By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor
It took Aaron Martens about an hour today to feel like he’d caught enough to guarantee himself a spot in Saturday’s Knockout Round at the Lake Chickamauga Bass Pro Tour. Dustin Connell needed just about every minute.
Connell came into the Elimination Round in 21st place, three ounces below the top-20 cut line. He knew he was in for a stressful day with how the fish had been biting. He was one of four anglers to catch at least 10 fish in the first period and his 18-05 bumped him up to 15th. A 4 1/2-pounder was the highlight of his three-fish second period and he was 18th entering the final period.
Then the fun began.
The Clanton, Ala., resident fished without the help of a trolling motor for the last 90 minutes – he’d exhausted the batteries by that point – and wound up having to drift through areas the rest of the day with the help of the wind, which topped out in the 30-mph range. He adjusted well and didn’t panic as he swung eight fish into the boat during the last hour and a half to secure a spot in the Knockout Round.
He caught 39-02 (4 1/2 pounds more than he caught Tuesday) today to finish 18th with 73-10 (38 fish).
“Oh my gosh,” a relieved Connell said afterward. “It stunk there for a little bit today. I kept running back through places thinking it would get better.”
While he was without his trolling motor, he plucked two fish out of one tree, then two more off another stop.
“I had to make moves,” he said. “I was going down (the leaderboard) fast).”
He was relieved when it was over he’d earned another day on the water, especially considering he had little to go on based on his practice.
“It feels good,” he said. “I stayed up river in practice near the dam trying to catch smallmouth. In this format, I thought smallmouth would be good if they were biting. I’d get bites, but they were 4- or 5-pounders. I couldn’t get numbers. In a different format, I would’ve had 22 pounds.
“On Monday, I ran into a creek and had one bite in two hours – actually the fish swirled on it. So I ran down there based on a swirl.”
While Martens caught one less fish today (17) and amassed 18 1/2 fewer pounds than he did Tuesday, he was able to surge to the top of Group A with 94-00 (35 fish). Jordan Lee tacked on 34-05 and moved up to 2nd with 89-13 (40 fish). Keith Poche caught 39-14 today to close with 89-00 (47 fish).
Stephen Browning finished his day with a 6-pounder, bumping him up to 4th with 88-00 (43 fish) while Justin Lucas locked up his first Knockout Round berth with a 36-13 weight today to finish 5th with 87-07 (43 fish).
Day 1 leader Dave Lefebre slipped to 6th but tallied 49 fish over the two days, matching Casey Ashey’s total.
Only two places in the top 20 swapped hands from Tuesday. Bobby Lane caught 42-02 (26 fish) to go from 23rd to 15th and join Connell in jumping above the cut line. Cliff Pace and Dean Rojas, who led after the first period on Tuesday, fell out of contention.
Six anglers who made Knockout Round caught more weight today than they did Tuesday – Ashley, Jeff Sprague, Bobby Lane, Greg Hackney, Connell and Chris Lane.
Group B will contest their Elimination Round under cloudy and likely rainy skies as thunderstorms are expected to move into the Dayton, Tenn., area this evening and hang around through Friday.
Casey Ashley was the only angler in Group A to catch 40 or more pounds in both rounds so far.
Martens said he’s a little surprised to have won Group A after backing off his productive water from day 1 pretty early this morning.
“After I left, I fished almost all new stuff,” he said after securing a spot in his third Knockout Round this season. “I wanted to make sure I made it.”
Some of the new areas he fished he might go back to Saturday, others probably not. He said he still hasn’t made it to what he calls his best areas and knowing how much fishing pressure the lake is receiving, he’s certain others have combed through it by now. Still, he’s confident there will be plenty of options once he gets back on the water for the Knockout Round.
“It’s about what I thought it’d be weight-wise,” he said. “I’m happy with where I’m at. It’s a good bite. There are plenty of fish in this lake. The fish aren’t everywhere but where they’re at, I have a good feeling on how to catch them.”
He caught seven fish for 18-05 in the first period, punctuated by a 7-06 kicker at 8:30 a.m. As it turns out, he could’ve quit for the day at that point and still advanced. Instead, he explored new areas.
“I tried stuff today and didn’t get bites and I eliminated stuff,” he said. “Today was a learning day and it dialed me in even more. I spent some time looking for something special, but that was hard to do in the wind.”
Like Lucas, Jesse Wiggins secured his first Knockout Round berth today. He helped his cause with a 14-fish, 26-12 second period that accounted for most of his 37-07 today. He finished 9th with 84-04 (42 fish).
“I didn’t know if it was ever going to come or if I’d have to wait until Smith Lake,” he joked, referring to the upcoming BPT Stop at his home lake in Alabama. “It feels good. I’m looking forward to things resetting to zero.”
He’s caught all but one of his fish so far on a 3/16-oz. shaky-head jig. He was happy with what he caught today, but says he could’ve really piled up the weight if the need arose. He left his best area at the start of the third period.
“I could’ve caught ‘em today if I wanted, but I backed off as I’m sure other guys did, too,” he said. “I found two or three more stretches. I hope they stick around for a couple more days.”
