Martens edges Evers to claim All-Star title
This one had it all — long runs, risky strategies, run-and-gun fishing and a dramatic save of a stranded competitor. In the end, Alabama’s Aaron Martens edged out Oklahoma’s Edwin Evers to win the 2012 Toyota Trucks All-Star Week championship. Martens’ strategy of staying close to the launch area to increase his fishing time bested Evers’ choice of making a long, difficult run up the Sangamon River. Martens’ win was the culmination of four days of fishing featuring 12 of the best anglers in the sport on two lakes that presented some of the most challenging fishing in B.A.S.S. tournament history. In the end, Martens’ final day catch of 13 pounds, 8 ounces on Lake Decatur was enough to outpace Evers by 1-4. Martens total was the heaviest catch of the week.
Though there were only two competitors on the water for the final round of the Evan Williams Bourbon All-Star Championship, the day had a little of everything. Evers made a long run up the lake, pushing through silt and mud for more than an hour to reach his best fishing area while Martens stayed closer to the launch area. Evers pitched and flipped stumps and laydowns or threw a crankbait to catch his bass; Martens did the same. Both missed bass that might have been game changers.
“I caught most of my fish on a Bagley Balsa B — chartreuse-and-blue — and a black-and-blue jig with a blue sapphire Paca Chunk trailer,” Martens said. “I covered a lot of water and focused on riprap and shallow cover with good access to deeper water.” He fished the crankbait on a prototype Megabass cranking rod, a Shimano Metanium reel (7:1 gear ratio) and 14- and 16-pound-test Sunline Sniper fluorocarbon line.
