Day 4 with Aaron Martens

When Aaron Martens arrived at Middle River, the only boats around were crab fishermen checking their crab pots.

Martens had spent the last three days in the lead of the Huk Performance Fishing Bassmaster Elite Series on the Chesapeake Bay.

Most of that effort had taken place in Bowley’s Quarter Marina, where hundreds of boats lined a series of docks. And he quickly got to work.

Martens fell into the quiet nature of the morning slipping around the docks trying to make as little noise as possible.

He used a spinnerbait and jig to work over the docks. Moving to clusters of pilings where bass had a lot of shade.

And he would ease into open slips and work over the pilings very gingerly.

He took every precaution not to make any big movements

And in some places, boat owners began to wake up and shoot their own photos of him at work.

But the first hour was fruitless.

As the dock got more busy, and the tide stayed high, Martens would pick up a frog and work over matted grass patches.

And move shallow to work pilings with his jig and spinnerbait.

Often slipping into open places where boat owners watched up close and personal.

Many of those in the area had no idea bass lived underneath them.

Martens quiet approach was highlighted by his wearing toe socks or toe shoes that looked like socks.

And for the first three hours it looked as if there really weren’t any bass that lived under the dock.

But after three hours, Martens got his first bite. A small bass that he jerked into the boat and it came unpinned, sending the spinnerbait into Martens shirt.

The fish, though, dropped in the boat and Martens was finally on the board.

But the fishing remained tough. In the next 30 minutes he would get three more bites and see another fish that was at least 4-pounds chase his bait. But none of them take it.

Martens would finally hook up with fish number two.

And even it created a battle,

That seemed to get Martens a little out of whack,

Before it would finally get in the boat.

Even with two keepers, Martens was still getting frustrated.

He continued working over the docks.

Throwing the spinnerbait and following it up with the jig.

But then he made a switch to a Chatter Bait.

And things started changing for Martens.

He quickly boated keeper number three.

The fish would kick off a change in Martens.

For starters it had some weight to it.

But it also lightened his mood and gave him the feeling that he was actually getting ready to catch them.

Soon after he would hook up with his fourth keeper.

Another decent sized fish

That came awkwardly into the boat.

At that point, Martens knew he was on the verge of winning the event.

You could see in his face for the first time all day he was having fun.

The fish would give him close to 10-pounds.

Martens knew he needed more and continued to be stealthy around the pilings.

Easing into slips and working his bait as quietly as possible.

And then everything ratcheted up a notch.

As soon as this fish hit the surface, Martens would yell “oh, my God!”

The big fish would flop and splash its way toward the boat.

The whole time, Martens’ demeanor and voice let those watching know that this wasn’t an ordinary fish.

Martens quickly jumped down and grabbed the fish just as the lure popped out of its mouth.

And then he sprung up.

The excitement level was as big as the fish.

Martens knew immediately that he had caught the biggest bass of the tournament.

He jumped to his feet and hoisted the fish high.

The whole time laughing and carrying on about how big the fish was.

It would tip the scales at 7 pounds and round out his limit. He had basically won the tournament at that point.

But Martens wasn’t finished.

He quickly caught a 4-pounder.

And was able to swap it for a 1-pound fish.

He switched docks and for the first time saw how the waves were building out in the bay.

While he openly talked about whether he should go in or not he hooked up with yet another keeper.

This would be another 4-pound class fish.

That put on a show by coming to the surface.

And blasting a spray of water.

As Martens swung it into the boat.

If there were any doubts, Martens knew for certain that no one could catch him.

He felt like he had more than 19 pounds, possibly 20 but he kept fishing.

While he adjusted his reel we took a moment to take a better shot of the bait.

And for 10 minutes longer, Martens continued to fish.

He said he was having too much fun to quit.

But better judgement finally took hold and Martens headed out to the bay for a leisurely ride home on the rough and bouncing Chesapeake Bay. He finished the day with 21-5. Winning the event by almost 8 pounds.