By BassFan Staff

Aaron Martens has notched quite a few incredible feats over the course of his professional fishing career. On Sunday at Lake Champlain, he pulled one off that's usually impossible in a Bassmaster Elite Series event as he rallied from 19th place to claim victory on the final day.

With a tournament-best 23-05 stringer, Martens leap-frogged 18 competitors to win the weather-shortened derby with a 3-day total of 58-12. Under normal circumstances, only the top 12 compete on the last day of Elite tournaments, but the cancellation of Thursday's opening round due to powerful winds necessitated putting the top 51 back on the water Sunday.

The triumphant rally was the biggest in the 12-year history of the Elite Series – Jason Christie previously held the record with an 11th-to-1st ascension on the final day at Bull Shoals Lake in 2013. The win was Martens' fifth in regular-season, full-field Elite tournaments, tying him with Edwin Evers, Todd Faircloth and Skeet Reese for 2nd on the all-time list behind Kevin VanDam's nine.

"It's like the biggest shock I've ever had," Martens said. "Usually when you win one, you (start the day) knowing you have a chance. I was so far back ...

"The day itself was incredible. I just wish I'd had a cameraman with me."

Martens finished 14 ounces ahead of runner-up Seth Feider, whose 20-06 stringer gave him a 57-14 total. Angler of the Year leader Brandon Palaniuk moved up seven places to finish 3rd with a 20-07 haul for a 57-05 aggregate.

Jacob Wheeler, who began the day in the top slot, boxed 18-02 to finish 4th with 56-10. Kelley Jaye ended up a career-best 5th with 56-09 (19-06 on the final day).

Here are the total for the remainder of the top 12:

6. Brandon Lester: 55-08
7. Ott DeFoe: 55-07
8. Jordan Lee: 55-00
9. Greg Hackney: 54-14
10. Chris Lane: 54-14
11. Alton Jones: 54-04
12. Matt Lee: 54-04

The sizzling Palaniuk has now finished 18th or better in seven of the eight events this season and added another 10 points to his lead today with his upward move and Wheeler's three-place drop in the standings. He has a 40-point advantage over Wheeler and Casey Ashley and could be difficult to catch with both the regular-season finale and the AOY Championship set for smallmouth-dominated venues.



B.A.S.S./Seigo Saito
Photo: B.A.S.S./Seigo Saito

Martens had 20 pounds by mid-morning and then made three culls from one place early in the afternoon.

On the flip side, a large contingent of Classic fixtures currently sits outside the top 50 in the points and must move up at St. Clair to get into the AOY Championship. That list includes Skeet Reese (51st), Dean Rojas (54th) and Mike Iaconelli (55th).

The St. Clair derby gets under way Aug. 24.

Martens Back on Top

> Day 4: 5, 23-05 (15, 58-12)

Martens had logged only one single-digit Elite Series finish over the past two campaigns in the wake of his magical 2015 season, when he won twice and clinched the AOY prior to the championship event.

His final-day stringer was the best of the tournament by more than 2 pounds. That's hugely significant at a venue such as Champlain, where tight weight margins are a given and every ounce is critical.

During practice, he figured he had a chance to win exclusively with smallmouths, but nine of the 15 fish he took to the scale were green.

"I thought I was going to fish three or four areas today, but they were on one of them better than I thought," he said.

He had about 20 pounds in his livewell at 10 o'clock and then hit a dry spell until 1, when he made three culls. One of that trio was a 6-02 bruiser.

B.A.S.S./Seigo Saito
Photo: B.A.S.S./Seigo Saito

Martens' heroics prevented Seth Feider from claiming his first full-field Elite Series win.

"When I was still out there fishing I didn't think I had enough to win. After I caught the 6-pounder, I thought maybe I had a chance."

Full details of his winning pattern, as well as those of the other top finishers, will be published this week.

2nd: Feider Did What He Could

> Day 4: 5, 20-06 (15, 57-14)

Martens' heroics prevented Feider, the winner of last year's AOY Championship, from achieving his first full-field win.

"It definitely stings a little bit," he said. "The funny part is that Aaron was the last person on my mind today. The focus was on beating Wheeler, and then after I got back and found out Palaniuk had a big bag I knew it would be close between me and him. Then Aaron comes in with 23.

"I felt like I did what I needed to do to win. I fished clean and I caught a 6 1/4-pounder and I achieved my goal of catching 20 pounds, but I still came up short."

The majority of his best fish were largemouths enticed from a grass line by a jig. He mixed in a few smallmouths caught on a dropshot.

3rd: Palaniuk's Roll Continues

> Day 4: 5, 20-07 (15, 57-05)

Palaniuk's final placement was his sixth of the season among the top 12.

"I'm somewhat disappointed just because I like to win so much," he said. "It's hard to get that close – even though Aaron beat me by a pound and a half.

B.A.S.S./Seigo Saito
Photo: B.A.S.S./Seigo Saito

Brandon Palaniuk notched his sixth top-12 finish of the season.

"My thing was even before I weighed in, I had no complaints. I had an absolute blast out there today and I caught more weight on each day of the tournament. I'd only been here one time before and where I fished this week I'd never seen. It was all new territory."

