Believe The Hype: Martin Cracks 100 At Chick

By BassFan Staff

No lake generated more buzz in bass fishing circles this spring than Lake Chickamauga. The Tennessee River impoundment situated northeast of Chattanooga routinely produced 30-plus pound stringers during the pre-spawn season and even kicked out a 40-pound bag during a BFL event in March.

Talk coming into this week's FLW Tour season finale was that a 25-pound bag would be considered massive and the locals who know the lake well, including three Tour pros, estimated around 80 pounds would likely win. After all, it's the end of June and the fish were making their way out to their summer haunts.

By the time day 4 rolled around, BassFans had already seen a 27-pound bag courtesy of Casey Martin on day 2 and 80 pounds was within reach for several pros, including Martin, who had totaled 73-02 through 3 days and brought a 10-pound lead into today. When the day started, the question wasn't so much whether Martin would win, but by how much and, after 3 days of intense fishing pressure, could he add to Chickamauga's mystique by reaching the century mark on the last day of June.

Not only did he win, he nearly lapped the field and breezed past the 100-pound barrier in the process.

He closed out a masterful performance with a whopping 30-01 stringer today that gave him 103-03 for the tournament, the second-heaviest 4-day total in FLW Tour history. His margin of victory over Tennesseean Wesley Strader was 22-11. Only Randall Tharp's 23-08 winning margin at Lake Okeechobee in 2012 was larger in a Tour event.

"I'm really relieved and can't believe it's happened," he said. "I still think it's a dream. Not a whole lot of guys get the chance to win a Tour event as a rookie."

Martin's big fish alone, an 8-05 brute, would've been sufficient to seal the win as he only needed 7-06 to pass Strader once it was his turn to weigh in. He's the third Tour rookie to win an event this year, joining Drew Benton (Lake Okeechobee) and Randy Haynes (Lake Eufaula). It was also another victory for the umbrella rig as Martin employed the multi-lure rig to catch the vast majority of his fish.

Strader caught 22-04 and wound up second with 80-08, matching his finish from the 2010 Eastern FLW Series at Chick. Michael Neal slipped a spot to 3rd with a 17-01 stringer today that gave him 79-13.

Dan Morehead caught 23-02, his second 23-pound bag of the derby, and moved him up 2 spots to 4th with 77-02. Newly-crowned Angler of the Year Andy Morgan surged to his fourth Top-5 finish in the last 2 years with a 19-08 bag that gave him 73-08 overall.

Here's a look at how the Top 10 finished up:

1. Casey Martin: 103-03
2. Wesley Strader: 80-08
3. Michael Neal: 79-13
4. Dan Morehead: 77-02
5. Andy Morgan: 73-08
6. Jim Moynagh: 71-14
7. Larry Nixon: 71-06
8. Tom Redington: 68-14
9. Luke Clausen: 68-09
10. Todd Auten: 65-15

With the immense amount of knowledge that the Tennessee trio of Strader, Neal and Morgan possess about the lake, others knew it was going to be hard to knock them off, but Martin, an Alabama resident who knows the Tennessee River well, was able to uncover a giant school of fish and figured out a way to trigger their feeding instincts to make this a ledge-fishing blowout.

While there were some shallow fish available around the lake, nothing could compare to the quality that swam in the schools that were grouped up on the main river bars and ledges.

Rumors have started to circulate about next year's FLW Tour schedule. Sources tell BassFan it appears it'll be a six-tournament lineup again and the schedule is close to being finalized.

Martin Elated

> Day 4: 5, 30-01 (20, 103-03)

Early this morning, Martin connected with two fish at the same time on an umbrella rig. They were both 5-pounders, but he was only able to get one in the boat. He then went 45 minutes without a bite and had a 4 1/2-pounder come off. The thoughts going through his head were anything but positive.

"I was starting to wonder if this was where the wheels come off," he said.

The wheels stayed secure alright. He then caught an 8-pounder and got on a roll that continued through the rest of the day and carried him to the blowout victory.

