Stingy Chesapeake Doesn't Slow Down Martens

By BassFan Staff

The Chesapeake Bay stymied a lot of good anglers on Thursday. As might be expected, Aaron Martens was not among them.

The leader in the Toyota Tundra B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year (AOY) race sacked 17 1/2 pounds to snatch the early lead in the second-to-last event of the Bassmaster Elite Series regular season. It was a huge haul on a day that saw only 44 of the 107 competitors catch limits.

Chad Pipkens was 10 ounces behind Martens after sacking 16-14. He was followed by Morizo Shimizu with 16-09.

Brent Ehrler (15-15) was 4th and Skeet Reese (15-13) completed the Top 5.

Here's a look at the initial Top 12, with deficit margins from the leader indicated by red numbers in parentheses:

1. Aaron Martens: 17-08
2. Chad Pipkens: 16-14 (0-10)
3. Morizo Shimizu: 16-09 (0-15)
4. Brent Ehrler: 15-15 (1-09)
5. Skeet Reese: 15-13 (1-11)
6. (tie) Koby Kreiger: 15-02 (2-06)
6. (tie) Jacob Powroznik: 15-02 (2-06)
8. Randy Howell: 15-01 (2-07)
9. James Niggemeyer: 15-00 (2-08)
10. Jason Christie: 14-15 (2-09)
11. Edwin Evers: 14-11 (2-13)
12. Carl Jocumsen: 14-07 (3-01)

The venue is in the midst of its summer doldrums and bites are few and far between for just about everybody – the leaders included. Those who caught stringers that registered in the teens connected with better-than-average quality and capitalized on their scant opportunities.

Evers, the winner of the past two events, put himself in position to contend for a third straight victory with a sack that left him less than 3 pounds out of the lead. Howell, who won last week's Lake Oneida Northern Open, has a chance to pick up his second trophy of the trip.

Many didn't fare so well. Mike Iaconelli, who likely has more familiarity with the venue than anyone in the field, was among 10 anglers who zeroed. That group also included veterans Shaw Grigsby and John Murray.

As anticipated, the prime locations – particularly the few fertile milfoil beds that aren't choked up by algae – are drawing crowds. Timing is a huge factor, as several anglers reported getting quality bites only on their second or third visits to specific locales.

From a weather perspective, not much will change on day 2. The forecast again calls for sunny skies, a high temperature of 87 degrees and a light wind out of the southwest.

The field will be reduced to the Top 50 after Friday's weigh-in, and then to the Top 12 following Saturday's festivities. The winner will be determined Sunday based on highest cumulative weight.

Martens Ditched Crowds

> Day 1: 5, 17-08

Martens had one fish in his livewell after his first two stops before deciding to get away from the crowds. He ended up getting seven keeper bites, two of which broke off.

"I ran and gunned a lot the rest of the day," he said. "I fished a lot of spots and I never caught two in the same place.

"I had my weight by about 1 o'clock. It was quite a grind."

He made two pre-practice trips to the Chesapeake – one after last year's derby at the Delaware River and the other in early June following BASSFest at Kentucky Lake.

"Those 4 1/2 days I spent here really helped me a lot. I spent the first day and a half (of official practice earlier this week) looking for something different and I didn't find anything."

He had little company during the latter part of the day – he shared one of his areas with Jocumsen and another with Howell. His bag was topped by a 4 1/4-pounder.

"I don't know if I can catch them again tomorrow," he said. "At this place, you have no idea until it happens."

2nd: Pipkens Recovered from Slow Start

> Day 1: 5, 16-14

Pipkens, who's coming off his best finish of the season (32nd) at the St. Lawrence River, stands a good chance to surpass that mark after a strong opening day. He got just two bites over the first 3 hours – one from a catfish and one from a striper.

He finally caught his first largemouth at 9:00 and then averaged about a bite per hour the rest of the day.

"I really didn't know what was in store for me," he said. "I probably had a better practice than most – I was getting four to six bites a day and catching multiple fish in some places, and the bites I was getting were 2 3/4 to 4 pounds."

His bag was topped by a 4-pounder. He made just a single cull at the end of the day.

"It was a place I'd been to three times and hadn't caught anything, and then on my first cast I caught that 4. It's all timing – you have to get to a place before somebody else or be there when a fish decides to bite.

"I've got enough places where I think I can keep getting five bites, and they should be some decent ones. We'll just have to see what happens tomorrow."

4th: Ehrler Pleasantly Surprised

> Day 1: 5, 15-15

Ehrler had a difficult practice and said he had no idea that a mid-teens bag was in the cards for him.

"I had very low expectations," he said. "Today was just a case of going out and fishing and I caught most of them on baits and from areas that I didn't fish in practice.

