Top Elite technicians

The Elite anglers make their picks for the top-notch anglers for specific techniques.

We asked the Elites to name anglers they felt were the best when it came to several specific techniques: finesse, bed/sight fishing, ledge/offshore fishing, power/junk fishing. Here's what they said:
We asked the Elites to name anglers they felt were the best when it came to several specific techniques: finesse, bed/sight fishing, ledge/offshore fishing, power/junk fishing. Here’s what they said:
<u>Alton Jones’ picks:</u> 
<b>Finesse:</b>
Alton Jones’ picks:
Finesse: “Aaron Martens is top notch.”
Bed/sight fishing: “I’d like to think I’m up there near the top.”
Ledge/offshore fishing: “When Kevin VanDam finds them…he’s deadly.”
Power/junk fishing: “Edwin Evers knows how to do it all well.”
<u>Brett Hite’s picks:</u>
<b>Finesse:</b>
Brett Hite’s picks:
Finesse: “Aaron Martens.”
Bed/sight fishing: “Dean Rojas has proven he is good at it and Skeet Reese has shown to be consistent doing it.”
Ledge/offshore fishing: “I’m gonna have to go with Aaron Martens again.”
Power/junk fishing: “Gerald Swindle has made a name for himself doing it consistently.”
<u>Chris Lane’s picks:</u>
<b>Finesse:</b>
Chris Lane’s picks:
Finesse: “Aaron Martens.”
Bed/sight fishing: “Bobby Lane…we grew up looking at the fish in Florida.”
Ledge/offshore fishing: “Jeff Kriet.”
Power/junk fishing: “Most of us grew up and cut our teeth doing that, so its hard to pinpoint one…we are all good at it.”
<u> Bobby Lane’s picks:</u>
<b>Finesse:</b>
Bobby Lane’s picks:
Finesse: “I think Todd Faircloth, Aaron Martens and Jonathon VanDam are all great at it.”
Bed/sight fishing: “Alton Jones.”
Ledge/offshore fishing: “Derek Remitz.”
Power/junk fishing: “Jason Christie and Jacob Powroznik.”
<u>Keith Combs’ picks:</u>
<b>Finesse:</b>
Keith Combs’ picks:
Finesse: “Hard to beat Aaron Martens, while Casey Ashley is pretty good too.”
Bed/sight fishing: “Alton Jones and Todd Faircloth.”
Ledge/offshore fishing: “If I can pick myself, I like to think I’m very good at that. Also Kevin VanDam is great at it. ”
Power/junk fishing: “Gerald Swindle and Takahiro Omori. Tak is good with a square bill around shallow cover.”
<u>Cliff Crochet’s picks:</u>
<b>Finesse:</b>
Cliff Crochet’s picks:
Finesse: “Aaron Martens is obvious, but an angler who is underrated is a Gary Klein. He is in tune with his tackle. ”
Bed/sight fishing: “Jacob Powroznik is a new name for the Elites, but he is good. Shaw Grigsby has the long time reputation of bed fishing.”
Ledge/offshore fishing: “Kevin VanDam knows how to make those deep fish bite.”
Power/junk fishing: “Gerald Swindle is that guy, but I think Fred Roumbanis is good at doing that too.”
<u>Davy Hite’s picks:</u>
<b>Finesse:</b>
Davy Hite’s picks:
Finesse: “Jeff Kriet.”
Bed/sight fishing: “Shaw Grigsby.”
Ledge/offshore fishing: “Kevin VanDam.”
Power/junk fishing: “I’d like to think of myself in that vote.”
<u>Edwin Evers’ picks:</u>
<b>Finesse:</b>
Edwin Evers’ picks:
Finesse: “Aaron Martens.”
Bed/sight fishing: “Shaw Grigsby.”
Ledge/offshore fishing: “Paul Elias.”
Power/junk fishing: “Jason Christie.”
<u>Randy Howell’s picks:</u>
<b>Finesse:</b>
Randy Howell’s picks:
Finesse: “Aaron Martens is the easy answer, but Jeff Kriet is underrated because of his patience with a shakey head and catching fish on a spinning rod.”
