First cast
Managing fish is a key component to most every tournament victory, and Aaron Martens designed his hopeful plan with the weekend in mind.
Bassmaster.com’s Steve Bowman followed Martens on Friday and was asked on Bassmaster LIVE to provide insight on Martens’ tactics. Bowman did one better, getting inside his head.
“Everything that goes through his brain comes out of his mouth,” Bowman said.
Martens, among those fishing an hour south of the launch near Baltimore, did relay his plan to optimize his chances. He ran deep up an arm of the bay Friday, knowing it would be more time-consuming Saturday.
“He plans to wear this place out in the back,” Bowman said. “Tomorrow, there’s a no-wake zone. He’d have to idle probably four miles to get where he is.”
Judging by the number and the size of boats at the docks Martens hit Friday, it was a good call.
“This is like Guntersville on steroids for boat traffic come Saturday,” Bowman said. “So he’s going to get back here and try to hurt them … save the area outside the no-wake zone for Saturday and Sunday.”
Bowman was overheard talking on the phone to LIVE when he said it looks like Martens will be in the worst traffic spot on the Bay for Day 3.
“Oh no, that’s not going to happen,” Martens responded.
Two in the well
Pete Gluszek provided on-the-water analysis to both LIVE and BassCam. The pro angler and guide in the region said one huge negative on The Chesapeake is what the locals call black death. No, it’s not the plague, but a type of algae that takes over areas in late summer.
“Once it starts consuming, it makes things very tough,” he said. “You can’t punch through it. You can’t run a trolling motor through it. It makes the water gin clear. You can get on the flats and see schools, but you can’t catch them, especially in bluebird conditions.”
Gluszek said there’s more stain in the southern bay waters, but he hasn’t seen a tournament won down there in a long time. Zona then asked which area Gluszek believed would be more sustainable over the weekend.
“That’s a good question,” Gluszek said. “It’s going to be hard to predict. If there wasn’t 120 boats, the North East region. That area is receiving the maximum amount of fishing pressure. The Susquehanna is usually sustainable, but it’s smaller fish.”
Like many, Gluszek believed the Susquehanna flats would be the winning area, but he said the past two days he hasn’t seen a single competitor there.
He finally said it’s a tossup between the area near Baltimore where Martens is fishing and the North East River area, which holds a lot of the tournaments. He said a lot of fish live there and many more are released there.
Three’s company
Martens might have some sharing issues Saturday. Carl Jocumsen, who’s in third place, as well as 14th-place Randy Howell, are also in the area, Bryan Brasher reported Friday.
“Carl (Jocumsen) and I are fishing the same area, catching each other’s fish. If there were two more boats in there, we would probably be toast,” Martens said.
Four on the floor
Tidal changes play heavily in events here, and Gluszek said expect it to be another 40 to 50 minutes later Saturday. The anglers have found fishing better on the falling tide, but high tide will be around noon and it might be too late for the guys way up north to capitalize Saturday.
“As the tournament progresses, the tide is getting stolen from them,” Gluszek said. “It’s a chess match to see who really benefits from tide.”
That’s a limit
Talk on LIVE turned to Kevin VanDam and if the likes of his unbelievable run of Classics, AOYs and Elite events will ever be seen again. Basically, Zona was asked if the king is dead. No was his answer.
“I think he will dominate events — he almost won at Kentucky Lake,” Zona said. “Are we going to see him go on a crazy run, like he did for four years? It was so improbable.”
Zona said he does think KVD, a close friend, still has some great moments to come. It’s not out of the question he will win another Classic and/or AOY, or blow the field away at an event like Guntersville. But to dominate like he did during his run is not likely.
“You can only sustain that for so long,” said Zona, adding it’s difficult to stay that mad at the fish. “The other side of it is how astronomically impossible it was for the years he sustained it.”
Zona said he and other friends often spoke to KVD on how the run would surely end soon, how he would hit the proverbial wall.
“Dude, it’s coming … but it just got bigger and swelled more and more,” Zona said. “But to do that again, it’s just impossible.”
Culling
Photo(s) of the day come from Steve Bowman, and they both can be called “Reaching.” He followed Aaron Martens on Friday and apparently jumped out of the boat to show how an angler will search the deepest corners of a fishery (above). The one below shows the extent of what one might do to retrieve a hooked up lure. Martens was heard on LIVE asking anyone around him if rules prohibit him from exiting the boat.
- Among Zona’s nuggets is Martens telling him about his biggest concern this week. He’s been fishing where barnacles are prevalent and has serious line worries. “Notice how he sets the hook very gingerly,” Zona said. “He doesn’t want to whack on one of those pylons.”
- Zona commented that the techniques of the leaders are all over the map. “Bladed jigs, spinner baits, drop shots, shakey heads, the techniques of the leaders and the types of cover and structure are all over the board, as far as diversity.”
- Gluszek said boat traffic can help fishing on the bay. “Boat traffic can injure bait fish and push things around. It can actually sometimes get fish active. It can be an asset.”
- Tommy Sanders asked Gluszek when it’s best to throw a chatterbait and when it’s best for a spinnerbait. Gluszek told Sanders both are effective, horizontal tools for the flats here, then said it was simple to know which to use when. “Throw a spinnerbait when they are biting a spinnerbait …” Thanks, Pete.