Aaron Martens Wins BASS Elite Lake Havasu Tournament with 68-09lbs!

With 13 Second Place Finishes Martens Finally Wins. 

By Bryan Brasher

bass press release

LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. – Aaron Martens heard the chuckles from the crowd when he explained the primary pattern he used during the Bassmaster Elite at Lake Havasu presented by Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels.

But as crazy as it sounded, he was serious.

Martens made a short run up the Colorado River each day and fished thick patches of shoreline vegetation where big largemouth bass were feeding on blackbirds. Flipping a bait designed to mimic their prey, he caught enough bass the first three days to enter Sunday’s championship round in fourth place.

Then during the championship round, he caught five bass that weighed 19-5 and took home the $100,000 first-place prize with a four-day total of 68-9.

Winning on Mother's Day overcame series of second places.
(Photo: James Overstreet BASS)

He used a drop-shot rig some during the week, too. But after the final weigh-in, the buzz was about the birds.

“I do that all the time,” said Martens, who earned the victory on Mother’s Day with his own mother, Carol, in the crowd. “I don’t know why people don’t believe me when I say it. The birds fall out of the nest, and the bass eat them. Birds are definitely part of their diet.”

Martens used a 1/2- or 3/4-ounce weight and a 4/0 Heavy-Cover Gamakatsu hook rigged with a green pumpkin punch skirt and one of two plastic trailers. His choice of trailer was determined by which weight he was using – it was a large Rage Craw for the 1/2-ounce rig and a Speed Craw for the 3/4-ounce setup.

He paid special attention to areas where lots of blackbirds were nesting.

“I probably shouldn’t even be talking about it, because I’ve known about it for 25 years,” said Martens, who said several fish spit up black feathers in his livewell during the tournament. “I’ve caught them in California and had them spit up full-grown blackbirds.

2015 Bassmaster Elite Lake Havasu Day 2: Cliff Pirch 36-12lbs.

Murray Close Second as Locals Lead.

By Bryan Brasher

bass press release

LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. - After two days, the Bassmaster Elite at Lake Havasu presented by Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels has turned into a neck-and-neck battle between two home-state pros with a star-studded cast lurking not too far behind.

Cliff putting western edge to his advantage.
(Photo: Shaye Baker BASS)

Cliff Pirch, of Payson, Ariz., had an impressive catch of 19 pounds, 4 ounces Friday and took the lead with a two-day total 36-12.  John Murray of Phoenix caught 16-1 Friday to land in second, a little more than a pound back, with 35-9.

The anglers, who both have a long list of tournament victories on Lake Havasu, will lead the remaining field of 52 into Saturday, as they brace for the lake’s legendary weekend boat traffic.

“The increased boat traffic may hurt me, I just don’t know,” said Pirch, who finished second in a Bassmaster Open on Havasu in 2003. “It’s one of those things where you just hope you can make some adjustments and keep on fishing. It was tough out there today.”

2015 Bassmaster Elite Lake Havasu Day 1: Edwin Evers Leads with 20-07lbs!

E2 Battles Wind and Wins.

By Bryan Brasher

BASS PRESS RELEASE

LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. – The wind was blowing hard across Lake Havasu before daylight Thursday, and it only got worse throughout the day as it sometimes pushed 30 miles per hour.
But big gusts and even bigger waves weren’t enough to keep the scenic fishery on the California-Arizona border from showing just how far it’s come.

Edwin leads tight pack of pros. (Photo: James Overstreet BASS)

Oklahoma pro Edwin Evers caught five bass that weighed 20 pounds, 7 ounces to take the Day 1 lead in the Bassmaster Elite at Lake Havasu presented by Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels. He was one of 20 anglers to bring at least 16-0 to the scales on a day when many elected to fish close to the launch site instead of making rough journeys along the Colorado River.
Phoenix, Ariz., pro John Murray was second with 19-8. He was followed by Matthew Herren of Ashville, Ala., with 18-9; Randall Tharp of Port St. Joe, Fla., with 18-3; and Mike Kernan of Wylie, Tex., with 18-2.
“It was a great day, but I wasn’t really doing anything special,” Evers said. “It’s not like I’ve got one area I can go into and find a big school of fish. I’m going to have to fish new water all week, and hopefully find more fish like I caught today. The fish are out there, but it’s going to be a week of adjustments, for sure.”

A 20-pound bag was once considered virtually impossible on Havasu, but anglers raved Thursday about the lake’s metamorphosis. Murray, who has been fishing Havasu for three decades, said he once enjoyed fishing tournaments on the lake because he knew it wouldn’t take much to win.
He said things are different now.
“I’m fishing techniques I don’t normally fish, actually a technique that I used to win a tournament on this lake 23 years ago,” Murray said. “I’ve been fishing this lake since 1985. Back then, it took about 10 pounds to win here. I’m fishing the same spots now and just catching bigger fish.”
Murray said he believes the size of the bass on Havasu began improving when quagga mussels appeared during the early 1990s.
Quaggas are an invasive Ukrainian species that most believe were accidentally introduced into the lake. The mussels often settle in massive colonies that can block water intakes and affect municipal water supplies, causing billions of dollars in damage.
But Murray said the quaggas actually jumpstarted Havasu’s fish growth.
“Quagga mussels kicked the food chain into high gear,” Murray said. “Divers say the crawdads are all over the bottom, and the redear (sunfish) are growing to world-record size now. Before the quaggas showed up, fish this size just weren’t here.”
While some anglers were bothered by the high winds Thursday, others, like Murray, said it actually helped their cause on a lake as clear as Havasu.
“The wind is why they bite,” Murray said. “If we didn’t have the wind today, it would have been a battle – at least for my stuff. I saw the weather forecast, and I geared my tackle for the wind.”
If the forecast is correct and the wind is much lighter for Friday’s second round, Murray said he might have to use some new tricks to further his success. Tharp and other pros said it isn’t likely to have much effect on their tactics either way.
“I really only saw one other angler doing what I’m doing,” said Tharp, who needed the good day after finishing 61st, 84th and 98th in the first three Elite Series events of the season. “I caught my fish early and then spent most of the day running new water, looking for something I could use the rest of the week. I actually got three bites this afternoon and didn’t set the hook.
“I know it does for some, but I honestly don’t believe the wind makes any difference for what I’m doing.”
The tournament will resume with take-off at 6:15 a.m. Friday from Lake Havasu State Park. Weigh-in is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. back at the park, with only the top 52 anglers advancing to Saturday.