Martens In Full Command After Boxing 16-Plus

By BassFan Staff

Aaron Martens had another good day at the Chesapeake Bay Bassmaster Elite Series. The four guys who began the day as his closest pursuers did not.

Martens, the Angler of the Year points leader seeking to go wire-to-wire for his second victory of 2015, boxed 16-05 to take full command of the penultimate event of the regular season with a 3-day total of 48-13. His bag was the second-biggest in the 50-angler field and gave him a lead of just under 5 pounds with 1 day to go.

The remainder of the Top 5 were all newcomers to that group. Bill Lowen moved up four places into 2nd with a 15-11 stringer that gave him a 43-14 total and Russ Lane climbed six slots to 3rd with 41-12 after catching a 14-13 bag.

Gerald Swindle catapulted from 12th to 4th as a 14-12 haul gave him a 39-15 aggregate. Davy Hite rounded out the Top 5 with 39-13 as a 13-01 stringer allowed him to move up five positions.

Here are the totals for the 12 anglers who advanced to the final day (red numbers in parentheses indicate deficit margins from the leader):

1. Aaron Martens: 49-13
2. Bill Lowen: 43-14 (4-15)
3. Russ Lane: 41-12 (8-01)
4. Gerald Swindle: 39-15 (9-14)
5. Davy Hite: 39-13 (10-00)
6. Chad Pipkens: 39-08 (10-05)
7. Carl Jocumsen: 37-15 (11-14)
8. Greg Hackney: 37-09 (12-04)
9. Brent Chapman: 37-09 (12-04)
10. Mark Menendez: 36-03 (13-10)
11. Andy Montgomery: 35-14 (13-15)
12. Bernie Schultz: 35-09 (14-04)

Pipkens, Jocumsen, Hackney and Morizo Shimizu occupied the Nos. 2 through 5 positions at the start of the day, but none managed more than three keepers on day 3. One indicator of the strength of Martens' program is that he continued to catch quality from the same area he's shared all week with Jocumsen and Randy Howell (another competitor who couldn't manage a limit on Saturday).

Conversely, Martens compiled most of his bag late in the day, and Sunday will offer less of the optimal outgoing tide at the end of the session.

Chapman (14-10 on day 3), Menendez (13-10) and Montgomery (12-01) all moved into the Top 12 from prior positions in the teens. They supplanted Shimizu (5th to 14th with two fish for 5-07), Skeet Reese (7th to 15th with three for 5-11) and Brent Ehrler (8th to 13th with three for 7-12).

More sunny weather is in store for the Top 12 on day 4. The high temperature should reach the 90s for the first time all week and the wind will be out of the southwest to 8 mph.

Martens Not Cruising

> Day 3: 5, 16-05 (15, 48-13)

Martens will not be overconfident when he launches his boat on day 4.

"This whole thing is scary and I'm worried about not catching fish," he said. "I'm doing a lot of different stuff and changing things up a lot, and I might have to do something different again tomorrow.

"There's probably enough fish left, but I just have to catch them all. If I only catch 12 pounds, that'll be scary. If I catch 15 or 16, I'll be a lot more confident."

He's caught most of his fish on quick-moving baits, but two that he brought to the scale on Saturday bit slower offerings that were stationary at the time because he was picking out backlashes. He boated seven keepers, broke off two and failed to connect on two or three other bites.

Four of his weigh-in fish, including the 3 3/4-pounder that topped his bag, arrived during the final 90 minutes prior to check-in.

"I feel like I've been very fortunate this week," he said. "I've lost some big fish, but I've had some crazy things happen on the good side, too.

"I'll go out tomorrow and catch as much as I can, but I won't be too comfortable until it's over."

2nd: Lowen's Adjustment Worked

> Day 3: 5, 15-11 (15, 43-14)

Lowen worked his way through 10 keepers Saturday and the five he brought to the scale were all in the 3-pound class. He's fishing about 15 miles from the launch, working a flat area where a creek empties into the bay and the creek itself.

"I tried to switch things up (regarding) the tide a little bit today and it worked perfectly," he said. "I hope tomorrow's the same deal. I've caught fish on ever tide except for the hour (from approximately 10 to 11 a.m.) when it goes totally slack.

"I haven't caught any big ones yet, but maybe I will tomorrow."

His execution to this point has been flawless – he hasn't lost a keeper that he's had hooked up.

