Martens takes BASS tourney at Guntersville

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – Despite nearly relinquishing a 6-pound plus margin, Aaron Martens of Leeds, Ala., held on Sunday to score his fifth BASS victory – his first outside of the state of the California – at the Marine Formula STA-BIL Southern Challenge on Lake Guntersville. The 36-year-old West Coast product, who totaled 107 pounds, 8 ounces, brought home the $100,000 top prize. Fayetteville, N.C.'s Marty Stone finished fifth with 99 pounds, 5 ounces and won $14,000. The day started inauspiciously enough for Martens as his first spot – roughly a 10-foot area – was filled by a local boat. The 2005 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year ran to his next spot, only to encounter the same boat, which Martens said intentionally stirred up his area to make it virtually unfishable. To boot, Martens struggled through the morning and wasn’t connecting with the same class of fish he had the first three days of competition. But Martens had developed two distinctly different patterns. His best, a Lucky Craft RC 2.5 deep-diving crankbait, was paired with a worm and provided Martens the one-two punch necessary to win a Bassmaster Elite Series event. “I was tense all day. It was horrible,” said Martens, who has accumulated nearly $1.5 million in BASS career earnings. “I had to work really hard today. But this feels really good.” Fishing fans can watch the Southern Challenge on The Bassmasters, which airs Saturday, May 16, at 9 a.m. ET on ESPN2. The daily weigh-ins for all regular-season Elite events and the two postseason events will air live on ESPN360.com, ESPN’s broadband sports network, while a wealth of unique content will also be available at Bassmaster.com. With the victory, Martens climbed to fourth in the 2009 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings and is within striking distance of points leader Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich. VanDam, in a relative struggle, finished 20th at Guntersville and left the door open for Reese, Alton Jones and Martens. “You just had to keep moving and keep looking,” said Martens. “I have never seen anything like this lake this week. I have seen other lakes that have bigger fish but nowhere else can you find this many spots that hold that many quality fish. It was just amazing.” A relative afterthought after the first day, Skeet Reese moved up the leaderboard each day, eventually causing Martens to sweat. Like Martens, Reese worked a Lucky Craft RC 2.5 crankbait and capped off his week with an impressive 27-pound, 11 ounce, limit Sunday. While Reese felt he cost himself with a few missed fish early in the tournament, he wasn’t sure if those fish would have made the difference. Saturday was the turning point for Reese when he identified an ultra-productive stretch that he relied upon for the final two days. Sunday was frustrating for Reese in a different sense than most. He was landing 5-pounders galore but couldn’t find the bigger bite that would have put him over the top. Moving up nine spots to third was Kevin Wirth of Crestwood, Ky., with 102 pounds, 3 ounces. In fourth was Mike Iaconelli of Runnemede, N.J., with 101 pounds, 1 ounce. Slipping to fifth from second was Marty Stone of Fayetteville, N.C., with 99 pounds, 5 ounces. Stone is one of many anglers battling to qualify for the 2010 Bassmaster Classic via the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. The top 36 will earn berths in the Feb. 19-21 Classic on Lay Lake and Birmingham, Ala. Also determined at the end of the regular season will be the top 12 competitors, who will qualify for the inaugural Bassmaster Elite Series Postseason. This past week, BASS announced the details with the Postseason being played out on Lake Jordan (Sept. 12-13) and the Alabama River (Sept. 17-18). The real star of the tournament was by most accounts Guntersville. Anglers, in droves, praised the famed fishery and the final numbers were impressive. Elite anglers caught nearly 1,300 fish and more than 5,300 pounds over the course of four days. A BASS favorite, Guntersville has been the site of more than 20 previous BASS events, including the 1976 Bassmaster Classic, won by Elite Series pro Rick Clunn of Ava, Mo. Up next in the Elite Series is the June 3-6 SpongeTech Tennessee Triumph on Kentucky Lake out of Paris, Tenn. 2009 Marine Formula STA-BIL Southern Challenge 5/7-5/10 Lake Guntersville, Guntersville AL. (PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 4 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Aaron Martens Leeds, AL 20 107-08 315 $100,000.00 Day 1: 5 29-02 Day 2: 5 29-12 Day 3: 5 28-11 Day 4: 5 19-15 2. Skeet Reese Auburn, CA 20 104-04 295 $25,000.00 Day 1: 5 25-09 Day 2: 5 24-14 Day 3: 5 26-02 Day 4: 5 27-11 3. Kevin Wirth Crestwood, KY 20 102-03 290 $20,000.00 Day 1: 5 24-06 Day 2: 5 27-04 Day 3: 5 21-06 Day 4: 5 29-03 4. Michael Iaconelli Runnemede, NJ 20 101-01 285 $15,000.00 Day 1: 5 27-05 Day 2: 5 27-05 Day 3: 5 25-08 Day 4: 5 20-15 5. Marty Stone Fayetteville, NC 20 99-05 280 $14,000.00 Day 1: 5 26-15 Day 2: 5 23-13 Day 3: 5 30-01 Day 4: 5 18-08 6. Mark Menendez Paducah, KY 20 96-01 276 $13,500.00 Day 1: 5 24-07 Day 2: 5 26-12 Day 3: 5 24-00 Day 4: 5 20-14 7. Mike McClelland Bella Vista, AR 20 94-04 272 $13,000.00 Day 1: 5 30-10 Day 2: 5 26-13 Day 3: 5 19-13 Day 4: 5 17-00 8. Byron Velvick Del Rio, TX 20 94-00 268 $12,500.00 Day 1: 5 29-04 Day 2: 5 25-14 Day 3: 5 20-13 Day 4: 5 18-01 9. Jami Fralick Martin, SD 20 93-13 264 $12,000.00 Day 1: 5 26-11 Day 2: 5 24-11 Day 3: 5 25-00 Day 4: 5 17-07 10. Matt Reed Madisonville, TX 20 92-09 260 $11,500.00 Day 1: 5 25-12 Day 2: 5 23-08 Day 3: 5 24-09 Day 4: 5 18-12 11. Todd Faircloth Jasper, TX 20 91-14 262 $11,000.00 Day 1: 5 31-00 Day 2: 5 24-15 Day 3: 5 18-15 Day 4: 5 17-00 12. Alton Jones Waco, TX 20 89-03 254 $10,500.00 Day 1: 5 28-12 Day 2: 5 22-15 Day 3: 5 24-13 Day 4: 5 12-11