Posted  April 4th, 2008  7:13 pm CST

Martens Leads, Velvick Second, Davis Third........Records On Pace to Be Shattered

Story by Brent Conway - Photos by Mark Jeffreys

Zapata, TX – With pre-tournament reports making Falcon Lake appear to be a bass-fisherman’s nirvana, where a five-fish bag of bass could tip the scales at better than 50 pounds, the first day’s results left nothing to be desired. To even be considered a contender on the first day, 30 pounds was the requirement 

The requirement had many in the 109-angler field stumped because a 30-pound bag is almost mythical. To some, getting to, or at least near, 30 pounds was easy. But to then find yourself culling six-pound fish in order to crest the hump became…well, stupid. As with the Florida venue, the big bite is key. The difference is at Falcon you had to view “big” at a different angle.

The Lone Star Shootout, the third stop on the 2008 Elite Series schedule, would have been better billed as “The Lone Star Livestock Show” with all the donkeys that crossed Thursday’s weigh-in stage. Ultimately, it was the bag of mules that Aaron Martens hoisted onto the scales that took top honors.

Martens, like the other 108 anglers that crossed the stage after him, was awestruck at the fishing – noting that if the weather (and wind) cooperated, all the records were at risk. The wind, which rocked the lake Thursday, blew again Friday out of the north; however, it switched to the southeast by day’s end, still maintaining a steady 20-mile-per-hour stride.

Regardless of the wind – and from which direction it blew – an abundance of fish were caught. With the ballgame far from being settled, the lead board saw changes throughout the ranks, but it wasn’t the leader. Aaron Martens brought 37-13 to the scales, giving him a staggering 79-13 in two days, to end Friday’s second round in first place.

Sharing water with Martens is Byron Velvick, who held down the second place spot, by bringing 41-11 to the scales Friday boosting his two-day total to an eye-popping 76-9. In third was veteran pro Mark Davis, with a total weight of 68-13, after bringing 33-9 to the scales Friday.

Paul Elias from 26th place into fourth on the heels of Friday’s limit weighing 39-1, which gave him 67-6 combined. Mike Iaconelli wound up in fifth place, after bringing in 31-10, which gave him 66-5 overall.

Rounding out the Super Six was Bernie Schultz, with a combined two-day weight of 61-15, after bringing 29-6 to the scales Friday. Friday’s “last man standing” in 50th place was Todd Faircloth with a two-day weight of 49-7.

Here’s how the top 12 shaped up:
7. Jason Williamson 60-13
8. Scott Rook 60-5
9. Derek Remitz 59-7
10. Scott Campbell 59-5
11. Terry Scroggins 58-2
12. Gary Klein 57-15

Martens Got the Second School
There’s no end to the grin that Aaron Martens displayed Friday, and though he didn’t cross the 40-pound barrier it’s still “all good.”

The California angler explained that he got off to a rolling start and then hung around in limbo. “It was a good day,” Martens said. “My first or second cast I caught the big one. Really, for a while they were firing pretty good. I had 30 pounds pretty quick, but you have to get the big ones to get over the hump.”

Sharing water is never easy – particularly when that person is three pounds behind you in second place. “I caught the same amount of fish as Byron, but he just got the bites and I didn’t,” Martens said. “It happens that way when you’re fishing close quarters. 

“One guy will get the bites and the other one won’t. It was my day yesterday, and Byron’s today.”

Martens never knew the magnitude of his primary spot until Thursday. “I only made a few casts in each of the spots,” he said. “My partner and I had both had seven pounds in back-to-back casts. It was sick. 

“I never really knew the magnitude of the spot because I saw all of the arches on my graph, but thought for sure that they couldn’t be bass.”

With water in reserve, Martens still has options. “I have lots of spots,” he said. “No one has even been near one of my best spots, so I have water that I can go to. The thing is that no one is trying to get near us, so I’ll plan to just milk this area out and then go to my other water.”

Velvick Staying Put
It’s rare that First and Second find themselves within casting distance of one another. Rarer still is that they’re both doing exactly the same thing. Byron Velvick explained that such is the case this week at Falcon. “There is nothing different between what we’re doing,” he said. 

“The spot that we’re on seems like an old rocky foundation – and there’s just one stretch.”

As he explained yesterday, Byron reaffirmed that the bites come in waves, and then it’s hang out and wait until the next foray. “There was some big fish early, and they’re all rapid fire,” he said. “I just stayed in there. You have to grind it out.”

