Aaron Martens would probably be leading either a drum or carp fishing tournament today, but he's got only two bass in the boat.
Martens has moved from the creek mouth with Skylar Hamilton to the main river channel, where he caught about a 12-pound drum 30 minutes ago and where he just caught an estimated 30-pound carp.
"That's the biggest carp I've caught in about six years," Martens said.
It's difficult to find Martens in a bad mood when he's got a fishing rod in his hands, even when he's catching drum and carp in a bass fishing tournament.
Hamilton still has a 12-inch spotted bass in his livewell, in addition to the 20-plus pounds he's got with his four other keepers.
"I'd like to win this," he said. "I've got to get rid of that spot."
It's not like the fish have just quit biting here. Hamilton is getting some bites — enough to keep it interesting. Three times he's reeled in a bare hook, minus the 10-inch Berkley Power Worm.
I'm going to hang with him the rest of the day. Photographer James Overstreet has left to process his photo gallery from the morning. Besides, the only way I'm going to see that monster bass Hamilton has in his livewell is wait until his boat is on the trailer. And I don't blame him one bit. You don't want to take any chances with the biggest bass you've caught in your life.