Aaron Martens Conquers the Elements and Wins First MLF Bass Pro Tour Event at Table Rock
Humminbird and Minn Kota Pro Aaron Martens Conquers the Elements with One-Boat Network Technology, Winning First MLF Bass Pro Tour Trophy at Table Rock
In tournament bass fishing, there is rarely a day off. Rain or shine, wind, blazing sun or freezing temperatures, the show must go on. And weather can not only wreak havoc on the fisherman, it can absolutely affect the mood and the location of the fish. In short, on the water, the weather is king.
Unless you’re Aaron Martens.
The MLF pro stood his ground against winds up to 25 miles per hour all day at Table Rock Lake, reeling in 50 fish for a total of 86-pounds, 4-ounces. That performance, on a day with that kind of weather, was more than enough to net Martens his first victory in the Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour. If you ask the newly-crowned champion, he’ll tell you the result might have been drastically different if it hadn’t been for the One-Boat Network™ products from Humminbird and Minn Kota.
“My Minn Kota Ultrex helped me win for sure,” Martens said.
“With the wind howling all day, hitting Spot-Lock allowed me to stick a fish, weigh it, release it and get back to fishing without losing my spot. The power of the Ultrex™ and ease of control allowed me to move effortlessly around the areas I was fishing, even in big winds, and that was huge in navigating in those conditions.”
To call this victory an easy one would be misleading, in large part because conditions affected the fish as well as the anglers trying to catch them. With schools changing their paths often—sometimes on a minute-by-minute basis—many of the pros faced frustration in trying to map out reliable patterns under the surface.
Martens’ One-Boat Network was a stark advantage for him against this challenge. Utilizing his Humminbird LakeMaster Map to uncover as many clues as he could during practice, Martens was able to track his targets with envious efficiency. “I think the wind shifting caught some of the guys off guard. Even some of my fish moved up to a half-mile away,” Martens said.
“That’s where my LakeMaster mapping was a huge help. Just knowing the contours and the banks and brush piles where the fish might be holding made a big difference.”
The angler caught most of his fish in brush piles that were marked on the LakeMaster, right in the map. Using the One-Boat Network technology, as well as his own ingenuity in predicting where currents would drop his bait, Martens found stores of fish where no one else in the competition even thought to look. “It really is different every lake you go to,” Martens said.
“That’s why I graphed as much as I did, spending time looking at the likely areas on the Lakemaster map, then driving over areas and looking at MEGA Down Imaging and Side Imaging on my Humminbird units. It tells you so much.”
With technology in the fishing industry growing ever more effective at dealing with the elements, it should come as no surprise that many of the most successful anglers are using Minn Kota and Humminbird products to prepare for the highest level of competition. In the hands of any angler, the One-Boat Network can make a day on the water more successful and more rewarding.
In the hands of a champion like Aaron Martens, that technology makes for a force that can thrive, even when Mother Nature has other ideas.