As Dean Rojas put it yesterday, there are only 12 competition days left in the Toyota Angler of the Year race. And as we tick down to the final hour of Day 12, it appears there will be no major shakeups in that race today. A shakeup on Day 1 of this third-from-last tournament would be loosely defined as one of the leaders struggling mightily and in danger of not making the Top 50 cut on Day 2.
The top five of Aaron Martens, Rojas (11 points back), Justin Lucas (minus 47 points), Edwin Evers and Jacob Powroznik (both 76 points back) are all having decent days. Lucas isn't showing up on BASSTrakk, but Ronnie Moore saw him on the water at mid- to late-morning, and Lucas reportedly had 9 pounds then, which should keep him in good shape for Day 2.
However, it won't make any difference what anybody else does if two-time AOY champ Aaron Martens keeps catching them like he has so far today. BASSTrakk has him in second place with 15-5, ounces behind Powroznik.
Before the St. Lawrence River tournament two weeks ago, Powroznik was asked to predict who would win the AOY title. That was when Martens was in second place, four points behind Rojas.
"Aaron Martens," he said. "He's just going to catch them everywhere he goes. He always does. I don't see him stumbling this year."