Martens Takes Top Slot As Top 15 All Hit 50

The overall weights fell off a little bit on day 2 of the Guntersville Bassmaster Elite Series in Alabama. That's about as significant as the proverbial deck chair that blew off the ocean liner.

There were no 30-pound limits caught today, but the procession of hefty sacks continued unabated. The Top 15 have all amassed at least 50 pounds and it took 41-10 just to earn the final paycheck for 50th place.

Aaron Martens topped 29 pounds for the second consecutive day and moved up three places to lead the parade with a 58-14 total.

Mike McClelland sacked 26-13 today and held steady in 2nd with a 57-07 aggregate. He'd have been farther down the leaderboard if not for a near-7-pounder that bit late in the day.

Day-1 leader Todd Faircloth came in 6 pounds lighter today with 24-15, but dropped just two spots to 3rd with 55-02.

Byron Velvick slid one spot to 4th with a 25-15 stringer today that gave him a 55-02 total. He's loading up during the shad-spawn frenzy in the early-morning hours, but may have figured out something this afternoon that'll help tomorrow after the sun gets high.

Mike Iaconelli repeated the 27-05 bag he caught on day 1 and rounded out the Top 5 with 54-10.

Here's how the current Top 12 stacks up (red numbers in parentheses indicate deficit margin from leader):

1. Aaron Martens: 58-14
2. Mike McClelland: 57-07 (1-07)
3. Todd Faircloth: 55-15 (1-14)
4. Byron Velvick: 55-02 (2-12)
5. Mike Iaconelli: 54-10 (4-04)
6. Rick Clunn: 51-14 (7-00)
7. Alton Jones: 51-11 (7-03)
8. Kevin Wirth: 51-10 (7-04)
9. Jami Fralick: 51-06 (7-08)
10. Mark Menendez: 51-03 (7-11)
11. Edwin Evers: 51-01 (7-13)
12. Marty Stone: 50-12 (8-02)

The biggest question now is whether the red-hot action will hold up through the weekend. There were many more recreational anglers on the lake today than on day 1, and that number is likely to at least double tomorrow. Nonetheless, most expect the chunky bags to keep coming.

Kevin Wirth made a big move today with a 27-04 stringer that boosted him 14 places to 8th. Mark Menendez caught 26-12 to climb from 21st to 10th and Edwin Evers boated 26-05 to move from 19th to 8th.

Exiting the Top 12 were Ken Cook (4th to 21st with 18-05 today), Mark Davis (9th to 19th, 21-11) and Boyd Duckett (11th to 38th, 17-12).

Duckett was involved in a territorial dispute with Kevin Langill that resulted in the latter having his day-2 weight disqualified under BASS' sportsmanship rule. The DQ cost Langill a spot in the Top 50 (he weighed 20-15 today and was in 49th place) and a paycheck worth a minimum of $9,506. For that story, click here.

Langill's ouster allowed Gerald Swindle to claim the final position inside the cut. A full story is forthcoming.

The field will be cut to 12 after tomorrow's weigh-in and the winner will be determined Sunday by the highest 4-day weight.

Martens' Numbers Down, Quality Up

Martens caught "only" about 70 fish today – approximately half as many as on day 1. However, his bag was actually 10 ounces heavier.

"I spent 3 or 4 hours looking for new spots and I hit a lot of dead water," he said. "I did find a couple of new ones, though. I have one spot that's so good I had to pull out every time I caught a fish because there were other boats around. I'd act like I was doing something else and leave.

"I only made about 30 casts there in 3 hours, but I caught a lot of fish out of it."

Today's bag was headed up by a 6 1/2-pounder. He lost several fish, but doesn't think any of them would've helped him.

He's fishing two distinct patterns and said that one of them is unique. He's confident that he'll need at least 25 pounds tomorrow to remain in or near the lead.

"I'll start on some different spots and just keep looking for new ones, trying to stay ahead of the game. Will all of the people that are out there, it's amazing that this lake is as good as it is."

Can he continue to load up the boat at this rate?

"To catch 29 pounds, everything has to go right. You have to be in the right places at the right times, you have to make good decisions and you can't lose fish. It's a possibility, but it's not an easy accomplishment."

2nd: Same Deal for McClelland

McClelland's bag was nearly 4 pounds lighter than the one he weighed on day 1, but it didn't cost him anything in the standings.

"I caught them pretty much the same way today," he said. "I didn't get fortunate and catch an 8-pounder, but I had a 6-14 that kind of saved me.

"I was hovering around the 20- to 21-pound mark for most of the day until I caught that 6-14. It was a day when I improved ounces at a time instead of pounds."

