WON Bass U.S. Open
Martens Jumps Into Day 2 Lead

Photo: WON Bass Aaron Martens, who won here last year, said the U.S. Open is 'by far the toughest tournament in the country.'

John Kerr, yesterday's leader, caught 10.45 today and dropped one place to 2nd with 20.80 pounds. He's 1.88 pounds behind Martens. Western legend Gary Dobyns jumped eight spots and is currently 3rd with 19.48 total (10.28 today). Stan Vanderburg dropped one position and is 4th with a total of 18.88 pounds (9.02 pounds today). Tour pro John Murray jumped 16 spots and rounds out the Top 5 with a total of 18.58 pounds (10.14 pounds today).

As predicted, the weather change seemed to help the bite and power-sticks, in general, shined. With more wind predicted for tomorrow, there could be even more shakeups in the standings.

Two-time U.S Open winner Rick Clunn proved just how volatile the field is. He moved from the 51st spot yesterday to 17th today with another limit. And he anchored his sack with the biggest fish of the tournament so far – a 4.63-pound brute – that helped bump his overall total to 16.55 pounds.

Martens Made Adjustment

"It's been a perfect tournament so far," Martens said. "I caught more fish today than I expected to catch. I ended up fishing some different areas today just to get away from the boat traffic and it paid off."

He's had to make changes each day. "You have to adjust with these fish each day to stay on top of them. I adjusted today from what I did yesterday and from what I did in practice. I'll have to do something different tomorrow too, I expect."

"I hope it blows a little (tomorrow)," he added. "The fish like it when it blows here. But if it blows too hard, it'll beat me up. I came across the basin today in 3-footers and if the wind blows all night, like it can here, those 3-footers will be 6-footers by the morning.

"This is by far the toughest tournament in the country," he said. "There is no lake tougher than Lake Mead in the late summer."

Kerr Changed Up

Second-place angler John Kerr changed baits today. "I got my fish today off my same areas but I had to change baits to get them to eat," he said. "I'm happy with today though. I had another good amateur partner and that really plays a big role in this tournament.

"We had our limit by noon today and then went searching for new stuff," he noted. "I had a lot more boat traffic on my water today, which made things more difficult. Tomorrow I leave in the 8th flight, so I hope by the time I get out, I can still find some real estate to fish."

He's worried about the wind too. "It was hairy out there today. The best area I have, I couldn't keep my trolling motor in the water at all and had to leave. I hope the wind blows a little bit tomorrow, but not as hard as it was today."

Dobyns Still in Practice Mode

"My performance this week isn't one of my better ones," 3rd-place Dobyns said. "I feel like I'm still in prefish. I just have to stick with what I've already found and go for it.

"I don't really have any one spot at all," he added. "It's just run-and-fish. I do know how to catch them and how to get the bigger bites. I did it in practice – I just need a little luck tomorrow."

A lost fish really hurt him today. "I had a fish today that ate my bait, jumped out of the water and broke me off. The fish was easily over 3 pounds, maybe even 4 pounds. That fish got to me mentally, as I know that's the type of fish that wins tournaments here. I need to shake that off and catch one like it tomorrow.

"As usual on this lake, it's tough out there right now," he said. "These fish change every day and you have to stay on top of what they're doing."

Notable

> Aaron Martens talked about his preparation for this tournament. "This lake can kill you if you don't stay on top of the fish. I put more time into tackle preparation for this tournament than any other I fish. Each night of the tournament I spend at least 4 hours on tackle preparation to make sure everything is right. One mistake here can cost you a lot and I want to be prepared."

> Fourth-place Vanderburg stuck only five fish today, but they were the right ones. "I had to change 180-degrees from what I did yesterday," he said. "My deeper bite went away and I had to adjust. It wasn't a banner day, but I can't complain about my results."

> Seventh-place angler and U.S. Open rookie Kevin Caruso is focused. "The day went well for me. We had our limit by 8:30 and at 10:30 I searched for new areas. I have two solids patterns that I found in practice and they're holding up well. I just need a couple of good bites tomorrow and I'll be happy."