Bed/sight fishing: “Alton Jones and Jacob Powroznik are hard to beat. I also think I am a good sight fisherman.”
Ledge/offshore fishing: “Aaron Martens dissects deep structure with the best of them while Mark Davis can patiently fish a spot for four days and make the most of it.”
Power/junk fishing: “Gerald Swindle and Skeet Reese can both make a high number of casts while knowing when to switch up the baits they throw. “
<u>Mike Iaconelli’s picks:</u>
<b>Finesse:</b>
Mike Iaconelli’s picks:
Finesse: “Aaron Martens obviously, but any West Coast guy is going to be good at finesse fishing because they do a lot of it.”
Bed/sight fishing: “Ish Monroe and Jacob Powroznik.”
Ledge/offshore fishing: “Here is an off the wall answer that is good…Matt Reed. Another good one with electronics is Keith Combs.”
Power/junk fishing: “Gerald Swindle and Kevin VanDam hands down.”
<u>Jeff Kriet’s picks:</u>
<b>Finesse:</b>
Jeff Kriet’s picks:
Finesse: “Aaron Martens, no doubt.”
Bed/sight fishing: “Alton Jones and Dean Rojas have the reputation when it comes to sight fishing tournaments.”
Ledge/offshore fishing: “Mike McClelland and Kevin VanDam find deep spots with their electronics.”
Power/junk fishing: “Jason Christie has cut his teeth fishing shallow and Brent Chapman is good with square bills and chunking and winding.”
<u>Jared Lintner’s picks:</u>
<b>Finesse:</b>
Jared Lintner’s picks:
Finesse: “Aaron Martens has set the standard and many anglers have learned from him.”
Bed/sight fishing: “Dean Rojas is always up there when we have tournaments in the springs.”
Ledge/offshore fishing: “Jeff Kriet meticulously picks apart cover with his patience.”
Power/junk fishing: “Jason Christie knows how to go along the bank and find fish that other people miss.”
<u>Jacob Powroznik’s picks:</u>
<b>Finesse:</b>
Jacob Powroznik’s picks:
Finesse: “Aaron Martens and Ott DeFoe. Ott will be successful with small crankbaits on spinning rods, but I still say that is finesse fishing.”
Bed/sight fishing: “Bobby Lane, Dean Rojas and myself If I’m allowed to pick myself.”
Ledge/offshore fishing: “Timmy Horton is good at reading his electronics and Kevin VanDam knows how to catch those deep schools of fish.”
<u>Kevin Short’s picks:</u>
<b>Finesse:</b>
Kevin Short’s picks:
Finesse: “Two words…Aaron Martens.”
Bed/sight fishing: “Dean Rojas knows how to get it done.”
Ledge/offshore fishing: “Edwin Evers has proven, especially fishing up around here, that he can find some offshore structure and do well.”
Power/junk fishing: “Kevin VanDam covers the most water out of all the anglers in the Elite series.”
<u>Gerald Swindle’s picks:</u>
<b>Finesse:</b>
Gerald Swindle’s picks:
Finesse: “Aaron Martens definitely for dropshotting, but Jeff Kriet is tops in the shakey head category.”
Bed/sight fishing: “That’s hard because everyone is a stud and everyone at times is equally good.”
Ledge/offshore fishing: “Keith Combs on the electronics side of the spectrum and Terry Scroggins when it comes to old fashioned down sonar deep fishing.”
Power/junk fishing: “Kevin VanDam and myself.”
<u>David Walker’s picks:</u>
<b>Finesse:</b>
David Walker’s picks:
Finesse: “Aaron Martens is the obvious answer while Terry Scroggins is an underrated angler with a spinning rod in his hand.”
Bed/sight fishing: “Shaw Grigsby is an obvious angler while Greg Hackney is a hidden gem when it comes to catching fish he can see.”
Ledge/offshore fishing: “Kevin VanDam is hard to beat when he finds fish on deep structure.”