curado casting reel (5:1 gear ratio), 16-pound Yamamoto Sugoi fluorocarbon line, 1/2-ounce Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap (Rayburn red).
> Worm gear: 7' medium-action St. Croix rod, Shimano Curado casting reel (6:1), same line, 1/16-ounce unnamed sinker, unnamed 4/0 straight-shank worm hook, 6 1/2-inch Zoom Trick Worm (watermelon/purple).
> Main factor in his success – "Just being versatile and adjusting every day."
> Performance edge – "I'd have to say my depthfinder again. Every time I'd find one of those little high spots, I'd catch a fish off it."
After a poor practice, Stephen Browning just went where he knew the fish were and figured out how to catch them.
3rd: Stephen Browning
> Day 1: 5, 20-13
> Day 2: 5, 16-08
> Day 3: 5, 13-15
> Day 4: 5, 24-04
> Total = 20, 75-08
Arkansas' Stephen Browning had a poor practice, so he did what a lot of anglers on the Delta do under that circumstance – he headed for Franks Tract.
"I knew it was a community hole, but that's where I had to fish," he said. "A lot of tournaments go out of there, so a lot of fish are brought in on top of the ones that live there.
"I knew there'd be more there than anywhere else."
He caught his fish around grass with a Senko for the first 3 days, then switched to a lipless crank on windy day 4. That bait produced a day-best 24-04 bag.
> Senko gear: 7'3" medium-heavy St. Croix Legend Tournament Series rod, Abu Garcia Revo reel, 25-pound Vicious Ultimate copolymer line, 6/0 Daiichi worm hook, 6-inch Yamamoto Senko (green-pumpkin).
> Cranking gear: 7' medium-heavy St. Croix Legend Tournament Series rod, same reel, 15-pound Vicious fluorocarbon and 50-pound Stren Super Braid, 5/8-ounce Yo-Zuri Rattl'n Vibe (red crawfish).
> Main factor in his success – "Just getting into an area that had some fish. I was struggling and I had to just go where the fish were and hopefully make them bite."
> Performance edge – "I think the reel had a lot to do with it. Because it was high-speed, I didn't have to work so hard to keep the bait up on the grass."
Skeet Reese struggled through the first 2 days, but found his groove on day 3.
4th: Skeet Reese
> Day 1: 5, 15-07
> Day 2: 5, 14-12
> Day 3: 5, 20-15
> Day 4: 5, 5, 23-04
California's Skeet Reese came in with a barrelful of knowledge about the Delta, but got sidetracked during practice and didn't get straightened out until day 3. He made some serious hay from there on out, though.
"I tried to cover too much water too fast," he said. "Knowing so much about the potential that the water on the Delta has, I tried to cover the whole thing in 3 days and never got on anything.
"On day 3, I finally slowed down and started getting it right."
He caught most of his fish on crankbaits, but he flipped up a few on a Berkley Bungee Power Hawg and also caught one on a watermelon/red worm.
> Cranking gear: 7' medium-action Lamiglas SR705R rod, Abu Garcia Revo reel, 20-pound Spiderwire Ultracast, Lucky Craft SKT Trap and Lucky Craft LV500 (mad craw) lipless cranks.
> Flipping gear: 7'10" Lamiglas Skeet Reese punching rod, same reel, 25-pound prototype Berkley Trilene fluorocarbon, 1/2-ounce Tru-Tungsten weight, 4/0 Reaction Innovations hook, 5-inch Berkley Bungee Power Hawg (watermelon).
> Main factor in his success – "The big key for me was adjusting to the conditions over the last couple of days. I kept looking for fish up shallow, and I did a lot better once I finally moved out."
> Performance edge – "That Revo just keeps amazing me from a performance standpoint. The drag is awesome, and it outcasts any other reel I've ever used."
Brent Chapman flipped up big bags on days 1 and 4.
5th: Brent Chapman
> Day 1: 5, 22-12
> Day 2: 5, 15-13
> Day 3: 5, 14-05
> Day 4: 5, 20-14
> Total = 20, 73-12
Kansas' Brent Chapman topped the 20-pound mark on days 1 and 4, but caught mid-teen bags in between. He spent the entire week flipping either a Senko or a Zoom Brush Hog in the tules.
He was able to avoid the crowds for the most part. His only constant companion in his primary area was 6th-place finisher Kevin VanDam.
He got a big boost from a 9-09 bruiser on the final day.
> Flipping gear: 7'6" heavy-action All Star Platinum 907 flipping stick, Pflueger Summit casting reel, 25-pound Gamma Edge fluorocarbon, 1/8-ounce unnamed weight, 5/0 Eagle Claw hook, 6-inch Yamamoto Senko (watermelon) and Zoom Brush Hog (green-pumpkin).
> Main factor in his success – "Fishing slow and having confidence in what I was doing in the areas I was fishing."
> Performance edge – "Probably my line. It just disappears in the water, and I had a lot of confidence in being able to get those big fish out of that heavy cover."