Weather Report

> Wednesday: high/low – 91/74; wind – SSW at 12 mph; skies – morning showers

Day 1 Standings

1. Aaron Martens -- Leeds AL -- 10, 22.68
2. John Kerr -- Ramona CA -- 10, 20.80
3. Gary Dobyns -- Yuba City CA -- 10, 19.48
4. Stan Vanderburg -- Chatsworth CA -- 10, 18.88
5. John Murray -- Phoenix AZ -- 10, 18.58
6. Tim Klinger -- Boulder City NV -- 10, 17.85
7. Kevin Caruso -- Glendale AZ -- 10, 17.82
8. Craig McCoy -- Lake Havasu City AZ -- 8, 17.47
9. Brent Ehrler -- Redlands CA -- 10, 17.39
10. Tom Matsunaga -- Gardena CA -- 10, 17.27
11. Jon Strelic -- Alpine CA -- 10, 17.16
12. Scott Nielsen -- Salt Lake City UT -- 10, 17.00
13. Neil Campbell -- Fallbrook CA -- 9, 16.90
14. Mark Tyler -- Scottsdale AZ -- 10, 16.84
15. Shaun Bailey -- Agoura Hills CA -- 10, 16.83
16. Al Robinson -- Boulder City NV -- 9, 16.80
17. Rick Clunn -- Ava MO -- 10, 16.55
18. Michael McLernon -- Oceanside CA -- 9, 16.37
19. Mike Folkestad -- Yorba Linda CA -- 10, 16.33
20. Dino Caporuscio -- Coto De Caza CA -- 10, 16.06
21. Tim Barrett -- Rancho Cucamonga CA -- 9, 16.02
22. Brett Hite -- Phoenix AZ -- 10, 15.95
23. Jim Lyon -- Reno NV -- 10, 15.85
24. John Perkins -- Whittier CA -- 9, 15.71
25. Thanh Le -- El Cajon CA -- 10, 15.59
26. Vince Gennaro -- Henderson NV -- 10, 15.40
27. Larry Cross -- Calimesa CA -- 10, 15.35
28. Kevin Wiggins -- Las Vegas NV -- 10, 15.16
29. Bruce Hardy -- St. George UT -- 10, 15.15
30. Joe Uribe, Jr. -- Lake Forest CA -- 10, 15.01
31. Dave Nollar -- Redlands CA -- 10, 14.85
32. Walter Kondracki, Jr. -- California City CA -- 10, 14.80
33. Scott Mascadri -- Sacramento CA -- 9, 14.80
34. Paul Hodges -- Glendale AZ -- 10, 14.73
35. Rick Reynolds, Sr. -- Riverside CA -- 9, 14.60
36. Dennis Kolender -- Henderson NV -- 10, 14.58
37. Rusty Salewske -- Alpine CA -- 7, 14.54
38. Gary Moore -- Anaheim CA -- 7, 14.53
39. John Parks -- Aztec NM -- 10, 14.50
40. Mike Goodwin -- Lake Havasu City AZ -- 10, 14.38
41. Ryan Krost -- Canyon Lake CA -- 10, 14.24
42. Ben Andreas -- Las Vegas NV -- 10, 14.19
43. Mike O'Shea -- Westlake Village CA -- 10, 14.14
44. Richard Welch -- Santee CA -- 9, 13.96
45. Clifford Pirch -- Payson AZ -- 9, 13.93
46. Rus Snyders -- San Mateo CA -- 10, 13.89
47. Don Iovino -- Burbank CA -- 9, 13.74
48. Frank Morrin -- Lakeside CA -- 10, 13.74
49. Jason Hackerd -- Upland CA -- 10, 13.73
50. Jamie Cyphers -- Cedar City UT -- 7, 13.63
51. Murph McBride -- Pioche NV -- 7, 13.51
52. J.L. Pennington -- Las Vegas NV -- 10, 13.44
53. Tommy Puleo -- Henderson NV -- 10, 13.24