"I just have to go out tomorrow and catch everything I can and hope (Martens) catches nothing. I don't wish bad luck on anybody, but maybe he'll just miss the tide window and won't catch them like he has been."

3rd: Lane Chilling Out

> Day 3: 5, 14-13 (15, 41-12)

Lane is focusing on a backwater area that features considerably cooler water than most of the bay.

"It's 74 or 75 in there, and when you get out of there it's like 82," he said. "I think that's pushed a few more fish in there, but I leaned on them pretty hard today and probably caught 20 keepers. Who knows what's in store for tomorrow."

His best fish weighed a little over 4 pounds. He lost a couple that might've aided him, but only by a couple of ounces or so.

He's flipping a variety of Big Bite Baits plastics around woody cover and also catching some on a spinnerbait.

He's not real high on his chances to win.

"I fully expect Aaron to close the door tomorrow," he said. "He caught them really late today and you don't know what losing that hour of the tide could do, but I really don't expect him to struggle.

"I'll just go back in there and catch what I can get, whether that's 10, 12 or 16 pounds."

4th: Swindle Staying Close

> Day 3: 5, 14-12 (15, 39-15)

Swindle has spent the entire event in close proximity to the launch ramp and estimated that he burned less than a half-gallon of boat fuel on day 3.

He handled nine keepers, the biggest of which was a 4-pounder.

"I'm just staying in my areas and grinding, and today I got a few bigger bites," he said. "I'm not going far – my GPS tracks look like somebody took an Etch-A-Sketch and colored the whole thing in.

"I'm fishing for one bite at a time and I'm not going to say I'm only targeting big fish. I'm after as many bites as I can get to try to catch five. This one has been a real uphill mental challenge because the bites are so random and so far apart."

5th: Five a Day for Hite

> Day 3: 5, 13-01 (15, 39-13)

Hite has caught exactly five keepers on each day of the event.

"This (tournament) is kind of crazy and you've got to be able to adjust," he said. "I had a real good day yesterday and figure out the tide where I was and that worked out good, but it was different today and it'll be different again tomorrow."

All five of the fish he caught Saturday were in the 2 1/2-pound range. He lost one that might've been slightly larger than that.

"Today was more of a grind and I've got to do something different in the morning, but I think I learned a few things today. My afternoon thing is going away, so I'm hoping I can make the morning work out a little better for me."

6th: Pipkens Lost 2 Good Ones

> Day 3: 3, 7-11 (13, 39-08)

Pipkens' bag was two fish short of a limit. He lost two bites – both good ones.

"They were over 4 pounds," he said. "I'm just not getting enough bites to make any mistakes. I'm glad I caught what I did, but it's a little frustrating because I could be close to the lead right now."

He revealed that he's fishing small rocky patches and brush piles, primarily with shaky-heads.

"I'd love to move up a little tomorrow. There's definitely a big bag there to be caught and every (Angler of the Year) point is important."

7th: Light Bites for Jocumsen

> Day 3: 2, 6-03 (11, 37-15)

Jocumsen got plenty of bites from the docks he's divvying up with Martens to bring a limit to the scale, but he said the grabs were different than the previous 2 days.

"I've been catching them on a Texas-rigged Beaver, but today they started swimming out away from the dock and when I'd wind down to set the hook, the Beaver would pull off," he said. "It's just one of those things – every fishing I'm getting is 3 pounds or better and I could've had another 15 pounds and a shot at winning.

"I found the winning fish, but (Martens) found them too. I only know how to catch them one way, but he's found other ways to get them to bite."

10th: Emotional Day for Menendez

> Day 3: 5, 13-10 (14, 36-03)

Menendez will compete on the final day of an Elite Series event for the first time since April 2012 at Bull Shoals. He sat out the 2013-14 campaigns to be with his wife as she battled pancreatic cancer. Donna Menendez died in March 2014.

"It's almost surreal," he said of advancing to Sunday. "I caught a 3 1/2-pounder with 2 minutes to go that replaced a 1 1/2, and that's the fish that got me in.

"It's hard, though, because I want to pick up the phone and call Donna."

His biggest fish of day 3 was a 4-pounder that was enticed by a Strike King KVD 1.5 crankbait.

"I hadn't had a fish jump all week, but this one probably jumped 3 1/2 feet," he said. "That caused me to just hold my breath. These fish are so incredibly strong."