"That 8-pounder was the real turning point," he said. "Up until then I was struggling pretty bad. When I caught that, it gave me an 8 and a 5 and with a 10-pound lead, I knew I was in good shape."

He jumped between his "mega-school" spot and his "big-fish" spot today and once he had close to 20 pounds in the boat, he leaned on the big fish hole that he'd had to himself all week and pounded away.

"Once I got to 18 or 20 pounds, I went there and the fish were still in there. I wanted to get to 100 pounds," he said.

He said he'll probably fish the Detroit River Central EverStart next month before shifting his focus to the Forrest Wood Cup. It's safe to say he'll have a lot of confidence going into both derbies.

"It helps my confidence a lot," he said. "Any time you can get a good Top-10 finish at any event it builds your confidence, for sure."

Details of his winning pattern, as well as those of the other top finishers, will be posted soon.

2nd: Strader Fine With Runner-up

> Day 4: 5, 22-04 (20, 80-08)

Strader figured Martin was going to catch them again today, but had no inkling that he'd slam 30 pounds on the final day.

"The weights he was catching were nighttime bags here because the bigger ones bite better at night here," he said.

In the end, he was anything but disappointed to take 2nd on a lake he's fished for 20-plus years. He entered the event 32nd in points, but his runner-up showing put him 17th in the final standings.

"I'm not disappointed at all," he said. "It'd have been harder to swallow if it was by 2 ounces or something like that, but when a guy beat you by 23 pounds, he just caught 'em. That's all there is to it."

He followed the same formula today that he'd used the last 2 days. He headed up the river to a spot he had to himself and caught the biggest bag he'd caught all week, then headed down the lake searching for a big upgrade or two that never came. His kicker was 5-06.

"It started off slow today," he said. "I grinded and grinded it out a lot longer than I had been. There was a little bit of current and I fished for 30 or 40 minutes and had three bumps on my swimbait and had one get off. I thought, 'Something ain't right.'"

He picked up a Zoom Ol' Monster worm and started catching them after he figured out the fish had anchored themselves to the bottom.

"Usually that doesn't happen because they usually suspend with a little bit of current, but they were right down on the bottom today," he said. "The key deal was making the right cast. They'd either be on one boulder or the shell bed behind a rock pile. I caught what I thought I could catch there today."

3rd: Neal Got Antsy

> Day 4: 5, 17-01 (20, 79-13)

Neal was satisfied with his effort this week, which resulted in his second 3rd-place finish of the year and helped him finish 20th in points, meaning he'll be heading to his first Cup in August.

"I'm happy with it," he said. "I couldn't ask for much more. Any time you make a Top 10, you have to be satisfied. I exceeded the expectations that I had when the season started. I wanted to make the Cup, period."

As someone who knows the lake really well, he was blown away by what Martin caught this week.

"I thought 80 pounds easily would walk away with it," he said. "And 75 would be 2nd, but 100 pounds is just crazy. I've never been around the fish to do that at this time of year."

He said he got caught up in jumping around too much today and wasn't patient enough on some spots.

"I moved around too much today," he said. "I should've sat on the bigger school and tried to catch them. I moved around and tried to find ones that were feeding instead of waiting them out for a while."

Typically, he'd sit on an area for 15 to 20 minutes. Today, he was bolting after 5.

He didn't have a limit until 10 a.m. after getting several bites, but no hookups at his starting spot. He later came back to it and make a couple culls that helped him reach 17 pounds.

4th: Momentum for Morehead

> Day 4: 5, 23-02 (20, 77-02)

Morehead is only one who beat Martin in something this week. He said on stage they had a friendly $1 wager on who caught the biggest fish today. Morehead's kicker was a 9-pounder, more than a half-pound bigger than Martin's.

He had stout 23-pound bags to bookend his tournament and he's pretty pumped about the momentum he has going now.

"It's been a good year for me. I can't complain," he said. "It wasn't a stellar year, but I'm feeling good and fishing good and making good decisions. After this, I'm going to go home and regroup and step away from the boat for a week or so and get my head on right."

