Martens Ran New Water, Leads By 7-07

Post-frontal conditions settled over Zapata, Texas and Lake Falcon today. The cloudy skies and stiff winds were replaced with high pressure, lots of sun and slick-calm conditions.

Usually when a front blows through during the middle of a bass tournament you can bet the weights will plummet the following day, but not at Falcon. The bass patrolling the depths of this 83,654-acre impoundment on the Texas-Mexico border don't seem to play by the normal rules. But then again, it's becoming obvious that Lake Falcon and its bass are anything but 'normal.'

Weights did taper off slightly on day 3. The 40-pound bag that made an appearance on each of the first 2 days of competition was absent, but the 50 pros that competed today were far from scraping the bottle of the barrel. Every angler in the field managed to catch a limit, and only three of those limits failed to break the 20-pound barrier.

Current leader Aaron Martens caught less than 35 pounds for the first time since the tournament kicked off on Thursday. He brought a 29-11 limit to the scales, which upped his 3-day total to 109-08. Byron Velvick suffered a similar fate. His 25-03 limit wasn't enough to fend off a charging Mark Davis from taking over 2nd place.

Davis said yesterday that he had absolutely no worries when it came to running out of fish. He's fishing one primary area, but noted he has at least 15 smaller spots within the area he can rely on for solid limits. More importantly, he's been sharing that larger area with only one other angler - Derek Remitz. Remitz caught 26-01 today and finished in 15h, so Davis will enjoy free reign of his spots tomorrow.

The Top 12 didn't shake up too much on day 3. The biggest mover was Rick Morris. He pushed his way into 7th place up from 23rd with the help of his 36-01 limit, the heaviest of the day.

Here's a look at the Top 12 who made the cut to fish tomorrow. Total weight is followed by distance from leader in red.

1. Aaron Martens: 109-08
2. Mark Davis: 102-01 (7-07)
3. Byron Velvick: 101-12 (7-12)
4. Scott Rook: 95-09 (13-15)
5. Paul Elias: 94-13 (14-11)
6. Mike Iaconelli: 92-01 (17-07)
7. Rick Morris: 91-02 (18-06)
8. Casey Ashley: 90-07 (19-01)
9. Scott Campbell: 89-04 (20-04)
10. Ben Matsubu: 89-01 (20-07)
11. Jason Williamson: 88-05 (20-13)
12. Terry Scroggins: 88-00 (21-02)

Barring a major meltdown on the final day, Martens is on pace to clobber Steve Kennedy's 4-day catch record of 122-14, and he's not the only one. Davis needs just a little over 20 pounds - a below-average catch at Falcon - and he'll top that mark, too. And unless Velvick's well runs completely dry, he shouldn't have too much trouble racking up at least 125.

Not only is Martens in a good position to claim the record, his chances for notching a wire-to-wire win on Falcon are looking strong. But it's still way to early to call this event done. Davis and Velvick are each a little over 7 pounds back. Granted, that's an insurmountable margin on most fisheries, but on Falcon, that's just one bite.

Martens Bailed

After he and Velvick hauled over 150 pounds of bass from the same spot on days 1 and 2, Martens decided it was time to try something different, and it looks like he made the right decision. Velvick stayed with the spot and the 25-03 bag he caught today was over 16 pounds lighter than the one he brought to the scales yesterday. But Martens didn't exactly deliver the knockout punch with his 29-11 limit today.

"It was a lot tougher for me out there today," he said. "I had some spots saved up so I wasn't too worried. I've been checking this one spot and it's loaded. Then yesterday one of the (other pros) pulled up and caught 34 pounds on it, and he went back and caught some more today.

"The big fish here are in shorter supply," he added. "You can stay on a spot and keep catching them, but those big bites don't last. But I watched a guide about 200 yards away today catch about a 13 or 14 pounder. He was up a little (shallower), so I may need to switch up what I'm doing a little bit."

About his chances for breaking Kennedy's record, he said: "The record is nice, but I’m really focused on this win. I hope I can hold on, but I've fished great this week and I absolutely love this lake.”

2nd: Davis Confident

While many of the Top 12 competitors think that everyone with the exception of Martens is fishing for 2nd place, Davis said don't count him out just yet.

"If you would've asked me yesterday I would've told you that I was fishing for 2nd place, but I don't feel that way right now," he said. "I closed the gap on (Martens) by 5 pounds today, and there are a lot of things that tell me I could catch him.

