Duel On The Delta - Martens Takes the Victory

[Swede]

Martens Nails Down Delta Victory With 15-15 Bag

Sunday, March 25, 2007

The red-hot rookie finally faltered a bit, and the perennial runner-up at long last tasted victory at BASS' top level.

Native Californian Aaron Martens, who'd finished 2nd six times in Bassmaster Tour events without a victory, caught 15-15 today to win the California Delta Bassmaster Elite Series by more than 7 pounds over Alabama rookie Derek Remitz. Martens, an Alabama resident himself these days, finished with an 85-12 total and became the 18th angler to eclipse $1 million in career BASS earnings.

The 24-year-old Remitz, the day-2 leader who won the season opener at Amistad, managed just 11-11 today and ended up 2nd with 78-06. Arkansas' Stephen Browning busted the day's best bag (24-04) and climbed seven places to finish 3rd

California's Skeet Reese caught a big bag for the second straight day (23-04) and also climbed seven spots to claim 4th. Kansas' Brent Chapman boated a 9-09 hawg that anchored a 20-14 sack, and he completed the Top 5 with 73-12.

Here's how the rest of the Top 12 finished:

6. Kevin VanDam: 72-05
7. Jared Lintner: 69-15
8. Jeff Reynolds: 68-14
9. Chris Lane: 67-12
10. Greg Hackney: 65-15
11. James Niggemeyer: 65-14
12. James Charlesworth: 62-14

Remitz got the clouds and wind he'd been hoping for, but he found that his primary spots had been drained of big fish. He'd have needed a little more than 19 pounds to deny Martens a win on a venue that had flustered him many times over the years.

Everybody else would have needed a stringer that equaled or surpassed the 30 pounds Martens brought to the scales on day 2. Several caught impressive bags, but they were nowhere near enough.

A Big Day for Martens

Martens had a lot to be happy about – his first Elite Series win, his first win anywhere since the 2005 U.S. Open at Lake Mead, the million-dollar thing and taming a place that had been his nemesis prior to his move back east.

"This is awesome, dude," he said. "It's been too long since I had a win and I've been wanting to win one (on the Elite Series). What better place to do it than on the Delta?"

Today's bag was his lightest of the tournament by more than 3 pounds, so it wasn't exactly a stress-free day of fishing.

"I was worried the whole time. Every time I stuck a fish, it was a 2-pounder, 2-pounder, 2-pounder."

He was pretty sure he'd won when he saw Remitz at the weigh-in.

"Derek looked bummed. He said I was only going to need about 9 pounds or something. I know he's truthful, but I still wasn't sure."

His primary pattern was dropshotting worms around tule clumps in the southern part of Frank's Tract. He caught more than 20 keepers today, but his biggest was a 4-pounder.

He's proud of the earnings benchmark he surpassed, but that was a secondary achievement.

"That's cool too, but I wanted to win a tournament."

Full details of his winning pattern, as well as those of the other top finishers, will be posted soon.

3rd: Browning Pumped

Browning was thrilled to catch the biggest final-day bag and leapfrog more than half the field.

"I feel like I won the tournament," he said. "As far back as I was, I was just hoping for a Top 5.

"To go from 10th to 3rd in that group, I feel like I did a wonderful job."

His day didn't start out on such an upbeat note – he didn't get a bite in 2 hours from the spot he'd focused on over the first 3 days.

"That put me in the position of having to make an adjustment, and basically, I just hit the banks and started fishing. The biggest key for me was I fished inside levees instead of on the main canals."

He finished mid-pack the last time the Bassmaster Tour visited the Delta in 2003.

"I like river systems – I grew up fishing the Arkansas River. This doesn't really remind me of that, but anytime you can go out and catch fish of this size in the 3- to 8-foot range, I'm very comfortable."

4th: Reese Adjusted Nicely

Reese drew satisfaction from the fact that he bounced back for a strong finish after struggling over the first 2 days. He cleared the 20-pound mark on days 3 and 4.

"I'm pleased after the way I started out," he said. "I adjusted well the last 2 days and put a couple of solid bags together.

"I just wish I hadn't fished like an idiot the first 2 days."

He fished new water today that he hadn't yet visited in the tournament because it had been muddied by the wind on the final practice day. His biggest fish weighed 6-07.

"Yesterday I started getting it right, and today I fished like a freak."

Day 4 (Final) Standings

1. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, Ala. -- 20, 85-12 -- 310 -- $103,000
Day 1: 5, 20-01 -- Day 2: 5, 30-10 -- Day 3: 5, 19-02 -- Day 4: 5, 15-15

2. Derek Remitz -- Hemphill, Texas -- 20, 78-06 -- 300 -- $30,000
Day 1: 5, 23-05 -- Day 2: 5, 27-09 -- Day 3: 5, 15-13 -- Day 4: 5, 11-11

3. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, Ark. -- 20, 75-08 -- 290 -- $25,000
Day 1: 5, 20-13 -- Day 2: 5, 16-08 -- Day 3: 5, 13-15 -- Day 4: 5, 24-04

4. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, Calif. -- 20, 74-06 -- 285 -- $18,000
Day 1: 5, 15-07 -- Day 2: 5, 14-12 -- Day 3: 5, 20-15 -- Day 4: 5, 23-04

5. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, Kan. -- 20, 73-12 -- 280 -- $17,000
Day 1: 5, 22-12 -- Day 2: 5, 15-13 -- Day 3: 5, 14-05 -- Day 4: 5, 20-14

6. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, Mich. -- 20, 72-05 -- 276 -- $15,500
Day 1: 5, 15-12 -- Day 2: 5, 22-04 -- Day 3: 5, 13-14 -- Day 4: 5, 20-07

7. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, Calif. -- 20, 69-15 -- 272 -- $15,000
Day 1: 5, 21-00 -- Day 2: 5, 21-00 -- Day 3: 5, 9-13 -- Day 4: 5, 18-02

8. Jeff Reynolds -- Idabel, Okla. -- 20, 68-14 -- 268 -- $14,500
Day 1: 5, 22-11 -- Day 2: 5, 13-10 -- Day 3: 5, 18-11 -- Day 4: 5, 13-14

9. Chris Lane -- Winter Haven, Fla. -- 20, 67-12 -- 264 -- $15,000
Day 1: 5, 20-04 -- Day 2: 5, 12-01 -- Day 3: 5, 18-10 -- Day 4: 5, 16-13

10. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, La. -- 20, 65-15 -- 260 -- $14,500
Day 1: 5, 18-04 -- Day 2: 5, 11-13 -- Day 3: 5, 22-04 -- Day 4: 5, 13-10

11. James Niggemeyer -- Van, Texas -- 20, 65-14 -- 257 -- $12,500
Day 1: 5, 12-10 -- Day 2: 5, 25-14 -- Day 3: 5, 17-10 -- Day 4: 5, 9-12

12. James Charlesworth -- Saint Cloud, Fla. -- 20, 62-14 -- 254 -- $12,300
Day 1: 5, 16-11 -- Day 2: 5, 21-15 -- Day 3: 5, 13-15 -- Day 4: 5, 10-05

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