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 50 anglers, 27 limits, 2 fours, 8 threes, 8 twos, 4 ones, 1 zero.

Weather Forecast

> Sun., Aug. 16 – Sunny - 91°/69°
- Wind: From the SW at 8 mph

Day 4 Standings

1. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 15, 48-13 -- 100 -- $500
Day 1: 5, 17-08 -- Day 2: 5, 15-00 -- Day 3: 5, 16-05

2. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 15, 43-14 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 12-06 -- Day 2: 5, 15-13 -- Day 3: 5, 15-11

3. Russ Lane -- Prattville, AL -- 15, 41-12 -- 98
Day 1: 5, 12-00 -- Day 2: 5, 14-15 -- Day 3: 5, 14-13

4. Gerald Swindle -- Warrior, AL -- 15, 39-15 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 13-12 -- Day 2: 5, 11-07 -- Day 3: 5, 14-12

5. Davy Hite -- Ninety Six, SC -- 15, 39-13 -- 96
Day 1: 5, 10-12 -- Day 2: 5, 16-00 -- Day 3: 5, 13-01

6. Chad Pipkens -- Holt, MI -- 13, 39-08 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 16-14 -- Day 2: 5, 14-15 -- Day 3: 3, 07-11

7. Carl Jocumsen -- Queensland, Australia -- 11, 37-15 -- 94
Day 1: 4, 14-07 -- Day 2: 5, 17-05 -- Day 3: 2, 06-03

8. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 13, 37-09 -- 93
Day 1: 5, 14-06 -- Day 2: 5, 15-15 -- Day 3: 3, 07-04

9. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 15, 37-09 -- 92
Day 1: 5, 11-15 -- Day 2: 5, 11-00 -- Day 3: 5, 14-10

10. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 14, 36-03 -- 91
Day 1: 5, 10-03 -- Day 2: 4, 12-06 -- Day 3: 5, 13-10

11. Andy Montgomery -- Blacksburg, SC -- 15, 35-14 -- 90
Day 1: 5, 14-04 -- Day 2: 5, 09-09 -- Day 3: 5, 12-01

12. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 11, 35-09 -- 89
Day 1: 4, 10-11 -- Day 2: 4, 14-12 -- Day 3: 3, 10-02

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 4.

13. Brent Ehrler -- Newport Beach, CA -- 13, 35-00 -- 88 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-15 -- Day 2: 5, 11-05 -- Day 3: 3, 07-12

14. Morizo Shimizu -- Osaka, Japan -- 11, 34-09 -- 87 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-09 -- Day 2: 4, 12-09 -- Day 3: 2, 05-07

15. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 13, 33-13 -- 86 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-13 -- Day 2: 5, 12-05 -- Day 3: 3, 05-11

16. Bradley Roy -- Lancaster, KY -- 15, 33-06 -- 85 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 05-13 -- Day 2: 5, 12-05 -- Day 3: 5, 15-04

17. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 13, 33-04 -- 84 -- $10,000
Day 1: 3, 05-08 -- Day 2: 5, 12-12 -- Day 3: 5, 15-00

18. Brandon Card -- Caryville, TN -- 12, 33-00 -- 83 -- $10,000
Day 1: 3, 09-08 -- Day 2: 4, 07-09 -- Day 3: 5, 15-15

19. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, OK -- 11, 33-00 -- 82 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-15 -- Day 2: 1, 02-06 -- Day 3: 5, 15-11

20. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 15, 32-05 -- 81 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 07-09 -- Day 2: 5, 10-10 -- Day 3: 5, 14-02

21. Jacob Powroznik -- Port Haywood, VA -- 10, 32-00 -- 80 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-02 -- Day 2: 0, 00-00 -- Day 3: 5, 16-14

22. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, AR -- 12, 31-07 -- 79 -- $10,000
Day 1: 2, 05-12 -- Day 2: 5, 15-02 -- Day 3: 5, 10-09

23. Justin Lucas -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 30-15 -- 78 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-06 -- Day 2: 5, 11-12 -- Day 3: 5, 08-13

24. Brett Hite -- Phoenix, AZ -- 14, 30-12 -- 77 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-12 -- Day 2: 4, 06-09 -- Day 3: 5, 13-07