While Velvick and Martens often practice together, neither knew that they have both found the same spot this week. “We didn’t find it together,” he said. “We both happened to get on the same spot around 10:00 the first day. 

“We practiced within a quarter-mile of each other, but never knew that we had found the same fish.”{

Velvick knows that unlike Martens, if the spot peters out he’s in a bind. “Aaron has some other spots to go to,” he said. “I’m going to live and die right where I’m at. I can go flipping for some, but if the wind will give me a break, it’s going to be hard to leave 70 pounds of fish and look for something else.” 

Davis Goes by the Book
With a day that started like an action novel, Mark Davis contents that it wound up like a book he might have written about post-spawn fishing. “I caught that 11 pounder right off the bat,” he said. “I caught a few other six-pound fish, but all in all the fishing was tougher. Today was no where near the day yesterday was.” 

“When it gets tough like this, you just have to slow down,” Davis added. “What you find out by doing that is you’ll mess around and get some pretty good bites.”

Davis has other water, but he’s sure that it’s been found too by other anglers. That said, he’s been able to mine the spot he’s on and has discovered other secrets he overlooked. “There are other anglers who found the same fish I’m on, so I never even went to my other water,” he said. 

“I’ve been able to figure out some other things about the area that I’m in. Post-spawn fishing is always about location. You have to figure out the subtleties of the areas that they’re migrating through to get keyed in. I found another school within my same area that I overlooked during practice because I had to slow down today.” 

Elias Faced a Tough Decision
Soft spoken Mississippi pro Paul Elias doesn’t like conflict; however, he was in the middle of it after discovering Thursday that his best water was covered up. “I found both of the schools of fish that both Ish and Scott (Rook) were on during practice,” he said. 

“I was late to both spots so I had a big decision to make last night. I got a good draw today and was able to get to the spot.”

Getting to the spot first, Elias had a brief argument with Ish when he arrived a short time later. “I told him that after I caught five, I would leave,” Elias explained. “I left with four fish and gave the bait that I’d caught them on to Ish and left.”

While he made up his mind, Paul said he still didn’t get a wink of sleep worrying over the outcome of his decision. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years and I’ve never been in this situation,” he said. “It was a tough decision to make, but I felt like I was justified in doing it because I found the fish in practice.” 

While it was a tough decision to make, and one that he doesn’t want to relive, the fishing propelled hip up from a languishing 26th place. “It was absolutely the best day that I’ve ever had on the water in a tournament,” Elias explained. “I just hope that there’s more tomorrow.”

Ike is Deep
Ike is fishing a typical post-spawn pattern though he’s sure that there are still some fish that will spawn later. “I think it’s about 70 percent post spawn, and 30 percent that still haven’t spawned,” he said. “A lake like this, that has these types of numbers, they probably spawn until mid summer…or later.”

The key, Ike explained, is that he’s positioned himself out further than most would care to concentrate in the timber-lined banks at Falcon. “I think I’m out deeper than a lot of guys,” he said. “I’ve had to fizz all of the fish that I’ve caught.”

Running the same program as Thursday, Ike said that the wind wasn’t a factor on the fish but played havoc on his ability to sense the bite. That said, he will try to make some adjustments overnight and run the same plan Saturday. 

“I’m on the fish to win,” Ike expressed. “It’s just a matter of rotating through my areas at the right time. I’m fishing maybe for fewer bites than a lot of the other guys, but the ones that I’m getting are all quality.”

Schultz in a Dilemma 
It’s tough to get a pattern established, but having two patterns and trying to figure out which is the best is often times even harder – particularly when the weights are so enormous with both. “This biggest problem that I’m having right now is figuring out on which pattern I want to focus on,” Schultz explained. 

“It’s hard because in one place the bite is real quick, but not as fast in the other. I can’t win with the quick fish, so it’s difficult.”

A long run to the dam is what Bernie had planned on making. Fortunately, the weather forced an audible at the line. “It’s probably a blessing the wind blew yesterday,” he said. “I had planned on making a long run, but because of the win I hung around here. If the win will lay down long enough I might still make the run.”

While he’s not sure exactly what he’ll wind up doing Saturday, Bernie offered some sage advice. “Never leave biting fish, so it will be interesting,” he said. “I don’t know yet exactly what I’ll do.”

Day Two Standings

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