Both Lesley Martens (Aaron's wife) and I have caught a 6-pound smallmouth bass from Sturgeon Bay. But 50 of the best bass fishermen in the world, including three-time Angler of the Year Aaron Martens, didn't get close to that yesterday. That tells you all you need to know about how tough the fishing is here this week.
Jason Christie took big bass honors on Day 1 with a 5-2. Only 27 of the 50 anglers caught 5-bass limits, Ott DeFoe's limit of 11 pounds, 11 ounces put him smack in the middle of the field – 25th place. That's why an obviously upset Mike Iaconelli, who had mechanical problems as he battled for a Classic berth, had to be more than just pleasantly surprised to find himself in 27th place at the end of the day. That was in spite of catching only 4 keepers that weighed 11-7.
In a 100-angler tournament when Sturgeon Bay was fishing good, not great, just good, 11-7 would have you in the bottom 25 percent of the field and multiple 6-pound smallmouth would be weighed-in.