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Martens Crowned 2015 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year
Aaron Martens of Leeds, Ala., receives the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year trophy after dominating the 2015 Bassmaster Elite Series season. Photo by Seigo Saito/Bassmaster
DOOR COUNTY, Wis. — Capping off the most dominant season in Bassmaster history, Aaron Martens of Leeds, Ala., was finally awarded the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year (AOY) trophy Friday.
Martens locked down the AOY title in late August during the final day of competition at the Plano Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair, but it wasn’t etched into stone until Friday when he hoisted the trophy over his head with his family standing at his side.
“He’s had such an amazing year, and we’re very proud of him,” said Martens’ wife, Lesley. “I know what this sport means to him, and I think it’s safe to say a third AOY title completely erases his 13 second-place finishes.”
“It’s surreal to stand here and think about my season,” the three-time AOY winner said. “Taking home two wins and the Angler of the Year title is so satisfying, but it’s hard to put this feeling into words right now. You really can’t hope for more than that; it’s very humbling to compete against the best in the world and win.”
Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., maintains the lead in weight for the second consecutive day of the championship on Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Friday, he brought in a limit of smallmouth bass for 18 pounds, 5 ounces for a two-day total of 39-12. He is holding steady in seventh place in AOY points.
The stories transpiring during the 2015 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship don’t stop with Martens and Hackney. Several anglers pining for a 2016 GEICO Bassmaster Classic berth are impacting the AOY points in a big way.
Todd Faircloth had another impressive day, bumping his two-day total to 33 pounds, 12 ounces by weighing 15-7 on Friday. He is currently sitting in 29th place in AOY standings, which is just inside the Classic qualification bubble. He has one more day to make the Classic berth official.
“I feel that if I can catch a limit of smallmouth on Sunday I will qualify for the Classic,” said Faircloth, who is in fourth place (by weight) after two days. “Smallmouth bass have burned me before, but they’re working for me lately and it’s been fun.
“I’ve been catching all my fish from 15 to 25 feet of water on a drop shot, which is similar to the pattern I used on Lake St. Clair,” he said, referring to the tournament he recently won.
Michael Iaconelli of Pittsgrove, N.J., came into the championship on the bubble of earning a 2016 GEICO Bassmaster Classic qualification. He had a dramatic Thursday morning by losing three hours of fishing time due to gear-related complications. He rebounded, however, and weighed enough fish to put him in a strong position to earn a Classic berth on Sunday.
“I arrived at my spot on time this morning, and I caught my two biggest fish right away,” Iaconelli explained. “After I had a limit in the livewell, I felt so much better. I was able to expand my area and better understand it.”
Iaconelli knows he hasn’t made the cut yet, but he feels that weighing 15 pounds of bass on Sunday will put him high enough in the tournament standings to provide enough points to compete at the Classic next March on Oklahoma’s Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees.
Gerald Swindle of Warrior, Ala., and Ish Monroe of Hughson, Calif., are holding down 40th and 41st place respectively, and the two anglers are separated by a single point. With 40th place being the current Bassmaster Classic cutoff, both anglers — among others — have only Sunday to catch the right fish in order to earn a 2016 Classic berth.
Competition will resume Sunday morning out of CenterPointe Marina at 6:30 a.m. CT. The final weigh-in will be held at the same location beginning at 3:15 p.m.
On Saturday, all 50 anglers will participate in Bassmaster University, which will take place during the day at CenterPointe Marina. Anglers, including former AOYs Kevin VanDam, Michael Iaconelli and Skeet Reese, will be available for meet-and-greets, bass-fishing advice and seminars. Local vendors and sponsors will also be on-hand to discuss products and services.
Also on Saturday as part of its Bassmaster Fan and Military Appreciation Day, B.A.S.S. will give a special commemorative Bassmaster cap to the first 250 military service members who come to the B.A.S.S. booth with a military identification card. All 50 Elite anglers will be on hand to sign autographs as well.
Activities planned throughout the weekend are free and open to the public. Companies like Mercury, Nitro, Skeeter, Triton and Yamaha will have booths at the expo and will offer demo rides. Toyota, Carhartt, Berkley, Humminbird, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Minn Kota, Power-Pole, Shimano, Rigid Industries and A.R.E. Accessories, Dick Cepek Tires, HUK Performance Clothing will also exhibit.
For more event information, including the Bassmaster University schedule, visit Bassmaster.com.
The local hosts for the event are the Sturgeon Bay Visitor Center and the Door County Visitor Bureau.
2015 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Toyota, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Evan Williams Bourbon, GoPro, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha
2015 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: A.R.E. Accessories, Carhartt, Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels, Huk Performance Fishing, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Power-Pole, Rigid Industries, Shimano
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), social media programs and events. For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series presented by Allstate, Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation events, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Costa Bassmaster High School Series, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro.