"His weight dropped today and I was able to stay consistent," he added. "And I still don't think I've had my best day in my area yet. Like I've said before, my spot can produce a 40-pound bag. The right ones just have to bite for me."

With 3 consecutive days of 30-plus-pound stringers to his credit, he said he won't be changing a thing tomorrow.

"I'm catching a hundred fish a day and I'm catching them in a bunch of different areas. That's another thing I have going for me. I'm not fishing a glory hole like Aaron's been doing the last few days. I've got a lot of fish and I should have no problem catching them again tomorrow.

"I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but if he slips a little, I feel like I could catch him."

4th: Rook's Catching 'Em Early

Scott Rook caught his second 35-pound limit of the tournament to move from 8th place into 4th today. If not for stubbing his toe with a 24-09 limit on day 2, he'd be right on Martens' heels.

Rook is learning more about his fish with each passing day, and thinks he should be able to tank another healthy sack tomorrow.

"I've been catching most of my weight early in the morning, but after that they just seem to stop biting," he said. "I figured out today what's going on. It's not that the bite is going away, they're just moving out deeper."

He got on a later bite today by dragging a jig in deeper water around the same points that's been producing for him in the morning.

"I'm must fishing an underwater point that's got some bushy tress on the end of it," he noted. "It's really the only underwater point in the whole bay where I'm at. I've got six or eight places that are similar, but that one spot is by far my best."

He plans to "hammer" his best spot tomorrow in hopes of catching another 35-plus-pound limit, but said that he believes Martens has this one in the bag.

"Aaron's on something good, and he'll catch 25 or 30 pounds tomorrow. I think it's going to be tough for anybody to catch him. He's got good stuff and I think it'll hold up."

7th: Morris Going Deep

Virginia pro Rick Morris is one of the few competitors who's managed to improve his weight every day. He caught 25-07 on day 1, 29-10 yesterday and weighed the day's best limit today with 36-01.

He said his decision to target deeper areas on days 2 and 3 made all the difference for him.

"The first day all I did was flip," he said. "I knew that wasn't going to cut it though, so the second day I went out deep and started throwing Carolina-rigs and Texas-rigs offshore. That's definitely where the bigger bite is going on."

The early bite is also a major factor in his success.

"It's easy early and then it gets really tough," he noted. "Later in the day my bites went way down."

About whether or not Martens has this one sewed up, he said: "There's no way this one is over. It's the weekend. There's a bunch of spectators running around. There are a lot of factors working against him right now.

"One of those guys up there close to him could definitely catch up, the way this lake is fishing, even I can catch him. Anything's possible out here. But if it's not me, I'd like to see Aaron win it."

9th: Campbell Fishing to Win

When you ask an angler that's 20-pounds back of the leader how he'll approach his final day of fishing, you don't expect him to say something like, "I'm fishing for the win." But that's exactly how Missouri pro Scott Campbell responded.

"Matt Reed caught almost a 50 pounds in practice on Monday," he said. "That kind of limit is definitely swimming around on my spots, so I'm not counting myself out. No way."

Campbell's fishing the same rubble bite that Martens, Velvick, Ish Monroe and other pros have referenced this week.

"You can't be exactly sure what they are, but I'm pretty sure they're the remnants of old buildings," he noted. "I noticed that most of the guys who are fishing out deep were still around today. I don't think there's too many flippers left.

"I think a lot of guys probably looked at these spots in practice, but they wrote them off when they saw the wind," he added. "The spot is very specific - it might be only 10 feet wide - but when you hit it, it's automatic. Either you catch a fish or you get hung up, but usually they eat it."

All total he's caught 10 fish over 9 pounds off the same spot.

"What separates me from (the leaders) is that they're doing that in 1 day, and I've done it over the course of 3 days."

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 50 anglers, 50 limits.

> John Murray didn't make the 50 cut today, and he could already be on the road to Amistad, but instead he decided to hang around Falcon a little while longer. To find out why, click here to go On Tour With the BassFan Big Sticks.

> All total, the Elite Series pros have caught 1,326 bass for a total weight of 6,475-06. That's roughly a 4.88-pound average per fish.

> Co-angler champion Randall Jackson set a new winning weight record for that division with 83-03.

Weather Forecast

Here's the weather forecast for the final tournament day. For more weather information, including satellite and radar imagery, visit OutdoorsFanWeather.com.