He continued to fish the pattern he discovered on the final day of practice that utilizes a War Eagle spinnerbait, crankbaits and "a variety of different things." He went through about 20 keepers and culled eight or 10 times throughout the course of the day.

"I lost one that probably would've added a pound to my overall weight – it looked like about a 5 1/2-pounder and I weighed three that were under 5. It hit me short and just immediately came up and jumped, and it was gone."

He'll shoot for at least 25 pounds tomorrow – a number that should allow him to advance to the final day.

"It'll be interesting to see how many guys get to fish tomorrow without a lot of local pressure. There are a lot of people out fishing and some spots are difficult to get on, and being the weekend, there will be club tournaments and other things going on.

"I'm fortunate that I haven't had a lot of spectators and I've kind of been able to sneak around. I don't know if anybody knows where I've caught the majority of fish, so (the crowds) might not hinder me as badly."

3rd: Faircloth's Hot Spot Cools

Day-1 leader Faircloth didn't have the same sizzling bite at his starting spot this morning that he exploited en route to a 31-pound stringer the previous day.

"They weren't in there like they were," he said. "They weren't pulling the (current) as hard and I think that had a lot to do with it. I had to run some new stuff and try some different stuff."

He tried a grassy area that also held a lot of fish on day 1, but it was unproductive as well. He finally came to a spot in the afternoon that had solid, cooperative fish in good numbers.

He caught 15 to 20 keepers for the day and his best fish weighed 5 3/4.

"I think it's a pretty big timing deal. There's certain times of the day when they feed and you need to be there when they do it. I can be kind of hard to figure out.

"I'll run the same stuff (to start tomorrow) and see how it goes from there. After that, I might just go hunting. They're not pulling as much water and it's clearing up, so a lot of fish are probably going deeper. I'll do some idling around and see if I can graph some."

4th: Velvick Busts 'Em Early

Velvick caught everything he weighed today by 10:00.

"It's just an insane slugfest early in the day," he said. "Every single fish was a clone 5 – I didn't get anything of magnum size. But I'm not going to complain about culling 5-pounders."

He's losing a few bites each day, but doesn't know whether they're bigger than what he's put in the box.

"They're pulling real hard and coming off. The thing that makes me think they might be bigger is they're hitting a little differently. But I don't see them, so there's no telling if they're the deal or not."

He's had no crowding issues with other competitors – Greg Vinson (39th) is the only one he's seen on either day. He hopes that a crankbait pattern he got on this afternoon will allow him to cull once or twice after mid-day tomorrow.

He said he should be able to catch at least 25 pounds again.

"If I throw out there and a 7- or 8-pounder bites, then I'll be pushing 29 or 30 again. If that doesn't happen, then I'll catch 24 or 25. I don't want to jinx myself, but that's what I should end up with."

61st: Wind Hurt Connella

Jeff Connella caught 24 pounds on day 1, but limped in with 15-03 today and fell out of the 50-cut.

"I really needed the sun and very little wind to position the fish where I needed them to be to catch them," he said. "I think the water (level) falling hurt, too – it sent them out deeper.

"I got four pretty big bites yesterday, but I didn't get one today."

He was fishing grassy ridges and catching fish at depths from 3 to 5 feet by swimming a large plastic worm.

Notable

> Day 2 stats – 99 anglers, 95 limits (one fewer than day 1), 2 fours, 1 two, 1 zero (one more than day 1).

> Martens said he's noticed a lot of recreational anglers keeping large bass for the frying pan and predicts it'll have an impact on the fishery in years to come. "It's really a shame," he said. "In a couple of years the fishing might not be half as good."

> Like Connella, Tim Horton caught 24 pounds on day 1 but failed to reach 16 today. He ended up 57th. "I really can't put my finger on what went wrong," he said. "I caught a lot of fish today, but I didn't get the size."

Weather Forecast

Here's the weather forecast for the remaining tournament days.

> Sat., May 9 - P.M. T-Storms - 80°/62°
- Wind: From the W/SW at 11 mph

> Sun., May 10 - Scattered T-Storms - 77°/58°
- Wind: From the NE at 10 mph

Day 2 Standings

1. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 10, 58-14 -- 305
Day 1: 5, 29-02 -- Day 2: 5, 29-12

2. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, AR -- 10, 57-07 -- 295
Day 1: 5, 30-10 -- Day 2: 5, 26-13

3. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 10, 55-15 -- 295
Day 1: 5, 31-00 -- Day 2: 5, 24-15