He threw moving offerings (a spinbait and a jerkbait) and a dropshot rig.

5th: Jaye Lost a Few

> Day 4: 5, 19-06 (15, 56-09)

Jaye caught a strong final-day bag, but lost multiple bites that would've boosted it.

"If you'd told me before the tournament started that I'd finish 5th and I didn't even have to fish, I'd have taken that all day long," he said. "But today I had an opportunity to win this thing and it just wasn't mean to be.

"I'm happy with the finish and now I'm tied for 38th in the (AOY) points, but it's not easy to win one of these, or even get close enough where you have the opportunity. I'm ready to get back in that spot again."

He caught the majority of his last-day stringer on a jerkbait and then switched to a large Zara Spook in a quest to entice a giant bait. He had five takers, but only two saw the inside of his boat.

"One of them straightened out the hooks, so I put bigger hooks on and they might've been too big to penetrate enough. Maybe I should've left well enough alone."

6th: Lester Moved Down

> Day 4: 5, 18-01 (15, 55-08)

Brandon Lester lost three places in the standings on the final day despite weighing another high-quality stringer.

"I'm just looking at the positives," he said. "I'm disappointed that I didn't win, but I felt like I did all I could do – I caught the heck out of them.

"It's hard to hang your head when you catch 18 pounds, but Aaron kind of blew it out and I would've have caught them quite a bit better to win. (The margin) wasn't 3 or 4 ounces, so that makes it easier to swallow."

He used a dropshot and a Ned rig to catch smallmouth from rocky cover in 5 to 15 feet of water.

Notable

> Day 4 stats – 12 anglers, 12 limits.

Final Standings

1. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 15, 58-12 -- 110 -- $100,000
Day 1: 5, 18-08 -- Day 2: 5, 16-15 -- Day 3: 5, 23-05

2. Seth Feider -- Isle, MN -- 15, 57-14 -- 109 -- $26,500
Day 1: 5, 17-09 -- Day 2: 5, 19-15 -- Day 3: 5, 20-06

3. Brandon Palaniuk -- Hayden, ID -- 15, 57-05 -- 108 -- $21,000
Day 1: 5, 18-01 -- Day 2: 5, 18-13 -- Day 3: 5, 20-07

4. Jacob Wheeler -- Harrison, TN -- 15, 56-10 -- 107 -- $15,500
Day 1: 5, 17-12 -- Day 2: 5, 20-12 -- Day 3: 5, 18-02

5. Kelley Jaye -- Dadeville, AL -- 15, 56-09 -- 106 -- $14,000
Day 1: 5, 18-01 -- Day 2: 5, 19-02 -- Day 3: 5, 19-06

6. Brandon Lester -- Fayetteville, TN -- 15, 55-08 -- 105 -- $13,500
Day 1: 5, 19-15 -- Day 2: 5, 17-08 -- Day 3: 5, 18-01

7. Ott DeFoe -- Knoxville, TN -- 15, 55-07 -- 104 -- $13,000
Day 1: 5, 18-12 -- Day 2: 5, 17-15 -- Day 3: 5, 18-12

8. Jordan Lee -- Grant, AL -- 15, 55-00 -- 103 -- $12,500
Day 1: 5, 16-13 -- Day 2: 5, 20-08 -- Day 3: 5, 17-11

9. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 15, 54-14 -- 102 -- $12,000
Day 1: 5, 17-00 -- Day 2: 5, 18-11 -- Day 3: 5, 19-03

10. Chris Lane -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 54-14 -- 101 -- $11,500
Day 1: 5, 18-00 -- Day 2: 5, 18-04 -- Day 3: 5, 18-10

11. Alton Jones -- Lorena, TX -- 15, 54-04 -- 100 -- $12,000
Day 1: 5, 20-11 -- Day 2: 5, 16-04 -- Day 3: 5, 17-05

12. Matt Lee -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 54-04 -- 99 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 19-00 -- Day 2: 5, 18-07 -- Day 3: 5, 16-13

13. Matt Herren -- Ashville, AL -- 15, 54-03 -- 98 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-15 -- Day 2: 5, 17-13 -- Day 3: 5, 17-07

14. David Walker -- Sevierville, TN -- 15, 53-15 -- 97 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-06 -- Day 2: 5, 17-12 -- Day 3: 5, 17-13

15. Adrian Avena -- Vineland, NJ -- 15, 53-14 -- 96 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-08 -- Day 2: 5, 18-06 -- Day 3: 5, 17-00

16. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, OK -- 15, 53-10 -- 95 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 20-04 -- Day 2: 5, 17-01 -- Day 3: 5, 16-05

17. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 15, 53-10 -- 94 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-10 -- Day 2: 5, 19-13 -- Day 3: 5, 16-03

18. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 15, 53-09 -- 93 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 21-01 -- Day 2: 5, 14-04 -- Day 3: 5, 18-04

19. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, OK -- 15, 53-09 -- 92 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 19-08 -- Day 2: 5, 15-01 -- Day 3: 5, 19-00