Overall, he sensed the fishing was a bit better today than Tuesday
“I didn’t catch a 6-08, but I caught more in less time it seems,” he added.
Looking ahead to the weekend, he’s hoping to keep pace without needing to catch a pile of big fish.
“I just hope I can catch enough to keep up because I’m not catching big ones,” he said. “I hope to catch enough 2-pounders to keep up, then make the top 10 and figure out how to win this sucker.”
> Additional details will be published shortly.
Notable
> Greg Hackney lost about 30 minutes of fishing time this morning to mechanical issues.
> There was a moment of silence observed at the start of the second period to remember Jimmy Sparks, who served as Skeet Reese’s truck driver for the past 11 years, and Irwin Jacobs, the CEO of FLW who reportedly died in a murder-suicide Wednesday morning at his home in Minnesota.
Weather Forecast
> Fri., April 12 – Morning rain, partly cloudy - 73°/52°
- Wind: From the SW at 10 to 15 mph
> Sat., April 13 – Overcast - 73°/55°
- Wind: Light and variable
> Sun., April 14 – Rain - 70°/56°
- Wind: From the S at 5 to 10 mph
Day 3 (Group A) Results
1. Aaron Martens -- 18, 57-03 -- 17, 36-13 -- 35, 94-00
2. Jordan Lee -- 24, 55-08 -- 16, 34-05 -- 40, 89-13
3. Keith Poche -- 30, 49-02 -- 17, 39-14 -- 47, 89-00
4. Stephen Browning -- 25, 48-01 -- 18, 39-15 -- 43, 88-00
5. Justin Lucas -- 24, 50-10 -- 19, 36-13 -- 43, 87-07
6. Dave Lefebre -- 34, 59-14 -- 15, 25-11 -- 49, 85-09
7. Casey Ashley -- 25, 42-04 -- 24, 43-04 -- 49, 85-08
8. Terry Scroggins -- 25, 45-14 -- 21, 38-08 -- 46, 84-06
9. Jesse Wiggins -- 22, 46-13 -- 20, 37-07 -- 42, 84-04
10. Brandon Palaniuk -- 26, 54-12 -- 13, 29-07 -- 39, 84-03
11. Randy Howell -- 22, 43-13 -- 15, 38-14 -- 37, 82-11
12. Jeff Sprague -- 17, 39-12 -- 21, 41-13 -- 38, 81-09
13. Bradley Roy -- 22, 46-12 -- 17, 30-06 -- 39, 77-02
14. James Elam -- 27, 46-06 -- 17, 28-13 -- 44, 75-03
15. Bobby Lane -- 15, 33-01 -- 26, 42-02 -- 41, 75-03
16. David Walker -- 17, 37-10 -- 18, 36-14 -- 35, 74-08
17. Greg Hackney -- 14, 34-11 -- 19, 39-01 -- 33, 73-12
18. Dustin Connell -- 16, 34-08 -- 22, 39-02 -- 38, 73-10
19. Chris Lane -- 17, 35-11 -- 20, 37-14 -- 37, 73-09
20. Mark Rose -- 31, 53-08 -- 11, 19-07 -- 42, 72-15
The following anglers missed the cut and will not compete in the Knockout Round.
21. Cliff Pace -- 21, 38-03 -- 16, 27-06 -- 37, 65-09
22. Roy Hawk -- 15, 25-09 -- 20, 37-14 -- 35, 63-07
23. Jeff Kriet -- 17, 32-14 -- 14, 28-07 -- 31, 61-05
24. Ott DeFoe -- 18, 34-02 -- 16, 26-10 -- 34, 60-12
25. Dean Rojas -- 18, 36-14 -- 11, 22-12 -- 29, 59-10
26. Scott Suggs -- 12, 22-02 -- 18, 36-13 -- 30, 58-15
27. Brent Chapman -- 13, 27-13 -- 12, 26-12 -- 25, 54-09
28. Ish Monroe -- 13, 31-05 -- 8, 20-05 -- 21, 51-10
29. Skeet Reese -- 8, 19-08 -- 21, 29-10 -- 29, 49-02
30. Takahiro Omori -- 8, 13-06 -- 19, 34-08 -- 27, 47-14
31. Jonathon VanDam -- 17, 22-10 -- 12, 24-13 -- 29, 47-07
32. Tim Horton -- 14, 28-11 -- 6, 15-11 -- 20, 44-06
33. Gerald Spohrer -- 13, 22-05 -- 8, 19-13 -- 21, 42-02
34. Britt Myers -- 14, 27-12 -- 9, 13-06 -- 23, 41-02
35. Brett Hite -- 10, 17-13 -- 11, 23-03 -- 21, 41-00
36. Mike McClelland -- 6, 13-14 -- 12, 21-15 -- 18, 35-13
37. Russ Lane -- 7, 14-15 -- 9, 19-15 -- 16, 34-14
38. Matt Lee -- 12, 20-08 -- 9, 13-13 -- 21, 34-05
39. Marty Robinson -- 11, 18-00 -- 5, 13-02 -- 16, 31-02
40. Shaw Grigsby -- 7, 12-13 -- 7, 16-03 -- 14, 29-00
