In most Elite Series tournaments, a 5-bass limit weighing 10 pounds will leave you in the bottom half of the standings. This week at Lake Martin, it will probably earn you $10,000. There are tons of spotted bass weighing between 1-0 and 1-14 in this 44,000-acre lake. So an average limit only slightly heavier will keep you in the hunt, hence, the daily goal of a 2-pound average/10 pounds a day.
Lake Martin veterans will tell you that 18 to 20 pounds on one day is possible here. Possible one day, but unlikely to be repeated.
We’re already seeing that scenario play out in the first hours of this four-day tournament. At the top of the leaderboard there’s Takahiro Omori with 14-6. He’s having one of those exceptional days. Second is Jeff Kriet with a 9-4 limit. He’s at least laid the groundwork for a day that will keep him at the goal of 10 pounds per day.
Then there’s Jason Williamson with a 5-bass limit weighing only an estimated 5 pounds, according to BASSTrakk. Even with a limit in the livewell, Williamson’s got a lot of work to do in order to reach that 10-pound/2-pound average goal.
That’s the basics of Lake Martin, where a 5-2 largemouth like Omori landed today feels like striking gold.