54. Russ Barger -- Meridian ID -- 10, 13.23
55. Hironori Kitade -- Ishikawa pre JP -- 9, 13.22
56. Mark Dotterer -- Scottsdale AZ -- 9, 13.16
57. Wayne Hinrichs -- Novato CA -- 10, 13.15
58. Ishama Monroe -- Hughson CA -- 9, 13.11
59. Don Allphin -- Provo UT -- 10, 13.10
60. Rich Iannolo -- Menifee CA -- 6, 13.06
61. Keith Beever -- Laguna Niguel CA -- 8, 13.03
62. Tom Phillips -- Corona CA -- 9, 12.97
63. Will Rakowitz -- Mission Viejo CA -- 9, 12.94
64. Robert Ellis -- Henderson NV -- 9, 12.84
65. Doug Riha -- Thousand Oaks CA -- 8, 12.76
66. Rob VanderKooi -- Mesa AZ -- 10, 12.72
67. Michael D. Sisco -- Henderson NV -- 9, 12.70
68. Vern Ridgway -- Mesa AZ -- 10, 12.65
69. Derrick Patch -- Alta Loma CA -- 9, 12.59
70. Steve Lowe -- Norwalk CA -- 9, 12.51
71. Leo Carrillo -- Tucson AZ -- 10, 12.44
72. Gary Boyd -- Reseda CA -- 10, 12.44
73. Sean Stafford -- Fairfield CA -- 8, 12.40
74. Nick Welton -- Galt CA -- 9, 12.39
75. Ricky Shabazz -- Rialto CA -- 10, 12.38
76. Jim Opalecky -- Elk Grove CA -- 8, 12.34
77. Keith Neff -- Rancho Cucamonga CA -- 6, 12.10
78. Shane Meisel -- Alta Loma CA -- 8, 11.98
79. Mitch Southern -- San Bernardino CA -- 8, 11.92
80. Ken Mercurio -- Reno NV -- 10, 11.84
81. Clyde Evans -- Las Vegas NV -- 8, 11.76
82. Boris Antolos -- Torrance CA -- 7, 11.66
83. Seiji Kato -- Shiga JP -- 8, 11.62
84. Tom Kilduff -- Dewey AZ -- 9, 11.62
85. Trent Doser -- Las Vegas NV -- 7, 11.59
86. Leon Knight -- Tehachapi CA -- 7, 11.57
87. Ray L. Brooks -- Highland CA -- 9, 11.56
88. Gary Robson -- Riverside CA -- 7, 11.26
89. Ted Roper -- Kingman AZ -- 8, 11.42
90. Eric Parra -- Sacramento CA -- 6, 11.29
91. Marc Knudsen -- Boulder City NV -- 8, 11.12
92. Bob Simmons -- Long Beach CA -- 9, 11.09
93. Don Payne -- Modesto CA -- 9, 11.06
94. Greg Garman -- Prescott Valley AZ -- 8, 11.02
95. Art Berry -- Hemet CA -- 8, 10.90
96. John Valerio -- Palmdale CA -- 6, 10.50
97. Walter Apple -- San Jose CA -- 8, 10.48
98. Troy Lindhorst -- Glendale AZ -- 8, 10.38
99. Steve Foutch -- Apache Junction AZ -- 8, 10.32
100. Alan Zamora -- Las Vegas NV -- 6, 10.23
101. Todd Woods -- Murrieta CA -- 6, 10.16
102. Dale Merry -- Phoenix AZ -- 6, 9.92
103. Gerry Scott -- Anthem AZ -- 7, 9.92
104. Bryan Grier -- Salinas CA -- 8, 9.88
105. Harry Jioras -- Laverne CA -- 7, 9.77
106. John A. Cunningham -- Scottsdale AZ -- 6, 9.71
107. Roy Hawk -- Salt Lake City UT -- 6, 9.71
108. Greg Pishkur -- Flagstaff AZ -- 7, 9.62
109. Marvin Barellano -- Monterey Park CA -- 6, 9.61
110. Don Gage -- Brentwood CA -- 7, 9.61
111. Jason Curnel -- Simi Valley CA -- 6, 9.43
