While BASS doesn’t currently have an official hand lotion and band-aid sponsor, they may need to go looking for one after this week, because the chief complaint among the remaining anglers is the fact that their hands are so torn up from catching hundreds of fish over the past week.

Saturday was moving day, and with the prevalence of four to six pound bass, the prospect of jumping up the leader board was exploited. Fresh off his first Top 50 off the year at Smith Mountain, Marty Stone brought in the heaviest bag of the day on Saturday with a 30-1 limit – good enough for 2nd heading into Sunday. 

Aaron Martens also did a little moving on Saturday. While his spot at the top didn’t change, he moved farther away from 2nd place and takes a commanding lead of nearly seven pounds into the final day thanks to a 28-11 limit on Saturday. 

After bringing in identical weights of 27-5 on Thursday and Friday, Mike Iaconelli shifted into the number three spot on Saturday by way of a 25-8 limit. Having posted a win on Guntersville in 2006, Ike has his work cut out for him on Sunday, currently sitting with an 80 pound, 2 ounce total. 

Mike McClelland, who opened the tournament with a 30 pound limit, was unable to recapture the magic, and only brought 19-13 in on Saturday. His three day total of 77-4 put him in 4th after the last bass was weighed. 

Skeet Reese and Alton Jones once again showed why their names are near the top of the 2009 TTAOY standings by finishing Saturday in 5th and 6th place respectively. 

Martens Extends His Lead 
One look at Aaron Martens hands tells the story of his week on Alabama’s Lake Guntersville. Cut, roughed up, and bleeding. In a word – abused. His first comment off the stage on Saturday? “Dude, my hands hurt.” 

Tore up hands from catching so many four to five pound largemouth is a small price to pay for the nearly seven pound lead Martens will take into the final day of competition on Guntersville. The California transplant who now calls Alabama home is in prime position to take home the hardware once the final bass is weighed on Sunday afternoon. 

Martens widened his lead from Friday by backing up his 29-11 limit with another 28-11 stringer on Saturday, bringing his three day total to an eye popping 87-9. Don’t look now, but it appears as though Martens is getting stronger as the tournament progresses. 

“I am running and gunning and I’m looking for stuff that is off the wall. Today, I stopped in a new place that I saw in practice but never got to fish it. You’d never find it. I threw up there and caught a 5 ¾ pounder. I have three spots like that where I have caught 5 pounders,” Martens said. “I’m fishing grass and rock. I never found the school of fish that I was on the first day but I don’t think that I’ll need to. I have a new spot that is just ridiculous.” 

“It’s like every third fish is a big one. I don’t know when it will wear out, if it ever will. I’m starting there tomorrow,” Martens said. 

In a tournament where a 25 pound limit barely gets a second glance, Martens believes that the gap he has opened over second place contender, Marty Stone, is critical. “Sunday’s can be brutal on lakes like this. It could get cold or they could kill the current for some reason.” 

Martens has found success over the past three days working high speed baits and believes that the same tactic will pay off again on Sunday. “I’ve been doing the same thing all week so I feel good. The only thing is that my hands are absolutely sliced up.” 

Marty Stone Gallops up the Leader Board
On the back of a 30 pound limit on Saturday, the Stone Pony galloped to the top of the leader board on Saturday, ending the day in 2nd and giving him the most realistic chance of catching Martens on Mother’s Day. 

Stone’s success hinged on the fact that on Saturday, he relied on his results from Thursday and Friday to tell him what he needed to do. “It was an interesting day, because yesterday made today. What I mean by that is that yesterday I had 22 pounds and I culled up. Today, I found a place that is so stinking obvious that it’s unbelievable,” said Stone. 

Starting with a small 12 pound limit right off the bat, Stone progressively culled to his 30-1 limit. “I culled up to 16 or 17 and then I caught a big one. It was a progression and took me until 11:00 to catch my limit but then I just lit it up,” laughed Stone.

“There may not even be another fish in there but when you’re in 12th place, you don’t come to the scales with 24 pounds when you have the chance to catch 30.”

Heading into Sunday, Stone isn’t sure what he has left on Guntersville. “We train wrecked them today,” he said. “I’ve been trying to find some more areas and I went searching later today but I didn’t find anything like I had today.” 