4. Byron Velvick -- Del Rio, TX -- 10, 55-02 -- 285
Day 1: 5, 29-04 -- Day 2: 5, 25-14

5. Michael Iaconelli -- Runnemede, NJ -- 10, 54-10 -- 280
Day 1: 5, 27-05 -- Day 2: 5, 27-05

6. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 10, 51-14 -- 276
Day 1: 5, 25-14 -- Day 2: 5, 26-00

7. Alton Jones -- Waco, TX -- 10, 51-11 -- 272
Day 1: 5, 28-12 -- Day 2: 5, 22-15

8. Kevin Wirth -- Crestwood, KY -- 10, 51-10 -- 268
Day 1: 5, 24-06 -- Day 2: 5, 27-04

9. Jami Fralick -- Martin, SD -- 10, 51-06 -- 264
Day 1: 5, 26-11 -- Day 2: 5, 24-11

10. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 10, 51-03 -- 260
Day 1: 5, 24-07 -- Day 2: 5, 26-12

11. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 10, 51-01 -- 257
Day 1: 5, 24-12 -- Day 2: 5, 26-05

12. Marty Stone -- Fayetteville, NC -- 10, 50-12 -- 254
Day 1: 5, 26-15 -- Day 2: 5, 23-13

13. Russ Lane -- Prattville, AL -- 10, 50-10 -- 251
Day 1: 5, 25-12 -- Day 2: 5, 24-14

14. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 10, 50-07 -- 248
Day 1: 5, 25-09 -- Day 2: 5, 24-14

15. John Murray -- Phoenix, AZ -- 10, 50-00 -- 245
Day 1: 5, 25-06 -- Day 2: 5, 24-10

16. Matt Reed -- Madisonville, TX -- 10, 49-04 -- 243
Day 1: 5, 25-12 -- Day 2: 5, 23-08

17. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 10, 49-02 -- 241
Day 1: 5, 22-02 -- Day 2: 5, 27-00

18. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 10, 49-00 -- 239
Day 1: 5, 25-09 -- Day 2: 5, 23-07

19. Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, AR -- 10, 48-09 -- 237
Day 1: 5, 26-14 -- Day 2: 5, 21-11

20. Randy Howell -- Springville, AL -- 10, 47-14 -- 235
Day 1: 5, 21-01 -- Day 2: 5, 26-13

21. Ken D Cook -- Lawton, OK -- 10, 47-07 -- 233
Day 1: 5, 29-02 -- Day 2: 5, 18-05

22. Kelly Jordon -- Mineola, TX -- 10, 47-03 -- 231
Day 1: 5, 20-05 -- Day 2: 5, 26-14

23. Denny Brauer -- Camdenton, MO -- 10, 46-08 -- 229
Day 1: 5, 23-01 -- Day 2: 5, 23-07

24. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, AR -- 10, 46-03 -- 227
Day 1: 5, 23-07 -- Day 2: 5, 22-12

25. Shaw E Grigsby -- Gainesville, FL -- 10, 46-02 -- 225
Day 1: 5, 24-08 -- Day 2: 5, 21-10

26. James Niggemeyer -- Van, TX -- 10, 46-00 -- 223
Day 1: 5, 20-01 -- Day 2: 5, 25-15

27. Terry Scroggins -- San Mateo, FL -- 10, 46-00 -- 221
Day 1: 5, 22-04 -- Day 2: 5, 23-12

28. Bradley Hallman -- Norman, OK -- 10, 45-07 -- 219
Day 1: 5, 20-09 -- Day 2: 5, 24-14

29. Bobby Lane -- Lakeland, FL -- 10, 44-12 -- 217
Day 1: 5, 24-00 -- Day 2: 5, 20-12

30. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 10, 44-08 -- 215
Day 1: 5, 18-13 -- Day 2: 5, 25-11

31. Kotaro Kiriyama -- Moody, AL -- 10, 44-08 -- 213
Day 1: 5, 22-02 -- Day 2: 5, 22-06

32. Clark Reehm -- Russellville, AR -- 10, 44-07 -- 211
Day 1: 5, 15-09 -- Day 2: 5, 28-14

33. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 10, 44-07 -- 209
Day 1: 5, 22-01 -- Day 2: 5, 22-06

34. Gary Klein -- Weatherford, TX -- 10, 44-03 -- 207
Day 1: 5, 22-10 -- Day 2: 5, 21-09

35. Bill Lowen -- North Bend, OH -- 10, 44-01 -- 205
Day 1: 5, 23-04 -- Day 2: 5, 20-13

36. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 10, 44-01 -- 203
Day 1: 5, 22-15 -- Day 2: 5, 21-02