"You don't have too many good options when you only get six bites in practice, but I just slowed down and took my time. I bounced around a lot and my bites were few and far between, but I think it's like that for everybody. At the end of the day I had five pretty good ones."

He caught only the five keepers he weighed and didn't lose anything.

"I don't know how tomorrow's going to go because this place is so hit or miss, but I know I can't expect to catch that (weight) again. Honestly, when I caught one early today, I was just so excited that I was going to weigh something in. Now, even if I don't catch one tomorrow, I'm not going to lose a lot of points.

"I was awake at 1:30 this morning because I was so freaked out about (the possibility of) not catching one day. I should sleep better tonight."

6th: Powroznik Mixed it Up

> Day 1: 5, 15-02

Powroznik bounced between a dozen locales and threw a variety of baits en route to compiling his solid foundation stringer.

"I was getting nine or 10 bites a day in practice and if you can get that many, you should end up with 15 to 20 pounds," he said. "This place has a lot of nice fish, but it's all about timing right now.

"I think my timing was okay, but it wasn't dead-on. There's just so many people around that it's just had to fish the way I need to. You've got 107 guys out here who are going to nit and pick and grind and claw their way to somewhere that they're able to catch a bass."

He employed standard shallow-water techniques – a bladed jig, a shallow-diving crankbait, a jig and a shaky-head. He got eight keeper bites, the best of which was a 4-pounder.

He said he'll add another half-dozen stops to his rotation on day 2.

"There's about 15 of us who've put something together and the other guys are kind of fishing by the seat of their pants right now," he said. "But as this thing goes on, those guys are going to figure out more and more.

"I don't want to sound cocky, but 15 pounds should take me all the way to Saturday, even if I don't catch one tomorrow. I'm going to go out and fish as hard as I can for big ones. If I've got three good ones, I'm not going to try to catch two 12-inchers to fill a limit. I'll stick to what I'm doing."

85th: Just 1 for Monroe

> Day 1: 1, 2-10

Ish Monroe said he spent most of his practice getting himself psychologically read to fish in jam-packed conditions. He handled that part of his day okay, but got little cooperation from the fish.

"I had an okay practice and I knew (the area from the Susquehana) Flats to the North East (River) had the biggest population of fish, but I knew I'd be fishing around people," he said. "I decided to hunker down and go really slow and not get spun out fishing past people, behind them or in front of them.

"In 4 hours I got three bites – two short fish and one I missed. I ran to another community area and caught the one keeper and saw another one. Then I went back to my starting area and watched 10 boats fish one dock, then I fished it and lost one off of it."

He needs a big stringer on Friday to avoid missing his second straight 50-cut and falling closer to the 2016 Classic cutoff (he started the event in 26th place in the points and the critical mark should end up right around 40th place).

"I have to go back and start in that community area. If my timing's right and the water's right, I could go in there and catch 12, 13, 14 pounds."
Notable

> Day 1 stats – 107 anglers, 44 limits, 9 fours, 14 threes, 13 twos, 17 ones, 10 zeroes.

Weather Forecast

> Fri., Aug. 14 – Sunny - 87°/65°
- Wind: From the SW at 5 mph

> Sat., Aug. 15 – Sunny - 89°/67°
- Wind: From the SSW at 7 mph

> Sun., Aug. 16 – Sunny - 92°/68°
- Wind: From the SSW at 7 mph

Day 1 Standings

1. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 5, 17-08 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 17-08

2. Chad Pipkens -- Holt, MI -- 5, 16-14 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 16-14

3. Morizo Shimizu -- Osaka, Japan -- 5, 16-09 -- 98
Day 1: 5, 16-09

4. Brent Ehrler -- Newport Beach, CA -- 5, 15-15 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 15-15

5. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 5, 15-13 -- 96
Day 1: 5, 15-13

6. Koby Kreiger -- Bokeelia, FL -- 5, 15-02 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 15-02

6. Jacob Powroznik -- Port Haywood, VA -- 5, 15-02 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 15-02

8. Randy Howell -- Springville, AL -- 5, 15-01 -- 93
Day 1: 5, 15-01

9. James Niggemeyer -- Van, TX -- 5, 15-00 -- 92
Day 1: 5, 15-00

10. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, OK -- 5, 14-15 -- 91
Day 1: 5, 14-15

11. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 5, 14-11 -- 90
Day 1: 5, 14-11

12. Carl Jocumsen -- Queensland, Australia -- 4, 14-07 -- 89
Day 1: 4, 14-07

13. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 5, 14-06 -- 88
Day 1: 5, 14-06