Ike In the Hunt 
After a disappointing finish in the 40s at Smith Mountain, Iaconelli is back in the hunt again and fishing another Sunday on the Elites. Saturday’s 25-8 limit was enough to put him in third place when the last bass was weighed.

Iaconelli’s success this week has come due to focusing on three key features on Lake Guntersville. “The three main things that are holding these fish all have to do with hard stuff. Shell beds mixed in the grass, rock, or an isolated stump,” he allowed. 

While keying on these three main features, Ike has also had to adjust each day to find kicker largemouth. “They are sliding around a lot so you have to keep moving with them. The other thing that has been key is getting the right cast. You can fish all around the place and until you get the correct line, you never get a bite. Once you get in that right area, it’s a fish every cast.” 

Like many of the other Elite Series Anglers, Ike dotes on the fishery but says the numbers have been getting progressively lower each day of competition. After a 100 bass day on Thursday and an 80 fish day on Friday, he estimated that he boated 50 largemouth on Saturday. “You can really see the impact that the pressure has had on some of the holes,” he said. 

Current is another factor that has played into Iaconelli’s success. “I think they absolutely bite better when the current is ripping and it didn’t today. I was still able to get the big bite because these are staging areas where the bass are stopping before the head out to the main river.” 

Having tasted victory in 2006 on Guntersville, Iaconelli is well versed in the knowledge that anything is possible. “My main 100 fish hole is done. Finished. But there’s another 100 fish hole somewhere out there and hopefully I’ll find it tomorrow.” 

McClelland Needs Current 
The Arkansas pro has struggled thus far in his 2009 campaign, missing back to back cuts at Wheeler and Smith Mountain. However, this week on Guntersville, it appears as though Mike McClelland has righted the ship heading into the final stretch of the season. 

After an opening round limit surpassing 30 pounds and a 25+ limit on Friday, McClelland held on to a top 5 spot on Saturday with a limit weighing 19-13. 

McClelland’s saving grace on Saturday came by way of a seven pound largemouth that he caught early in the morning. “I was really blessed for the 7-13 because that kept me in the deal but other than that it was rough day,” he admitted. 

McClelland’s struggles on Saturday stemmed from the lack of current on Guntersville. “It was definitely different. After the shad spawn, the current has been the main thing that has been keeping my fish going and today the current didn’t run,” he explained. 

“Every other day I’ve been able to catch four or five over 5 pound and today I couldn’t depend on that without the current running. I tried to catch them without the current but it was like they weren’t even there.”

McClelland’s strategy for Sunday includes running a shallow grass pattern. “Tomorrow, I’m going to go to some stuff that I fished in practice in shallower grass. The fish there are dependable, but I don’t know that there’s as may big ones up in that grass.” 

Reese Sees Potential 
Skeet Reese came to Guntersville looking to stay within striking distance of VanDam in the AOY points race. With his 26-2 limit on Saturday, there’s a good possibility that when the Elites leave Alabama, VanDam will be looking up at Reese in the AOY standings. 

With a checkered history on the lake, Reese said that it was his decision to totally scrap all prior history and start fresh that has paid off this week. “Guntersville has never been that good to me, so I pretty much abandoned everything that I’ve fished here before and started from scratch,” he explained. 

Fishing schools of largemouth, Reese has had to adjust each day and find different schools of fish. On Saturday, while fishing down a ledge, he boated a 5+ pound bass and lost another big one, keying him in on what he needs to focus on Sunday. 

“I left the area where I caught that 26 pounds and I figured that is what I needed to have a shot at fishing tomorrow. I want to be able to get back in that area and see if I have the potential to move up.” 

Jones is Staying Put 
Alton Jones has had a stellar 2009 season and it appears as though that trend will continue with another Sunday appearance this week at Guntersville. While many of the other anglers are jumping between different areas and schools of fish, Jones has been content to milk a single 100 yard stretch of river ledge the entire 3 days.

On Saturday, Jones boated a quality limit early, and culled up several times and the day progressed. “Early in the morning it’s on fire, later in the day it’s so much of a struggle that it makes you want to leave,” said Jones. 

With a 5 pounder and three 4 pound bass in the well early, Jones supplemented his limit by adding several additional 5 pounders later in the day. “Basically, for me it’s just a grind,” he allowed. “I have one small section of river ledge and so far I’ve milked it for 76-8. I’m going to try and milk it for over 100 total pounds tomorrow if the day goes well.”

DAY THREE STANDINGS