Bass Master Classic 2011 Day 1: Aaron Marten's 20-07 Leads It!

Bass Master Classic: Day 1
Friday,  February 18, 2011
Louisiana Delta
New Orleans, La.

By Luigi De Rose

Day 1


Aaron Martens Photo:BASS

 Aaron Martens leads Day 1 of the 2011 Bass Master Classic with a stunning catch of 5 bass for 20-07. His kicker and today's big bass was a 5-09 stud. Right on his heels is Scott Rook of AR with a weight of 19-06. Van Dam is just 3 small ounces behind Rook in third with a stellar catch of 19-03. With the top 3 catches so close, one fish can easily flip flop the standing. Luckily, for Martens his big bass help secured him the glory of being the best today.

Surprisingly, all three anglers raced down to Cataouatche then ended up fishing within inches of each other along a spawning flat. Mining the area carefully, the top three sacked a combined total of 59 pounds. The Delta is geographically immense but freakishly all three anglers found the identical location.



Crowding on Day 1
Photo: James Overstreet (BASS)

 Will it hold up over the course of the next two days? That is the million dollar question. If Van Dam, a huge crowd pleaser, is in the mix, expect immense spectator boat traffic. In addition to the other competing anglers this might stir this hot spot into a muddy mess, sinking everyone's chances. 

The Top 10
1. Aaron Martens 20- 7
2. Scott Rook 19- 6
3. Kevin VanDam 19- 3
4. Brent Chapman 18- 0
5. Bobby Lane 16-12
6. Dale Hightower 15- 9
7. Cliff Pace 15- 7
8. Todd Faircloth 15- 2
9. Skeet Reese  15- 1
10. Paul Elias 14-13

Ibassin.com Top Picks
Well I didn't do too well on my top picks. It is only Day 1 so I still have a chance of calling a winner. Here is how my top picks fared on Day 1.
3. Kevin Van Dam
12. Kelly Jordon 14- 3
21. Michael Iaconelli 13- 1
24. Gary Klein 12- 7
32. Morizo Shimizu 10- 0
46. Greg Hackney  4- 3

Really, the only real shocker is Hackey. Three fish for 4-03 is not great. The fog might have made him have a brain fart and out think himself but who knows. Spring time is all about timing and his fish might have split or he didn't find much during the freezing cold pre-practice. The weights are very close. One 6 pounder and the whole leader board can change in a hurry.

Weather


Finally, Van Dam is the first out!
Photo: James Overstreet (BASS)

 Anglers were greeted with gloomy, thick fog on Friday morning. Many questioned their game plans as Trip Wilson, BASS Tournament Director held the boats in a fog delay until 8:10am (central time). During morning interviews, Gary Klein who is making a very long trek to his waters summed it up best with his statement of "It really sucks!"  when asked about the foggy weather during an interview with bassmasters.com.


Stay tuned for more action tomorrow.
P.S.
Sorry for the delay. I was at the Spring Fishing and Boat Show in Toronto this afternoon and have some cool stuff to show you in future posts.