By BassFan Staff

(Editor's note: BassFan will suspend publication of First Cast stories during the holidays as it does each year, although important breaking news will still be reported. The staff wishes everyone a joyous and safe holiday. We'll resume feature publication on Monday, Jan. 4.)

While the first half of the year certainly produced some captivating moments and storylines, BassFans were treated to some incredible individual efforts (aside from Ray Hanselman) over the second half of the year.

Scott Martin put the finishing touches on his first career FLW Tour Angler of the Year title while Aaron Martens was running away from his competition on the Elite Series as he soared to a third career AOY crown and second in 3 years.

Below is the conclusion of our two-part Year In Review feature (to check out part 1, click here).

Evers’ Double Take

Edwin Evers is no stranger to winning Elite Series events. Prior to the 2015 season, he’d won three times and established himself as one of the top performers on the circuit. With the 2016 Bassmaster Classic set to take place at Grand Lake, not far from his Talala, Okla., home, Evers wanted to do everything in his power to make sure he qualified.

After a serious stumble (94th) at the Sabine River to open the season and a missed check at the Sacramento River, Evers kicked it into gear with a 3rd-place showing at the fourth event of the year at Lake Havasu. At the next tournament in early June, he conquered Kentucky Lake, winning BASSFest and claiming the automatic berth in the ’16 Classic. What many expected to be an offshore shootout was won throwing a swimbait shallow and mixing it up out deep.

With the pressure of making the Classic off his mind, Evers went on to dominate the next event at the St. Lawrence River, winning in wire-to-wire fashion thanks to a gut feeling that prompted him to focus on shallower-than-expected areas.

Evers is the first angler to win consecutive Elite Series events and the two wins gave him five career Elite Series trophies, a feat matched only by Kevin VanDam and Skeet Reese (Todd Faircloth would later join the club after his win at Lake St. Clair).

Great, Scott

For years, Scott Martin always found himself hunting trophies and fishing to win every tournament he entered. Sometimes it worked out, sometimes he just missed his target and other times he completely whiffed.

Coming into the 2015 FLW Tour season, he changed up his approach and committed himself to focus more on being consistent. The shift in philosophy resulted in a dynamite season that saw him bounce back from a 44th-place finish at the Lake Toho season opener to reel off five straight finishes of 16th or better before placing 5th at the Lake Ouachita Forrest Wood Cup.



FLW
Photo: FLW

Scott Martin, right, set aside his pursuit of wins for a more consistent approach and it resulted in his first career AOY title.

He sewed up the AOY with a 6th-place effort at the Potomac River as John Cox’s valiant run at the title fell just short.

It was an impressive feat for the Floridian, whose previous best AOY finish was 5th in 2006. He’s put in a lot of time honing techniques that expanded his skill set beyond what’s effective in the Sunshine State. With more and more talented anglers departing the FLW Tour ranks for the Elite Series, Martin plans to stay put and continue to put his new mindset to the test.

Not Backing Down

While Evers’ win at the St. Lawrence was certainly headline worthy, Mark Menendez’s decision to file charges against a surly landowner in New York’s North Country struck a chord with BassFans everywhere.

Menendez, who returned to competition after sitting out the last two seasons due to injury and while caring for his terminally-ill wife, came upon a stretch of water on day 2 of the tournament and encountered a landowner who demanded he not fish in the area.

Menendez tried to explain to the gentleman that he was legally allowed to fish that water. The man became agitated and eventually fired up his boat and drove around near Menendez, hoping to force Menendez to leave. Menendez stood his ground and later filed harassment charges against the man, later identified as William Bishop, of Rochester, N.Y.

Bishop pleaded guilty to harassment charges and paid a $175 fine, but the incident put the spotlight on what seems to be an increasing rash of run-ins between anglers and landowners over fishable water. Russ Lane said he had a similar experience to Menendez on the St. Lawrence, but opted to not file charges.

Aaron’s Magic

There’s really not much more to say about the season Aaron Martens put together in 2015 that hasn’t already been said or written. He absorbed the heartbreak of his father’s passing during the week of the Bassmaster Classic (he finished 30th at Lake Hartwell) before proceeding to put together a season dotted with highlights – two wins and three other Top-6 finishes – as he compiled the best statistical season in the history of the Elite Series.

When it was time to go to Sturgeon Bay for the AOY Championship, Martens could’ve stayed home – he’d amassed enough points that it was impossible for anyone to pass him in the standings. Ultimately, he won by a record 112 points, claiming his third career AOY crown.