> Sun., April 6 - Partly Cloudy - 88°/70°
- Wind: From the ESE at 9 mph

Day 3 Standings

1. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 15 109-08 -- 315
Day 1: 5, 42-00 -- Day 2: 5, 37-13 -- Day 3: 5, 29-11

2. Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, AR -- 15 102-01 -- 295
Day 1: 5, 35-04 -- Day 2: 5, 33-09 -- Day 3: 5, 33-04

3. Byron Velvick -- Del Rio, TX -- 15 101-12 -- 290
Day 1: 5, 34-14 -- Day 2: 5, 41-11 -- Day 3: 5, 25-03

4. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, AR -- 15, 95-09 -- 285
Day 1: 5, 35-12 -- Day 2: 5, 24-09 -- Day 3: 5, 35-04

5. Paul Elias -- Laurel, MS -- 15, 94-13 -- 280
Day 1: 5, 28-05 -- Day 2: 5, 39-01 -- Day 3: 5, 27-07

6. Michael Iaconelli -- Runnemede, NJ -- 15, 92-01 -- 276
Day 1: 5, 34-11 -- Day 2: 5, 31-10 -- Day 3: 5, 25-12

7. Rick Morris -- Virginia Beach, VA -- 15, 91-02 -- 272
Day 1: 5, 25-07 -- Day 2: 5, 29-10 -- Day 3: 5, 36-01

8. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 15, 90-07 -- 268
Day 1: 5, 28-02 -- Day 2: 5, 28-04 -- Day 3: 5, 34-01