37. Billy Mccaghren -- Mayflower, AR -- 10, 44-01 -- 201
Day 1: 5, 22-13 -- Day 2: 5, 21-04

38. Boyd Duckett -- Demopolis, AL -- 10, 43-15 -- 199
Day 1: 5, 26-03 -- Day 2: 5, 17-12

39. Greg Vinson -- Wetumpka, AL -- 10, 43-09 -- 197
Day 1: 5, 20-04 -- Day 2: 5, 23-05

40. Britt Myers -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 10, 43-06 -- 195
Day 1: 5, 20-12 -- Day 2: 5, 22-10

41. Mark Burgess -- Norton, MA -- 10, 43-04 -- 193
Day 1: 5, 21-04 -- Day 2: 5, 22-00

42. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, OK -- 10, 43-00 -- 191
Day 1: 5, 23-04 -- Day 2: 5, 19-12

43. Derek Remitz -- Grant, AL -- 10, 42-12 -- 189
Day 1: 5, 20-12 -- Day 2: 5, 22-00

44. Dave Wolak -- Wake Forest, NC -- 10, 42-10 -- 187
Day 1: 5, 25-03 -- Day 2: 5, 17-07

45. Dustin Wilks -- Rocky Mount, NC -- 10, 42-06 -- 185
Day 1: 5, 16-09 -- Day 2: 5, 25-13

46. Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu City, AZ -- 10, 42-05 -- 183
Day 1: 5, 20-04 -- Day 2: 5, 22-01

47. Davy Hite -- Ninety Six, SC -- 10, 42-02 -- 181
Day 1: 5, 23-10 -- Day 2: 5, 18-08

48. Wade Grooms -- Bonneau, SC -- 10, 42-02 -- 179
Day 1: 5, 19-04 -- Day 2: 5, 22-14

49. Terry Butcher -- Talala, OK -- 10, 41-10 -- 177
Day 1: 5, 18-08 -- Day 2: 5, 23-02

50. Gerald Swindle -- Warrior, AL -- 10, 41-09 -- 175
Day 1: 5, 20-09 -- Day 2: 5, 21-00

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

51. Vince Fulks -- Purcell, OK -- 10, 41-01 -- 173
Day 1: 5, 18-08 -- Day 2: 5, 22-09

51. Kevin Short -- Mayflower, AR -- 10, 41-01 -- 173
Day 1: 5, 18-08 -- Day 2: 5, 22-09

53. Matthew Sphar -- Pavilion, NY -- 10, 40-13 -- 169
Day 1: 5, 23-06 -- Day 2: 5, 17-07

54. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 10, 40-13 -- 167
Day 1: 5, 19-03 -- Day 2: 5, 21-10

55. Mike Wurm -- Hot Springs, AR -- 10, 40-09 -- 165
Day 1: 5, 18-04 -- Day 2: 5, 22-05

56. Fred Roumbanis -- Bixby, OK -- 10, 40-01 -- 163
Day 1: 5, 20-14 -- Day 2: 5, 19-03

57. Timmy Horton -- Muscle Shoals, AL -- 10, 39-14 -- 161
Day 1: 5, 24-01 -- Day 2: 5, 15-13

58. Mark Tyler -- Vian, OK -- 10, 39-14 -- 159
Day 1: 5, 19-06 -- Day 2: 5, 20-08

59. Chad Griffin -- Cresson, TX -- 10, 39-13 -- 157
Day 1: 5, 17-00 -- Day 2: 5, 22-13

60. Peter E Thliveros -- St Augustine, FL -- 10, 39-11 -- 155
Day 1: 5, 21-09 -- Day 2: 5, 18-02

61. Jeff Connella -- Bentley, LA -- 10, 39-04 -- 153
Day 1: 5, 24-01 -- Day 2: 5, 15-03

62. Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 10, 39-04 -- 151
Day 1: 5, 19-06 -- Day 2: 5, 19-14

63. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 10, 39-00 -- 149
Day 1: 5, 18-14 -- Day 2: 5, 20-02

64. Morizo Shimizu -- Osaka, Japan -- 10, 38-13 -- 147
Day 1: 5, 19-06 -- Day 2: 5, 19-07

65. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, TX -- 10, 38-06 -- 145
Day 1: 5, 19-12 -- Day 2: 5, 18-10

66. Todd Auten -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 10, 38-03 -- 143
Day 1: 5, 18-10 -- Day 2: 5, 19-09

67. Jason Quinn -- York, SC -- 10, 38-00 -- 141
Day 1: 5, 21-07 -- Day 2: 5, 16-09

68. Mark Tucker -- Saint Louis, MO -- 10, 37-14 -- 139
Day 1: 5, 20-06 -- Day 2: 5, 17-08

69. Luke Gritter -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 10, 37-10 -- 137
Day 1: 5, 15-00 -- Day 2: 5, 22-10