His first triumph of the year came with his mom, Carol, by his side at Lake Havasu, the Colorado River impoundment where Carol used to take Aaron when he was younger – he still maintains it’s his favorite lake in the country. The tournament concluded on Mother’s Day and Martens finished off the win with a 19-05 bag to close the West Coast swing with a 3rd-place finish (Sacramento River) and a victory. What’s more, Martens won by flipping tules on the main lake and up the river, keying on areas where bass were poaching nesting blackbirds.

B.A.S.S.
Photo: B.A.S.S.

After finishing 66th at Lake Guntersville in April, Aaron Martens reeled off six straight finishes of 15th or better, including two wins, to claim his third career AOY crown.

After finishing 13th at the St. Lawrence River, Martens took over the AOY points lead and started to distance himself from the pack with his wire-to-wire win at Chesapeake Bay.

Despite losing numerous big fish, Martens’ signature catch of the event – and likely the season – was a 7-pounder he caught on a bladed jig on the final day from under a marina dock.

At the final regular-season event at Lake St. Clair, Martens’ lead in the AOY race had swelled to nearly 100 points. He was a virtual shoo-in to win the AOY, but he was a no-show at the day-1 blast off. Turns out, he overslept. Still, he managed to pull down a 6th-place finish to clinch the AOY title.

The Sturgeon Bay AOY event turned into Martens’ victory tour and he later took over the top spot in the BassFan World Rankings, a pedestal he says he’s always wanted to occupy. There’s no telling when he’ll come down.

He’s Baaack

Luke Clausen is heading back to B.A.S.S. as part of another contingent of FLW Tour anglers who are crossing over to the Elites after qualifying through the Bassmaster Opens. Clausen’s move to the Elite Series is significant on two fronts – one, he’s one of five anglers to have won both the Classic and Cup and two, because he had chances to compete on the B.A.S.S. side before.

Clausen’s situation is unique from the others who are making the move in that the 2006 Classic champion twice previously declined opportunities to join B.A.S.S.’ top circuit due to sponsor obligations with Chevrolet that tied him to FLW.

In recent years, he’d competed in the Opens (in addition to the FLW Tour) in an attempt to earn an Elite Series invite, but he finally made it happen this year. He finished 6th in the Central Opens points (the Top 5 finishers get invites), but three pre-qualified Elite Series anglers were ahead of him so he easily made it.

Worth Noting

Here are a few other notable news items from the past year that caught our eye:

> Guido Hibdon is considered one of the patriarchs of modern bass fishing, but the 1988 Bassmaster Classic champion had to put his long and successful tournament career on hold earlier this year in the face of mounting sponsor losses. Payden Hibdon, Guido’s grandson, also pulled out of FLW Tour competition after two tournaments.

> Beaver Lake hasn’t always had the most favorable reputation amongst pro anglers, but it’s fast becoming one of Matt Arey’s favorite places to cast a lure. After capturing his first FLW Tour win at the White River impoundment in 2014, the North Carolina pro pulled off a repeat this year, thanks to a final-day flurry that saw him overtake Andy Morgan for the win. Arey will attempt to pull off a three-peat when the Tour returns to Beaver next April.

> It took more than 2 years, but the person who shot and killed Bassmaster Opens angler Jimmy Johnson in a Motel 6 parking lot in Jackson, Miss., finally learned his fate in court. On Nov. 16, Shaun Brown, 19, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Johnson was staying in Jackson while he practiced for the Ross Barnett Reservoir Central Open in October 2013. When he noticed someone was attempting to burgarlize his boat in the parking lot, Johnson confronted the person (Brown) and was fatally shot in the face.

> In early February, Bass Pro Group finalized its purchase of the Ranger, Triton and Stratos boat brands (Fishing Holdings) from Platinum Equity, bringing three of the top bass boat brands under the same umbrella as Nitro and Bass Tracker. It was a big shakeup and a major acquisition for Johnny Morris’ company.

What followed was months of speculation as to how Bass Pro was going to move forward with a seeming glut of established fiberglass boat manufacturers under its direction. In recent weeks, three longtime Ranger executives suddenly left the company and Bass Pro alerted its dealer network that its considering ways to better improve efficiencies, a process that may involve moving Stratos and Triton production out of Flippin, Ark., in order to strengthen the Ranger brand. Stay tuned.