9. Scott Campbell -- Springfield, MO -- 15, 89-04 -- 264
Day 1: 5, 33-15 -- Day 2: 5, 25-06 -- Day 3: 5, 29-15

10. Ben Matsubu -- Hemphill, TX -- 15, 89-01 -- 260
Day 1: 5, 24-14 -- Day 2: 5, 30-03 -- Day 3: 5, 34-00

11. Jason Williamson -- Aiken, SC -- 15, 88-05 -- 257
Day 1: 5, 33-04 -- Day 2: 5, 27-09 -- Day 3: 5, 27-08

12. Terry Scroggins -- San Mateo, FL -- 15, 88-00 -- 254
Day 1: 5, 33-01 -- Day 2: 5, 25-01 -- Day 3: 5, 29-14

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

13. Gary Klein -- Weatherford, TX -- 15, 87-08 -- 251 -- $10,800
Day 1: 5, 30-01 -- Day 2: 5, 27-14 -- Day 3: 5, 29-09
14. Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu City, AZ -- 15, 86-07 -- 248 -- $10,700
Day 1: 5, 30-06 -- Day 2: 5, 23-13 -- Day 3: 5, 32-04
15. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 15, 85-08 -- 244 -- $10,550
Day 1: 5, 32-09 -- Day 2: 5, 29-06 -- Day 3: 5, 23-09
15. Derek Remitz -- Grant, AL -- 15, 85-08 -- 244 -- $10,550
Day 1: 5, 33-11 -- Day 2: 5, 25-12 -- Day 3: 5, 26-01
17. Dustin Wilks -- Rocky Mount, NC -- 15, 82-11 -- 239 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 24-05 -- Day 2: 5, 25-09 -- Day 3: 5, 32-13
17. Shaw E Grigsby -- Gainesville, FL -- 15, 82-11 -- 239 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 26-11 -- Day 2: 5, 27-01 -- Day 3: 5, 28-15
17. Davy Hite -- Ninety Six, SC -- 15, 82-11 -- 239 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 30-06 -- Day 2: 5, 23-08 -- Day 3: 5, 28-13
20. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 15, 82-06 -- 235 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 27-01 -- Day 2: 5, 27-07 -- Day 3: 5, 27-14
21. Kevin Langill -- Terrell, NC -- 15, 82-04 -- 233 -- $10,250
Day 1: 5, 19-07 -- Day 2: 5, 34-07 -- Day 3: 5, 28-06
22. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, TX -- 15, 82-03 -- 231 -- $10,250
Day 1: 5, 23-13 -- Day 2: 5, 33-01 -- Day 3: 5, 25-05
23. Matt Reed -- Madisonville, TX -- 15, 82-02 -- 229 -- $10,250
Day 1: 5, 33-02 -- Day 2: 5, 22-14 -- Day 3: 5, 26-02
24. Kelly Jordon -- Mineola, TX -- 15, 82-01 -- 227 -- $10,250
Day 1: 5, 24-00 -- Day 2: 5, 33-13 -- Day 3: 5, 24-04
25. Jason Quinn -- York, SC -- 15, 81-15 -- 225 -- $10,250
Day 1: 5, 31-14 -- Day 2: 5, 24-08 -- Day 3: 5, 25-09
26. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, OK -- 15, 81-07 -- 223 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 22-12 -- Day 2: 5, 27-14 -- Day 3: 5, 30-13
27. Gerald Swindle -- Warrior, AL -- 15, 81-00 -- 221 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 26-00 -- Day 2: 5, 25-08 -- Day 3: 5, 29-08
28. Ish Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 15, 80-14 -- 219 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 35-06 -- Day 2: 5, 20-08 -- Day 3: 5, 25-00
29. Mike Wurm -- Hot Springs, AR -- 15, 80-07 -- 217 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 26-12 -- Day 2: 5, 29-02 -- Day 3: 5, 24-09
30. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 15, 79-14 -- 215 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 25-14 -- Day 2: 5, 29-04 -- Day 3: 5, 24-12
31. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira , KS -- 15, 79-11 -- 212 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 31-15 -- Day 2: 5, 19-01 -- Day 3: 5, 28-11
31. Kotaro Kiriyama -- Moody, AL -- 15, 79-11 -- 212 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 26-00 -- Day 2: 5, 26-07 -- Day 3: 5, 27-04
33. Boyd Duckett -- Demopolis, AL -- 15, 79-10 -- 209 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 28-12 -- Day 2: 5, 26-13 -- Day 3: 5, 24-01
34. Bryan Hudgins -- Orange Park, FL -- 15, 79-02 -- 207 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 24-00 -- Day 2: 5, 29-00 -- Day 3: 5, 26-02
35. Yusuke Miyazaki -- Forney, TX -- 15, 78-14 -- 205 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-15 -- Day 2: 5, 34-00 -- Day 3: 5, 27-15
36. Britt Myers -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 15, 78-04 -- 203 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 28-07 -- Day 2: 5, 21-01 -- Day 3: 5, 28-12
37. Ray Sedgwick -- Cross, SC -- 15, 77-09 -- 201 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 27-09 -- Day 2: 5, 27-07 -- Day 3: 5, 22-09
38. Kevin Wirth -- Crestwood, KY -- 15, 76-14 -- 199 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 29-03 -- Day 2: 5, 23-15 -- Day 3: 5, 23-12
39. Jimmy Mize -- Ben Lomond, AR -- 15, 75-15 -- 197 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 25-09 -- Day 2: 5, 30-08 -- Day 3: 5, 19-14
40. Kenyon Hill -- Norman, OK -- 15, 75-11 -- 195 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 29-15 -- Day 2: 5, 24-01 -- Day 3: 5, 21-11
41. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 15, 75-06 -- 193 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 25-08 -- Day 2: 5, 23-15 -- Day 3: 5, 25-15
42. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, AR -- 15, 72-14 -- 191 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 28-03 -- Day 2: 5, 22-00 -- Day 3: 5, 22-11
43. Corey Waldrop -- Fort Worth, TX -- 15, 72-06 -- 189 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 24-09 -- Day 2: 5, 26-03 -- Day 3: 5, 21-10
44. Alton Jones -- Waco, TX -- 15, 72-05 -- 187 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 28-14 -- Day 2: 5, 20-15 -- Day 3: 5, 22-08
45. Kevin Short -- Mayflower, AR -- 15, 72-04 -- 184 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 27-01 -- Day 2: 5, 22-08 -- Day 3: 5, 22-11
45. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 15, 72-04 -- 184 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 25-09 -- Day 2: 5, 26-12 -- Day 3: 5, 19-15
47. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, CA -- 15, 71-08 -- 181 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 26-11 -- Day 2: 5, 25-01 -- Day 3: 5, 19-12
48. Marty Stone -- Fayetteville , NC -- 15, 71-03 -- 179 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 29-10 -- Day 2: 5, 20-10 -- Day 3: 5, 20-15
49. Wade Grooms -- Bonneau, SC -- 15, 71-02 -- 177 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 31-08 -- Day 2: 5, 20-08 -- Day 3: 5, 19-02
50. Jim Murray -- Arabi, GA -- 15, 71-00 -- 175 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 26-12 -- Day 2: 5, 22-14 -- Day 3: 5, 21-06

Big Bass

Day 3: Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 10-05 -- $1,000
Day 2: Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, AR -- 11-00 -- $1,000
Day 1: Scott Campbell -- Springfield, MO -- 13-02 -- $1,000