14. Andy Montgomery -- Blacksburg, SC -- 5, 14-04 -- 87
Day 1: 5, 14-04

15. Gerald Swindle -- Warrior, AL -- 5, 13-12 -- 86
Day 1: 5, 13-12

16. Kurt Dove -- Del Rio, TX -- 5, 13-11 -- 85
Day 1: 5, 13-11

17. Randall Tharp -- Port St. Joe, FL -- 5, 13-01 -- 84
Day 1: 5, 13-01

18. Matt Herren -- Ashville, AL -- 5, 12-09 -- 83
Day 1: 5, 12-09

19. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 5, 12-06 -- 82
Day 1: 5, 12-06

20. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, AR -- 5, 12-05 -- 81
Day 1: 5, 12-05

21. David Smith -- Del City, OK -- 5, 12-03 -- 80
Day 1: 5, 12-03

22. Russ Lane -- Prattville, AL -- 5, 12-00 -- 79
Day 1: 5, 12-00

23. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 5, 11-15 -- 78
Day 1: 5, 11-15

23. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 5, 11-15 -- 78
Day 1: 5, 11-15

25. Chris Lane -- Guntersville, AL -- 5, 11-14 -- 76
Day 1: 5, 11-14

26. Jordan Lee -- Vinemont, AL -- 5, 11-13 -- 75
Day 1: 5, 11-13

27. Britt Myers -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 5, 11-12 -- 74
Day 1: 5, 11-12

28. Brett Hite -- Phoenix, AZ -- 5, 10-12 -- 73
Day 1: 5, 10-12

28. Davy Hite -- Ninety Six, SC -- 5, 10-12 -- 73
Day 1: 5, 10-12

30. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 4, 10-11 -- 71
Day 1: 4, 10-11

31. Keith Poche -- Pike Road, AL -- 5, 10-09 -- 70
Day 1: 5, 10-09

32. Ken Iyobe -- Tokoname, Japan 4, 10-09 -- 69
Day 1: 4, 10-09

33. Justin Lucas -- Guntersville, AL -- 5, 10-06 -- 68
Day 1: 5, 10-06

34. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 5, 10-03 -- 67
Day 1: 5, 10-03

34. J Todd Tucker -- Moultrie, GA -- 5, 10-03 -- 67
Day 1: 5, 10-03

36. Bobby Lane Jr. -- Lakeland, FL -- 4, 10-03 -- 65
Day 1: 4, 10-03

36. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 4, 10-03 -- 65
Day 1: 4, 10-03

38. Mike Kernan -- Wylie, TX -- 5, 09-15 -- 63
Day 1: 5, 09-15

39. Josh Bertrand -- Gilbert, AZ -- 5, 09-11 -- 62
Day 1: 5, 09-11

40. Boyd Duckett -- Guntersville, AL -- 4, 09-11 -- 61
Day 1: 4, 09-11

41. Brandon Card -- Caryville, TN -- 3, 09-08 -- 60
Day 1: 3, 09-08

42. Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu City, AZ -- 3, 08-07 -- 59
Day 1: 3, 08-07

43. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, OK -- 4, 08-05 -- 58
Day 1: 4, 08-05

44. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 3, 08-02 -- 57
Day 1: 3, 08-02

45. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 5, 07-12 -- 56
Day 1: 5, 07-12

45. Brandon Lester -- Fayetteville, TN -- 5, 07-12 -- 56
Day 1: 5, 07-12

47. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 5, 07-09 -- 54
Day 1: 5, 07-09

48. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 4, 07-09 -- 53
Day 1: 4, 07-09

49. Brandon Coulter -- Knoxville, TN -- 3, 07-09 -- 52
Day 1: 3, 07-09

50. Cliff Prince -- Palatka, FL -- 5, 07-06 -- 51
Day 1: 5, 07-06

51. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, AR -- 3, 06-14 -- 50
Day 1: 3, 06-14

51. Paul Mueller -- Naugatuck, CT -- 3, 06-14 -- 50
Day 1: 3, 06-14

53. Fletcher Shryock -- New Philadelphia, OH -- 2, 06-10 -- 48
Day 1: 2, 06-10

54. Matt Reed -- Madisonville, TX -- 3, 06-08 -- 47
Day 1: 3, 06-08

55. Gary Klein -- Weatherford, TX -- 3, 06-07 -- 46
Day 1: 3, 06-07

56. Kevin Hawk -- Guntersville, AL -- 2, 06-06 -- 45
Day 1: 2, 06-06

57. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, TX -- 2, 06-05 -- 44
Day 1: 2, 06-05

58. Ott DeFoe -- Knoxville, TN -- 5, 06-02 -- 43
Day 1: 5, 06-02

59. Greg Vinson -- Wetumpka, AL -- 2, 05-14 -- 42
Day 1: 2, 05-14

60. Bradley Roy -- Lancaster, KY -- 5, 05-13 -- 41
Day 1: 5, 05-13

61. Chris Zaldain -- San Jose, CA -- 3, 05-12 -- 40
Day 1: 3, 05-12

62. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, AR -- 2, 05-12 -- 39
Day 1: 2, 05-12