70. Ish Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 10, 37-08 -- 135
Day 1: 5, 20-03 -- Day 2: 5, 17-05

71. Paul Elias -- Laurel, MS -- 10, 37-04 -- 133
Day 1: 5, 21-06 -- Day 2: 5, 15-14

72. Rick Morris -- Virginia Beach, VA -- 10, 37-01 -- 131
Day 1: 5, 21-09 -- Day 2: 5, 15-08

73. Guy Eaker -- Cherryville, NC -- 10, 36-12 -- 129
Day 1: 5, 15-11 -- Day 2: 5, 21-01

74. Jeremy Starks -- Charleston, WV -- 10, 35-13 -- 127
Day 1: 5, 16-09 -- Day 2: 5, 19-04

75. Brian Clark -- Haltom City, TX -- 10, 35-10 -- 125
Day 1: 5, 20-12 -- Day 2: 5, 14-14

76. Jim Murray -- Arabi, GA -- 10, 35-09 -- 123
Day 1: 5, 12-08 -- Day 2: 5, 23-01

77. Jimmy Mize -- Ben Lomond, AR -- 10, 35-04 -- 121
Day 1: 5, 17-12 -- Day 2: 5, 17-08

78. J Todd Tucker -- Moultrie, GA -- 10, 35-04 -- 119
Day 1: 5, 20-03 -- Day 2: 5, 15-01

79. Charlie Hartley -- Grove City, OH -- 10, 35-02 -- 117
Day 1: 5, 20-08 -- Day 2: 5, 14-10

80. John Crews -- Salem, VA -- 10, 34-12 -- 115
Day 1: 5, 19-13 -- Day 2: 5, 14-15

81. Yusuke Miyazaki -- Forney, TX -- 9, 34-10 -- 113
Day 1: 5, 21-14 -- Day 2: 4, 12-12

82. Jeff Reynolds -- Idabel, OK -- 10, 34-04 -- 111
Day 1: 5, 20-07 -- Day 2: 5, 13-13

83. Matt Herren -- Trussville, AL -- 10, 33-13 -- 109
Day 1: 5, 14-00 -- Day 2: 5, 19-13

84. Kenyon Hill -- Norman, OK -- 10, 32-07 -- 107
Day 1: 5, 15-09 -- Day 2: 5, 16-14

85. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 10, 31-10 -- 105
Day 1: 5, 17-07 -- Day 2: 5, 14-03

86. Marty Robinson -- Lyman, SC -- 10, 31-10 -- 103
Day 1: 5, 16-13 -- Day 2: 5, 14-13

87. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, CA -- 8, 31-02 -- 101
Day 1: 3, 07-13 -- Day 2: 5, 23-05

88. Scott Campbell -- Springfield, MO -- 9, 30-15 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 21-13 -- Day 2: 4, 09-02

89. David Smith -- Del City, OK -- 10, 30-09 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 14-15 -- Day 2: 5, 15-10

90. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, AR -- 10, 30-08 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 14-01 -- Day 2: 5, 16-07

91. Chris Lane -- Lakeland, FL -- 10, 29-03 -- 93
Day 1: 5, 13-00 -- Day 2: 5, 16-03

92. Grant Goldbeck -- Gaithersburg, MD -- 10, 29-02 -- 91
Day 1: 5, 15-09 -- Day 2: 5, 13-09

93. Jason Williamson -- Aiken, SC -- 10, 28-08 -- 89
Day 1: 5, 16-04 -- Day 2: 5, 12-04

94. Pete Ponds -- Madison, MS -- 8, 28-00 -- 87
Day 1: 3, 12-00 -- Day 2: 5, 16-00

95. Pat Golden -- High Point, NC -- 10, 27-03 -- 85
Day 1: 5, 16-11 -- Day 2: 5, 10-08

96. Elton Luce Jr. -- Brookeland, TX -- 10, 26-15 -- 83
Day 1: 5, 14-15 -- Day 2: 5, 12-00

97. Zell Rowland -- Montgomery, TX -- 7, 25-00 -- 81
Day 1: 5, 20-12 -- Day 2: 2, 04-04

98. Kevin Langill -- Terrell, NC -- 5, 20-14 -- 79
Day 1: 5, 20-14 -- Day 2: 0, 00-00

99. Brent Broderick -- Oregonia, OH -- 7, 20-10 -- 77
Day 1: 2, 04-04 -- Day 2: 5, 16-06

Big Bass

Day 2: Clark Reehm -- Russellville, AR -- 9-02
Day 1: Ken D. Cook -- Lawton, OK -- 8-05