There wasn't too much that was complicated about the way Aaron Martens went about winning the Guntersville Bassmaster Elite Series. He had more places where he could catch fish that weighed 5 pounds and over than anybody else, and a few of them were never encroached upon by another angler throughout the event.
He compiled bags that weighed 27 pounds or better for 6 straight days – the 3 practice days and the first 3 days of the tournament. He had to scramble a bit on day 4 after his first two holes were sabotaged by a local competitor with ideas of keeping those fish right where they were until his own local event this weekend, but he still caught plenty to claim his first BASS win outside his native California.
It was his second tour-level triumph on the Tennessee River chain – he won an FLW Tour event at adjacent Lake Wheeler 6 years ago. It was also the second Elite Series win for the
Leeds, Ala. resident, following a victory at the California Delta in 2006.
His 4-day total of 107-08 bested runner-up Skeet Reese by 3 1/4 pounds. Here's how he did it.
Practice
Due to recent rains, Guntersville was a foot or 2 over full pool when practice opened 9 days ago. All of the shoreline grass was flooded and there were lots of fish near the banks. There were bass in all stages of the spawn and they could be caught anywhere from the shallowest water all the way out to depths of 20 feet or more.
Martens' first inclination was to fish the skinny water.
"I was throwing swimbaits in the grass and getting a lot of bites," he said. "I knew I could catch 50 fish a day from 1 1/2 to 3 feet (of water) and put together 25 pounds pretty quick. By 11:00 on the first day I was already close to 25."
He spoke with Steve Kennedy that evening, however, and discovered that quality fish were also eating crankbaits at depths of 10 to 12 feet.
"I said, 'I know where there's stuff like that,' and I started checking that stuff. By the end of the (second practice) day, I never went shallow again.
"Three to 10 feet of water was the place to be, and it just got better and better."
Competition
> Day 1: 5, 29-02
> Day 2: 5, 29-12
> Day 3: 5, 28-11
> Day 4: 5, 19-15
> Total = 20, 107-08
The Tennessee Valley Authority pulled a tremendous amount of current over the first 2 days and the anglers who weighed the biggest bags were primarily focused on the main-river channel. The flow was so strong that the position of the fish were readily predictable.
Martens's best spots contained some of the famed Guntersville grass, but their primary feature was a hard bottom.
"They were places where the current pushed the bait and the food was coming right to (the bass)," he said. "I had about 30 waypoints, but some of them were places that other guys did good on – I know Mike McClelland (7th) fished one and Jami Fralick (9th) was in one.
"I had enough, though, where I could run around and pull up to a place and nobody would be there. If nobody had been there that day, you could catch them pretty good. I'd whack 30 or 40 fish in an hour and then leave."
He caught more than 130 fish on day 1, and none of them went much over 6 pounds. His bag put him in a tie for 4th place, a little less than 2 pounds behind Todd Faircloth.
He moved into the lead on day 2 with his best sack of the tournament, which was topped by a 6 1/2-pounder. He then extended his advantage to nearly 7 pounds the following day and found a spot late in the day that he was sure he could exploit to seal the victory.
Martens was relaxed before day 4 got under way, but there were some anxious moments to come.
"It was just off the main river, not far from the state park (which served as the launch site). There was a 25- or 26-pound bag on the on the end of a point. You could catch a dozen fish over 5 pounds."
The local guy had other ideas, though, and he didn't catch anything off that place. He compiled all of his weight at a subsequent stop, burning through about 25 keepers to do it.
His bag was a bout 9 pounds lighter than his average for the first 3 days, but he still ended up with a decent cushion over Reese, who'd made a strong final-day charge from the No. 5 position.
"At least I made it more interesting for everybody else at the weigh-in," he said.
Winning Gear Notes
> Cranking gear: 6'9" medium-action Megabass Chimera Evolution rod, unnamed casting reel, 20-pound Sunline Shooter fluorocarbon line, Lucky Craft RC 2.5 DD crankbait (chartreuse shad) or LV 500 lipless crank (spring craw).
> He said many of his fish were undeterred by grass hanging off his baits. "Those fish are used to chasing bait through grass," he said. "The (shad) will run to a clump of grass and get wedged in and just sit there."
The Bottom Line
> Main factor in his success – "Just finding spots that nobody else had found. I always look for off-the-wall stuff and this time it paid off. I had a few key spots that nobody touched and some other spots that five different guys fished, but they didn't fish it in exactly the right place."
> Performance edge – "I don't really have one thing this time, unless my right arm counts for all the cranking I did. But my Triton (boat), Mercury (engine) and Motorguide (trolling motor) haven't given me any problems all year, and I've been able to run all over the lake wherever we've been."