His next order of business before focusing on the Forrest Wood Cup is fishing the Detroit River Central EverStart. He has a 33-point lead in the Central Division AOY race and should he hold onto the top spot, he'll qualify for the 2014 Cup.

He opted to start today on a spot that gave up some good fish Saturday afternoon. It turned out to be even better today as he loaded the livewell with the 9-pounder right away and followed that up with a 5-pounder, both on a Zoom Magnum Trick Worm (red bug).

"It wasn't fast and furious, but I caught the big one right off the bait and not long after, I caught a 5," he said. "I thought I was gearing up for a big day, but then I went through a lull and had trouble getting bites."

He made a move and pulled out a shaky-head setup and boated a couple more keepers before another move netted him his fifth.

"Today was different," he said. "When the fish would bite, they'd take the back end of the worm. They wouldn’t inhale it. Maybe they got smart or weren't biting very good. It was a slow grind for me today."

5th: Morgan's Wiped Out

> Day 4: 5, 19-08 (20, 73-08)

Morgan's plans are to decompress for a couple of days before heading to ICAST next week. He won't fish another tournament until the Forrest Wood Cup.

"I am worn the heck out," the new AOY said after surging into the Top 5 this afternoon.

It's his 26th Top-10 result in a Tour event.

He said the fish he caught today were somewhat shallower than they'd been most of the week, but he still caught a dozen 3-pounders by the time the day was done.

"I had a good day, no doubt about it," he said. "It's been a fun week. I caught a lot of fish. I lost a couple today that would’ve put me in the 20s. I'm just glad I didn't lose them Thursday or Friday. I'd have been a lot more upset."

He started on a deeper hole today and caught four fairly quick, including a 3-pounder. He then moved to a shallow bar and a bagged a couple more 4s and several others in the 3 1/2-pound range before he made another move and had a 6-pounder saw his line off right at the boat.

Notable

> Day 4 stats – 10 anglers, 10 limits.

Final Standings

1. Casey Martin -- New Hope, Al -- 22-15 (5) -- 27-00 (5) -- 49-15 (10) -- 23-03 (5) -- 30-01 (5) -- 103-03 (20) -- $125,000

2. Wesley Strader -- Spring City, Tn -- 18-07 (5) -- 20-06 (5) -- 38-13 (10) -- 19-07 (5) -- 22-04 (5) -- 80-08 (20) -- $33,287

3. Michael Neal -- Dayton, Tn -- 17-06 (5) -- 22-14 (5) -- 40-04 (10) -- 22-08 (5) -- 17-01 (5) -- 79-13 (20) -- $28,520

4. Dan Morehead -- Paducah, Ky -- 23-07 (5) -- 12-15 (5) -- 36-06 (10) -- 17-10 (5) -- 23-02 (5) -- 77-02 (20) -- $23,753

5. Andy Morgan -- Dayton, Tn -- 18-01 (5) -- 16-10 (5) -- 34-11 (10) -- 19-05 (5) -- 19-08 (5) -- 73-08 (20) -- $18,987

6. Jim Moynagh -- Carver, Mn -- 20-02 (5) -- 13-11 (5) -- 33-13 (10) -- 22-02 (5) -- 15-15 (5) -- 71-14 (20) -- $16,127

7. Larry Nixon -- Bee Branch, Ar -- 19-14 (5) -- 22-08 (5) -- 42-06 (10) -- 12-15 (5) -- 16-01 (5) -- 71-06 (20) -- $15,173

8. Tom Redington -- Royse City, Tx -- 20-06 (5) -- 14-10 (5) -- 35-00 (10) -- 17-13 (5) -- 16-01 (5) -- 69-14 (20) -- $14,220

9. Luke Clausen -- Spokane, Wa -- 19-02 (5) -- 20-09 (5) -- 39-11 (10) -- 14-02 (5) -- 14-12 (5) -- 68-09 (20) -- $13,267

10. Todd Auten -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 17-09 (5) -- 18-02 (5) -- 35-11 (10) -- 17-08 (5) -- 12-12 (5) -- 65-15 (20) -- $12,313