63. Terry Scroggins -- San Mateo, FL -- 5, 05-10 -- 38
Day 1: 5, 05-10

64. Kenyon Hill -- Norman, OK -- 5, 05-09 -- 37
Day 1: 5, 05-09

65. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 2, 05-09 -- 36
Day 1: 2, 05-09

66. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 3, 05-08 -- 35
Day 1: 3, 05-08

67. Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, AR -- 4, 04-13 -- 34
Day 1: 4, 04-13

68. Kelley Jaye -- Dadeville, AL -- 3, 04-13 -- 33
Day 1: 3, 04-13

69. Paul Elias -- Laurel, MS -- 2, 04-12 -- 32
Day 1: 2, 04-12

70. Alton Jones -- Lorena, TX -- 2, 04-11 -- 31
Day 1: 2, 04-11

71. Randy Allen -- Shreveport, LA -- 1, 04-10 -- 30
Day 1: 1, 04-10

72. John Crews Jr -- Salem, VA -- 2, 04-08 -- 29
Day 1: 2, 04-08

73. Fred Roumbanis -- Bixby, OK -- 2, 04-05 -- 28
Day 1: 2, 04-05

74. Nate Wellman -- Newaygo, MI -- 5, 04-02 -- 27
Day 1: 5, 04-02

75. Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 2, 04-02 -- 26
Day 1: 2, 04-02

76. Kevin Short -- Mayflower, AR -- 1, 03-15 -- 25
Day 1: 1, 03-15

77. Billy McCaghren -- Mayflower, AR -- 2, 03-11 -- 24
Day 1: 2, 03-11

78. Hank Cherry Jr -- Maiden, NC -- 3, 03-05 -- 23
Day 1: 3, 03-05

79. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 3, 03-04 -- 22
Day 1: 3, 03-04

80. Micah Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 2, 03-04 -- 21
Day 1: 2, 03-04

81. Casey Scanlon -- Lanexa, KS -- 3, 03-01 -- 20
Day 1: 3, 03-01

82. David Mullins -- Mt Carmel, TN -- 2, 02-15 -- 19
Day 1: 2, 02-15

83. Tim Horton -- Muscle Shoals, AL -- 1, 02-14 -- 18
Day 1: 1, 02-14

84. Jason Williamson -- Wagener, SC -- 1, 02-11 -- 17
Day 1: 1, 02-11

85. Ish Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 1, 02-10 -- 16
Day 1: 1, 02-10

86. Seth Feider -- Bloomington, MN -- 1, 02-08 -- 15
Day 1: 1, 02-08

86. Kotaro Kiriyama -- Moody, AL -- 1, 02-08 -- 15
Day 1: 1, 02-08

86. Kevin Ledoux -- Choctaw, OK -- 1, 02-08 -- 15
Day 1: 1, 02-08

89. Marty Robinson -- Lyman, SC -- 1, 02-06 -- 12
Day 1: 1, 02-06

90. Zell Rowland -- Montgomery, TX -- 1, 02-04 -- 11
Day 1: 1, 02-04

91. Cliff Crochet -- Pierre Part, LA -- 1, 02-00 -- 10
Day 1: 1, 02-00

92. David Williams -- Maiden, NC -- 1, 01-14 -- 9
Day 1: 1, 01-14

93. David Walker -- Sevierville, TN -- 1, 01-13 -- 8
Day 1: 1, 01-13

94. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, CA -- 1, 01-07 -- 7
Day 1: 1, 01-07

95. Chad Morgenthaler -- Coulterville, IL -- 1, 01-03 -- 6
Day 1: 1, 01-03

96. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 1, 01-02 -- 5
Day 1: 1, 01-02

97. Jonathon VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 1, 00-15 -- 4
Day 1: 1, 00-15

98. Scott Ashmore -- Broken Arrow, OK -- 0, 00-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 00-00

98. James Elam -- Tulsa, OK -- 0, 00-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 00-00

98. Shaw Grigsby Jr. -- Gainesville, FL -- 0, 00-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 00-00

98. Charlie Hartley -- Grove City, OH -- 0, 00-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 00-00

98. Michael Iaconelli -- Pitts Grove, NJ -- 0, 00-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 00-00

98. Matt Lee -- Guntersville, AL -- 0, 00-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 00-00

98. John Murray -- Phoenix, AZ -- 0, 00-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 00-00

98. Derek Remitz -- Grant, AL -- 0, 00-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 00-00

98. Joseph Sancho -- New Windsor, NY -- 0, 00-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 00-00

98. Dennis Tietje -- Roanoke, LA -- 0, 00-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 00-00