112. Rick Hillis -- Cave Creek AZ -- 5, 9.35
113. Gabe Bolivar -- Ramona CA -- 8, 9.34
114. Keith Ferlanie -- Henderson NV -- 7, 9.32
115. Glenn Dooley -- Whittier CA -- 8, 9.27
116. Steve Molinari -- Waddell AZ -- 7, 9.08
117. Dale Wentz-WC -- Moreno Valley CA -- 8, 9.02
118. Tim S. Wells, Sr. -- Clovis CA -- 6, 8.90
119. John Mackey -- Boulder City NV -- 7, 8.50
120. Gary Klein -- Weatherford TX -- 7, 8.48
121. John Morrow -- Yorba Linda CA -- 7, 8.32
122. Gregory Kiefer -- Paradise CA -- 6, 8.27
123. Bill Lanier -- Spring Valley CA -- 6, 8.27
124. Dick Watson -- Alta Loma CA -- 7, 8.18
125. Ed Cummings -- Tucson AZ -- 6, 8.09
126. Scott Frazier -- El Cajon CA -- 6, 8.06
127. Michael Rooke -- Lake Havasu City AZ -- 7, 8.03
128. Bill Bishop -- Lakeside AZ -- 6, 8.01
129. Jeff Larson -- Reseda CA -- 6, 7.89
130. Ted Nguyen -- Long Beach CA -- 7, 7.71
131. Dennis Cleary -- Tuscon AZ -- 5, 7.63
132. Mike Bird -- Tonopah NV -- 6, 7.62
133. Stan Gerzsenyi -- Yantis TX -- 4, 7.43
134. Lucky Brundle -- Salt Lake City UT -- 6, 7.33
135. John Silberbauer -- Modesto CA -- 6, 7.30
136. Minoru Willie Waller -- Temecula CA -- 6, 7.22
137. Bob Ingersoll -- Rancho Cucamonga CA -- 5, 7.21
138. Manny Freire -- Spring Valley Lake CA -- 6, 7.03
139. Marco Rodriguez -- Nyssa OR -- 6, 7.00
140. Marcus Clouse -- Henderson NV -- 5, 6.96
141. Frank Boothe -- Albuquerque NM -- 5, 6.93
142. Robert Lee -- Angels Camp CA -- 6, 6.74
143. David Collins -- Las Vegas NV -- 5, 6.65
144. Mike Reynolds -- Modesto CA -- 5, 6.61
145. Stephen Foster -- Pahrump NV -- 3, 6.52
146. Ron Hammett -- Alpine CA -- 5, 6.31
147. Mark Schroeder -- Red Bluff CA -- 5, 6.30
148. Dennis Saiki -- R. Santa Margarita CA -- 5, 6.21
149. Ed Arledge -- San Diego CA -- 4, 6.16
150. Eric Brewer -- Nuevo CA -- 4, 6.07
151. Michael Crowther -- La Jara CO -- 3, 5.67
152. Emil Orlando, Jr. -- Vista CA -- 5, 5.67
153. Eddie Rodriguez -- Las Vegas NV -- 5, 5.67
154. Ralph Lundberg -- Henderson NV -- 4, 5.39
155. Matt Shura -- Gilbert AZ -- 5, 5.28
156. Stephen Noy -- Ontario CA -- 5, 5.21
157. Kyle Grover -- R. Santa Margarita CA -- 4, 5.20
157. Chris Allen -- Lake Havasu AZ -- 4, 4.67
159. Bob Brown -- Logandale NV -- 4, 4.64
160. Frank Boni -- El Centro CA -- 3, 3.90
161. Donald Kleifgen -- Lakeside AZ -- 3, 3.89
162. Chet Elia -- Fresno CA -- 3, 3.78
163. Jack Snyder -- Las Vegas NV -- 3, 3.38
164. Jonathan Demonet -- Downey CA -- 3, 3.22
165. Justin Kerr -- Simi Valley CA -- 2, 3.17
166. Doug Chessmore -- Santa Barbara CA -- 2, 2.56
167. Rich Tauber -- Camarillo CA -- 0, 0.00