Aaron Martens

Aaron Martens – After a storied career on numerous Western circuits, Aaron Martens qualified for the Bassmaster Top 150 tour through the Bassmaster Western Opens, and subsequently fished on various iterations of that tour, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, from 1999 through 2018. Along the way he qualified for and competed in 20 Bassmaster Classics, finishing in the top 10 on nine occasions, including four runner-up finishes. He won three AOY titles and nine Bassmaster tournaments.

During his more than two decades at B.A.S.S. he won more than $3 million. In addition to competing with B.A.S.S., Martens also fished the FLW Tour from 2001 through 2006 and qualified for the Forrest Wood Cup three times. In 2003 he won a tour event on Wheeler Lake, and the following year he won at Champlain. He later fished the Major League Fishing events, and left B.A.S.S. to compete on the Bass Pro Tour circuit in 2019. Many of Martens’ most meaningful innovations came using light line techniques. At the 2004 Classic on Lake Wylie, in which he finished second to Takahiro Omori’s last-minute charge, he brought several obscure lures from the 1970s back to life , including Scroungers and “horsey heads.”. He is perhaps best known for his prowess with and reliance upon the drop-shot technique. He tirelessly worked to refine both finesse and big bait techniques and was noted for his tackle-tinkering and perfectionism. He was also a conduit between Japanese innovators and the U.S. bass scene, and at times was sponsored by various Japanese companies including Megabass, Duo Realis, Sunline and Shimano.