Cabela’s/GEICO For Your Boat Pro Angler David Walker Fishing Well in Wisconsin
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DOOR COUNTY, Wis. (Sept. 18) – Cabela’s/GEICO For Your Boat pro angler David Walker is having a fantastic finish to the Bassmaster Elite Series season.
Walker already has clinched a spot in the 2016 GEICO Bassmaster Classic based on where he stands in the Toyota Angler of the Year standings.
Plus, Walker is fishing well in the Toyota Angler of the Year Championship this week on Sturgeon Bay. Friday, Walker brought in the third-highest total for the day, 18 pounds, two ounces, and he sits ninth after two days of action.
The Angler of the Year Tournament closes the Elite Series season. Though Aaron Martens has already clinched the Angler of the Year award, the payout for the rest of the top 50 is still up in the air. And with a good tournament, Walker could find himself getting a bigger check.
“It’s substantial money, so like any other event, the higher you finish, the more you get,” Walker said. “Usually, 11th through 50th get the same thing. But this one here, it’s a stair-step, so I’m trying to get as high as I can to get as much as I can.”
After two days, Walker has 30 pounds, one ounce, and he’s less than a pound out of sixth place. The Bassmaster University Expo is scheduled for Saturday, with the final day of the AOY Tournament on Sunday.
“Today was an awesome day,” Walker said. “I caught ’em good, and I caught ’em at will. That’s hard to do here because practice was terrible. Yesterday, I caught five little keepers, and today I caught 20 – three-pounders and better, one after another.
“I left places where they were biting just because they just weren’t big enough. It was just cool. Good way to wrap up the season.”
And the best news of all for Walker is that he has clinched a spot in the Classic next year. He is 23rd in the Toyota Angler of the Year standings, with the top 36 getting an automatic bid to the Classic.
“I’m just thrilled that I’m basically a lock for the GEICO Bassmaster Classic in Tulsa,” Walker said. “I’m looking forward to that already. We’ve made it.”
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VanDam Catches Six Different Species on One Lure at Sturgeon Bay
Kevin VanDam is the greatest bass angler of past two decades, and the all-time leader in B.A.S.S. prize money, but based on the healthy abundance of species swimming in Lake Michigan, even “KVD” can’t predict what he’s going to catch on any given cast here at the Toyota Angler of the Year tournament out of Sturgeon Bay.
“In the four days I’ve been on the water, I’ve caught king salmon, steelhead, smallmouth bass, northern pike, perch and walleye,” grinned VanDam, a proud Michigan native.
“That’s the cool thing about fishing around the Great Lakes, you never know what you’re gonna catch, and there’s a good chance it will be big,” says VanDam.
“This steelhead I caught today probably weighed 10 pounds, and it came from the same exact rocky shoal where I caught a legitimate 6-pound smallmouth in practice,” added VanDam, showing a photo on his cell phone of the steelhead after Day 1 weigh-in as a storm pushed toward Centerpointe Marina.
Better yet, VanDam says you don’t need a ton of tackle to catch the wide variety of species that swim here. “All those species came on one lure, with one rod and reel – a Deep Diving Strike King KVD jerkbait, on a 6’ 10” medium-heavy Quantum TourKVD rod, and a Quantum EXO spooled with 12-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS fluorocarbon.”
VanDam says the lure’s color is called “Crystal Shad” – but that its ability to get around 10-feet deep helps put it in the neighborhood where so many different species swim.
Fisheries biologist Gene Gilliland serves as National Conservation Director for B.A.S.S. and is onsite at Sturgeon Bay. He’s not surprised by VanDam’s multispecies success. “The Great Lakes have always been abundant with a variety of species, and that variety has been made even greater due to the stocking efforts of state agencies,” says Gilliland.
“For example, the steelhead Kevin caught is basically a sea-run rainbow trout, and rainbows are native to the Western US, so those fish are here directly as a result of being stocked,” illustrates Gilliland.
“As great as the smallmouth fishing can be around Door County, they actually play second fiddle in popularity to salmon, and even walleye and perch – it’s just a great and diverse fishery,” concludes Gilliland.
Day 2 at Sturgeon Bay (Morning)
Changing conditions met the field of Elite anglers this morning at Sturgeon Bay, big changes took place at yesterday’s weigh-in and more are predicted for today as anglers fight to secure spots in the 2016 Bassmaster Classic. Here are a few pictures and videos from this mornings take off.
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Bassmaster Elite Anglers Battle For $1 Million Payout
Jacob Powroznik of Port Haywood, Va., jumps to second place in Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year points on the first day of the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship held on Sturgeon Bay out of Door County, Wis. Photo by Seigo Saito/Bassmaster
DOOR COUNTY, Wis. — One million dollars is on the line for the Top 50 Bassmaster Elite Series anglers as the 2015 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship began this morning on Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
It’s a tournament unlike any other event in the Elite Series. It’s all about the cumulative points each angler amasses through finishes in eight regular season tournaments plus the the AOY Championship. As Bassmaster Emcee Dave Mercer put it today: “These are the final days of a year-long tournament.”