20. Drew Benton -- Panama City, FL -- 15, 53-08 -- 91 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-13 -- Day 2: 5, 17-10 -- Day 3: 5, 19-01

21. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 15, 53-00 -- 90 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-13 -- Day 2: 5, 17-07 -- Day 3: 5, 17-12

22. Dustin Connell -- Clanton, AL -- 15, 52-14 -- 89 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-01 -- Day 2: 5, 16-06 -- Day 3: 5, 18-07

23. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 15, 52-09 -- 88 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-13 -- Day 2: 5, 15-04 -- Day 3: 5, 18-08

24. Fletcher Shryock -- New Philadelphia, OH -- 15, 52-02 -- 87 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-04 -- Day 2: 5, 17-08 -- Day 3: 5, 17-06

25. Justin Lucas -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 52-01 -- 86 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-02 -- Day 2: 5, 19-06 -- Day 3: 5, 16-09

26. Brent Ehrler -- Redlands, CA -- 15, 51-06 -- 85 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-04 -- Day 2: 5, 17-09 -- Day 3: 5, 15-09

27. Chris Zaldain -- Laughlin, NV -- 15, 51-04 -- 84 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-01 -- Day 2: 5, 14-15 -- Day 3: 5, 19-04

28. Gerald Spohrer -- Gonzales, LA -- 15, 51-03 -- 83 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-13 -- Day 2: 5, 17-02 -- Day 3: 5, 16-04

29. John Crews Jr -- Salem, VA -- 15, 50-15 -- 82 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-15 -- Day 2: 5, 16-11 -- Day 3: 5, 17-05

30. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 15, 50-14 -- 81 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-00 -- Day 2: 5, 17-00 -- Day 3: 5, 16-14

31. James Niggemeyer -- Van, TX -- 15, 50-13 -- 80 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-09 -- Day 2: 5, 16-00 -- Day 3: 5, 17-04

32. Bradley Roy -- Lancaster, KY -- 15, 50-11 -- 79 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-14 -- Day 2: 5, 19-05 -- Day 3: 5, 15-08

33. Hank Cherry Jr -- Lincolnton, NC -- 15, 50-08 -- 78 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-13 -- Day 2: 5, 17-15 -- Day 3: 5, 15-12

34. Paul Mueller -- Naugatuck, CT -- 15, 50-03 -- 77 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-12 -- Day 2: 5, 15-05 -- Day 3: 5, 16-02

35. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 15, 49-08 -- 76 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-11 -- Day 2: 5, 19-03 -- Day 3: 5, 15-10

36. Chad Pipkens -- Lansing, MI -- 15, 49-08 -- 75 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-03 -- Day 2: 5, 16-08 -- Day 3: 5, 14-13

37. Gerald Swindle -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 49-00 -- 74 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-02 -- Day 2: 5, 17-06 -- Day 3: 5, 14-08

38. Jamie Hartman -- Newport, NY -- 15, 48-05 -- 73 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-04 -- Day 2: 5, 16-15 -- Day 3: 5, 15-02

39. Shane Lineberger -- Lincolnton, NC -- 15, 48-01 -- 72 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 19-03 -- Day 2: 5, 13-14 -- Day 3: 5, 15-00

40. Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu City, AZ -- 15, 48-00 -- 71 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-15 -- Day 2: 5, 14-09 -- Day 3: 5, 15-08

41. Paul Elias -- Laurel, MS -- 15, 47-15 -- 70 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-12 -- Day 2: 5, 16-04 -- Day 3: 5, 14-15

42. Brock Mosley -- Collinsville, MS -- 15, 47-14 -- 69 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-06 -- Day 2: 5, 14-09 -- Day 3: 5, 14-15

43. Terry Scroggins -- San Mateo, FL -- 15, 47-11 -- 68 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-00 -- Day 2: 5, 17-01 -- Day 3: 5, 12-10

44. Russ Lane -- Prattville, AL -- 15, 47-05 -- 67 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-06 -- Day 2: 5, 14-09 -- Day 3: 5, 14-06

45. Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 15, 47-01 -- 66 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-00 -- Day 2: 5, 18-00 -- Day 3: 5, 13-01

46. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 15, 47-00 -- 65 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-02 -- Day 2: 5, 18-13 -- Day 3: 5, 14-01

47. Gary Klein -- Mingus, TX -- 15, 46-15 -- 64 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-12 -- Day 2: 5, 18-09 -- Day 3: 5, 13-10

48. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, AR -- 15, 46-12 -- 63 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-14 -- Day 2: 5, 16-05 -- Day 3: 5, 14-09

49. Fred Roumbanis -- London, AR -- 15, 46-06 -- 62 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-00 -- Day 2: 5, 16-06 -- Day 3: 5, 14-00

50. Ish Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 15, 45-15 -- 61 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-13 -- Day 2: 5, 16-03 -- Day 3: 5, 11-15

51. Brandon Coulter -- Knoxville, TN -- 15, 42-15 -- 60 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-03 -- Day 2: 5, 17-15 -- Day 3: 5, 10-13