25. David Walker -- Sevierville, TN -- 11, 30-08 -- 76 -- $10,000
Day 1: 1, 01-13 -- Day 2: 5, 16-01 -- Day 3: 5, 12-10

26. Randy Howell -- Springville, AL -- 10, 30-07 -- 75 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-01 -- Day 2: 3, 08-07 -- Day 3: 2, 06-15

27. J Todd Tucker -- Moultrie, GA -- 14, 30-04 -- 74 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-03 -- Day 2: 4, 07-12 -- Day 3: 5, 12-05

28. Jordan Lee -- Vinemont, AL -- 13, 29-14 -- 73 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-13 -- Day 2: 3, 04-02 -- Day 3: 5, 13-15

29. Mike Kernan -- Wylie, TX -- 15, 29-13 -- 72 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-15 -- Day 2: 5, 09-07 -- Day 3: 5, 10-07

30. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 12, 29-03 -- 71 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 10-03 -- Day 2: 5, 12-03 -- Day 3: 3, 06-13

31. James Elam -- Tulsa, OK -- 10, 28-09 -- 70 -- $10,000
Day 1: 0, 00-00 -- Day 2: 5, 16-04 -- Day 3: 5, 12-05

32. Chris Lane -- Guntersville, AL -- 12, 28-01 -- 69 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-14 -- Day 2: 3, 05-07 -- Day 3: 4, 10-12

33. Kurt Dove -- Del Rio, TX -- 15, 27-15 -- 68 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-11 -- Day 2: 5, 06-01 -- Day 3: 5, 08-03

34. Josh Bertrand -- Gilbert, AZ -- 15, 26-15 -- 67 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-11 -- Day 2: 5, 09-04 -- Day 3: 5, 08-00

35. Terry Scroggins -- San Mateo, FL -- 15, 26-14 -- 66 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 05-10 -- Day 2: 5, 13-12 -- Day 3: 5, 07-08

36. Matt Herren -- Ashville, AL -- 12, 26-12 -- 65 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-09 -- Day 2: 3, 04-00 -- Day 3: 4, 10-03

37. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 12, 24-15 -- 64 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-15 -- Day 2: 5, 08-10 -- Day 3: 2, 04-06

38. Koby Kreiger -- Bokeelia, FL -- 8, 24-14 -- 63 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-02 -- Day 2: 2, 07-10 -- Day 3: 1, 02-02

39. Brandon Coulter -- Knoxville, TN -- 9, 24-11 -- 62 -- $10,000
Day 1: 3, 07-09 -- Day 2: 5, 14-07 -- Day 3: 1, 02-11

40. Britt Myers -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 11, 24-01 -- 61 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-12 -- Day 2: 4, 07-04 -- Day 3: 2, 05-01

41. Boyd Duckett -- Guntersville, AL -- 11, 23-15 -- 60 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 09-11 -- Day 2: 4, 07-05 -- Day 3: 3, 06-15

42. Bobby Lane Jr. -- Lakeland, FL -- 10, 23-14 -- 59 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 10-03 -- Day 2: 4, 08-09 -- Day 3: 2, 05-02

43. Ott DeFoe -- Knoxville, TN -- 15, 23-06 -- 58 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 06-02 -- Day 2: 5, 09-15 -- Day 3: 5, 07-05

44. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, AR -- 12, 22-12 -- 57 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-05 -- Day 2: 5, 06-13 -- Day 3: 2, 03-10

45. Chris Zaldain -- San Jose, CA -- 11, 21-15 -- 56 -- $10,000
Day 1: 3, 05-12 -- Day 2: 5, 10-11 -- Day 3: 3, 05-08

46. Paul Mueller -- Naugatuck, CT -- 10, 21-00 -- 55 -- $10,000
Day 1: 3, 06-14 -- Day 2: 5, 09-04 -- Day 3: 2, 04-14

47. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 15, 20-13 -- 54 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 07-12 -- Day 2: 5, 07-09 -- Day 3: 5, 05-08

48. David Smith -- Del City, OK -- 9, 20-05 -- 53 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-03 -- Day 2: 3, 05-00 -- Day 3: 1, 03-02

49. Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, AR -- 10, 19-15 -- 52 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 04-13 -- Day 2: 5, 14-05 -- Day 3: 1, 00-13

50. James Niggemeyer -- Van, TX -- 6, 17-02 -- 51 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-00 -- Day 2: 1, 02-02 -- Day 3: 0, 00-00