At stake are berths in the 2016 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro — the prestigious “Super Bowl of Bass Fishing” — and shares in the $1 million purse.
The Angler of the Year title, however, has already been decided. Aaron Martens of Leeds, Ala., claimed the crown in one of the most dominating seasons in Bassmaster history. With little at stake here, he’s out to have a good time fishing.
“I’m fishing for fun, but I’m making sure I don’t catch fish that another angler needs to improve their standings in the AOY race,” Martens said. “There’s no pressure for me to perform here, and I kind of like that.”
By finishing in sixth place at the final regular-season tournament on Lake St. Clair out of Detroit, Mich. Martens earned enough points to become untouchable and clinched his third AOY title.
The real story that’s developing on Sturgeon Bay is among the anglers battling for the required points to qualify for the Classic on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, Oklahoma.
The Top 24 anglers in the points only had to catch one fish today to earn a Classic berth, and each of them did. The proverbial bubble exists within a few places either side of 40th, which is the Classic cutoff.
These anglers have the most to lose or gain by their performance at this tournament.
“I experienced some gear-related problems this morning and that really set me back,” said Michael Iaconelli, the 2006 Bassmaster Angler of the Year. “The best fish I was catching during practice were in the morning, and I lost over two hours of fishing time while working things out. Fortunately, I managed to find enough bass to help me move up in points. Now my goal is to get out there tomorrow and improve on today’s weight and secure a Classic berth.”
Iaconelli started the day out in 45th place, but after weighing four bass totaling 11 pounds, 7 ounces he unofficially moved up to 38th, which is just inside the Classic cut. If he can stay consistent, he might remain in contention to compete in his 15th consecutive Bassmaster Classic.
Jacob Powroznik was holding down fourth place in the AOY race, but weighed the fourth largest limit of smallmouth bass with 20-1. He has now moved him into second place in points, unofficially. If that position improvement holds, he will tack on an additional $15,000 in prize money.
“Today I managed to get only 10 bites, and after I had five good bass in the livewell, I left it alone,” Powroznik said. “I think the same quality fish will be there again tomorrow, but they all have that old-fish look. That tells me they’ve seen lures before and will be harder to convince.”
Powroznik is fishing an area that is about 200 yards long that has been holding quite a few fish. But if the wind picks up out of the northwest, staying on the best part of his location could become difficult.
An interesting situation is brewing with Todd Faircloth, who won the Plano Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair a month ago. Coming into that tournament his chances of making the 2016 Classic were dismal at best. However, after that victory, fishing the Classic on Grand Lake is now a real possibility.
“I told myself that I wouldn’t put any added pressure on my season by focusing on the points I needed to make the Classic cut,” said the 13-time Classic contender. “I had a great year capped off by a victory on St. Clair. But, after a solid day out there, I’m really thinking the Classic is a possibility.”
Faircloth began his day in 40th place — currently the last place that will qualify for the Classic. After bringing a fine limit of bass to the scales Thursday afternoon weighing 18-5, he is currently in 33rd place, unofficially. A solid second and third day will lock in his 14th Bassmaster Classic appearance.
Takeoff will be Friday morning out of CenterPointe Marina at 6:30 a.m. CT. Afternoon weigh-in will be held in the same location beginning at 3:15 p.m.
On Saturday, Sept. 19, all 50 anglers will participate in Bassmaster University, which will take place during the day at CenterPointe Mariana. Anglers, including former AOYs Kevin VanDam, Michael Iaconelli and Skeet Reese, will be available for meet-and-greets, bass-fishing advice and seminars. Local vendors and sponsors will also be on-hand to discuss products and services.
Also on Saturday as part of its Bassmaster Fan and Military Appreciation Day, B.A.S.S. will give a special commemorative Bassmaster cap to the first 250 military service members who come to the B.A.S.S. booth with a military identification card. All 50 Elite anglers will be on hand to sign autographs as well.
Activities planned throughout the weekend are free and open to the public. Companies like Mercury, Nitro, Skeeter, Triton, and Yamaha will have booths at the expo and will offer demo rides. Toyota, Carhartt, Berkley, Booyah, Humminbird, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Minn Kota, Mustang, Plano, Power-Pole, Shimano, Rigid Industries and Costa Sunglasses, will also exhibit.
For more event information, including the Bassmaster University schedule, visit Bassmaster.com.
The local hosts for the event are the Sturgeon Bay Visitor Center and the Door County Visitor Bureau.
2015 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Toyota, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Evan Williams Bourbon, GoPro, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha
2015 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: A.R.E. Accessories, Carhartt, Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels, Huk Performance Fishing, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Power-Pole, Rigid Industries, Shimano
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), social media programs and events. For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series presented by Allstate, Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation events, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Costa Bassmaster High School Series, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro.