Tough fishing X 10

Never have so many Elite Series veterans struggled so much.

NORTH EAST, Md. — Here’s a trivia question for you: When was the last time Kevin VanDam, Mike Iaconelli, Rick Clunn, Dean Rojas and Edwin Evers — all of them — missed a Top 50 cut in a Bassmaster Elite Series tournament?

In this, the 10th season of the Elite Series, the one and only time that has occurred was Friday in the Huk Performance Fishing event at Chesapeake Bay. If you cared to do so, you could take that distinction way further back than a decade of B.A.S.S. events, but you get the point: Chesapeake Bay is fishing historically tough this week.

“I’d have to rank the Upper Chesapeake this week as the third toughest tournament I’ve ever fished,” Terry Scroggins told Alan McGuckin for a story published here Friday. This is Scroggins’ 184th B.A.S.S. event in a career that began in 1999.

“The toughest event ever was the 2005 Bassmaster Classic in Pittsburgh,” added Scroggins, who made the Top 50 here thanks to a rally Friday. “I caught two keepers in three days of competition. I’d rank the Delaware River last summer in Philadelphia as the second toughest.”

VanDam won that Classic at Pittsburgh with a three-day total of 12 pounds, 15 ounces. Iaconelli won last year on the Delaware River — by 8 pounds ­— with a four-day total of 47-14. Those two veterans have proven themselves under difficult conditions in the past.

If you need any further proof of how tough Chesapeake Bay has been this week, consider the following:

— Edwin Evers, the hottest angler on the Elite Series, coming off back-to-back wins on Kentucky Lake and the St. Lawrence River, zeroed on Friday. “I didn’t get a bite all day,” Evers said. That dropped him from 11th place (14-11 on Day 1) to 52nd place Friday.

— Dean Rojas, who has been first or second in the Toyota Angler of the Year standings most of the season, finished with a two-day total of six bass weighing 12-10 to place 63rd.

— Jacob Powroznik, the local favorite and a contender for the AOY title, zeroed on Friday and fell from sixth place (15-2 on Day 1) to 50th place on Day 2 by 1 ounce over Ken Iyobe.

But don’t read this as a complaint about the fishery. It’s more a testament to the anglers who have managed to solve this challenging puzzle on a tidal-influenced river system in August — the toughest time of the year to do so. So it’s particularly a tribute to two-day tournament leader and AOY points leader Aaron Martens. He has solved the puzzle to the tune of a five-bass limit both days and a 32-8 total.

There’s a school of thought that difficult tournaments should be part of the Elite Series every year. For the ultimate challenge of bass fishing abilities, it shouldn’t be a schedule that includes only notable bass factories like Toledo Bend and Lake Guntersville. This year’s schedule had two obvious challenges when it was released: the season-opener at the Sabine River and Chesapeake Bay in August.

Martens finished third at the Sabine River. He’s in position for another top finish here. But as we’ve seen in two days, there are no guarantees for anyone at Chesapeake Bay.