Posted  April 3rd, 2008  7:13 pm CST

Aaron Martens Sets the Record Pace with 42 Pound Limit On Day One

Story by Brent Conway - Photos by Mark Jeffreys

Zapata, TX – Just north of our Mexican border, on the downstream side of Amistad, lies Falcon Lake. The pescado gigantesco, predicted to be in abundance, showed up big time during practice and bags of 40+ pounds were proved to be a real possibility. 

In fact, consensus among the field was that it would likely take at least that much each day to have a legitimate shot at winning. If the best you could muster in a day’s effort was a three-pound average, it would be better to just stay in bed because 20 pounds isn’t going to do it.

The Lonestar Shootout will be just that as 109 of the world’s best bassers are placed this week on one of the best-kept secrets in America. With literally all of the records hanging in the balance, the secret is a covert no more.

The only thing required to make the first day live up to all the hype was perfect conditions – light winds and high skies. While the high skies were plentiful, so too was the wind and it blew relentlessly throughout the day – with gusts purportedly reaching some 30 miles per hour. 

Wind or not, the bass still bit and the fans that showed up to watch the weigh-in left satisfied as mammoth stringers of bass streamed one after the other across the stage. Where Amistad was the sweetheart of the 2006 season, and Clear Lake was the rage of ’07. 2008, at this point in the game, appears to be all about Falcon.

Sitting at the top of it all, on a day where back-boaters caught limits weighing better than 30 pounds, was Aaron Martens, who brought a scale-stressing sack weighing 42-0. Second place belonged to Scott Rook, with 35-12, and with 35-6 was Ish Monroe who held down the third-place slot on the first day.

In fourth place Thursday was Mark Davis, with a tournament limit weighing 35-4. Byron Velvick finished the first day in fifth with five bass totaling 34-14, and rounding out the Super Six with a limit settling on the scales at 34-11 was Mike Iaconelli.

Here’s how the Top 12 looked after Thursday’s first round:
7. Scott Campbell 33-15
8. Derek Remitz 33-11
9. Jason Williamson 33-4
10. Matt Reed 33-2
11. Terry Scroggins 33-1
12. Bernie Schultz 32-9

Who could have imagined that on the first day, in order to be inside the Top 50, you would have to catch a stringer weighing almost 25 pounds? To put this into perspective, if there is a way of doing so, the 2005 Classic in Pittsburgh boasted a four-day winning weight of 12.15 – roughly a third of the day one leader’s weight at Falcon.

A-Mart Runs out of Juice
Oh, what might have been were it not for the wind and it effect on A-Mart’s batteries. “If I could have had batteries all day, I would’ve smoked them,” Marten’s explained, and then quickly adding that he should have had closer to 46 pounds…easy.

After extolling his amazement at his day on the lake, Martens settled down for a minute to talk about his program. “I’m heavy-duty all the way,” a tight-lipped Martens suggested. “I won’t give anything away, but I’m definitely not finessing anything.”

With that, it was quickly back to what might have been. “I’m sure that the area that I’m in has the fish to shatter the record,” Martens said, and then relayed that practice didn’t really leave him with the feeling that he would have 40 pounds his first day out. 

“I was actually a little discouraged after my first day of practice, but after talking to a couple of guys I made some adjustments,” he said “I went back in there today and the four-pound fish had left and been replaced by seven-pound quality fish. I never had a clue that there were that many fish there.”

Martens is content to run his same program again Friday, and speculates that if the wind stays manageable there will be new records Sunday. “As long as the wind doesn’t blow again, 122 pounds is going to be destroyed. 

“It’s supposed to blow again tomorrow, so I’m going to have to address my battery problem tonight.”

Rook Goes Back and Forth
The plan at launch was to run a line of brush, not a single spot; however, the wind had different plans. Fortunately for Scott Rook, the wind prevaile4d. “I pulled up on my first spot and just fished it out,” he said. 

For Rook, he learned that lesson all too well Thursday. “All I know is that it was big,” Rook said, lamenting his lost lunker. “All my other fish jumped; this one never did, so I know that it was bigger. It was just a bulldog.”

Friday’s weather change has Rook concerned. “There’s a cold-front coming in tomorrow, and I think that could change it up a little,” he said. “I don’t know what it will do, but I think it will change.”

Monroe has Them Coming and Going
Ish fished within sight of A-Mart and Velvick all day. Usually that would be cause for concern. “I’ve got ‘em coming and going I think,” Ish explained. “I guarantee you that between all us fishing the spot there were…I don’t know how many pounds of fish came out of there, it was just unending.”

Ish noted the irony of culling six-pound fish many times still regreting the fact that he didn’t get a “big” bite. “I would’ve have a 40-pound bag if I could have gotten a giant,” he said. “{Fishing is just good, but the big bite really matters. 

“It’s funny to say that when you bring 35 pounds to the stage, but it’s true.”

Like Rook, Ish has an eye on the weather forecast. “If you don’t make an adjustment, it’s going to be hard to back it up tomorrow,” he said. “The weather is going to change, but the fish I’m on are trying to get fat. They’re hungry. So I think they’ll keep eating.”

Davis is at a Loss for Words
“I don’t even know where to begin,” an exhausted Mark Davis expressed when asked about his day on the pond. “I had so many fish located that I just decided to go to my closest spot this morning. The trouble is that once you get 30 pounds, it gets really difficult to add more weight. That sounds ridiculous, but it’s true.”

The wind will blow again Friday, but it will be out of the exact opposite direction – the effect of which will remain a mystery until Friday, given the limited experience the field has at Falcon. “Maybe rather than getting six-pound bites, you’re getting five-pound bites tomorrow,” Davis surmised, “I don’t really know.”

Velvick Kept Culling
Like Davis, Velvick had the same difficulty in getting past the 30-pound barrier Thursday. “I literally went through 30 pounds of fish,” and incredulous Velvick expressed. “I let 30 pounds of fish go – it’s just truly amazing!”

Set up a stone’s through from Ish and A-Mart, Velvick explained that the bite runs hot and cold, but when it starts – it hits like a wave. “I’m in a migratory area and fish are just moving through,” he explained. 

“It gets really hot and then it slows down. It’s weird because you can look around and see guys starting to get bit you better hang on because they’re coming.”

Just like Ish, Velvick needed the big bite to move closer to Martens. It was compounded by the fact that he watched as the leader put his giant in the live well. “I watched Aaron catch his big fish, and we both watched each other cull out six-pound fish the rest of the day,” he said. 

“It’s just amazing. I don’t know what else to say.”

Ike’s Making Memories
It’s redundant and pointless to say that an angler had “a good day” given the situation. In fact, it’s difficult to find adjectives to describe the scenario – so Ike didn’t even try. “In practice I found three places that I could catch a fish on every cast,” he said. “I don’t even know what to say. I’m just speechless.”

When asked what seemed to be working best this week, Ike just shook his head. “Honestly, it doesn’t matter what you do,” the former Classic champion said. “You can catch fish any way that you want to. It’s the sickest fishing I’ve ever seen!”

With that, Iaconelli is committed to the fact that win, lose, or draw – it’s been the best tournament ever…and it’s just the first day. “Regardless of what happens, this will be the most memorable tournament of my life,” he said. “It’s just incredible – that’s all I can say!”.

Day One Standings

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