Photo: Doug Cox Marty Stone is atop the Bassmaster Angler of the Year points with one tournament left to go.

Week 12 - Marty Stone
Stone Surges
Into Top Spot 3/21/2005

Like many anglers, Marty Stone has dreamed of being the Bassmaster Angler of the Year (AOY). Ever since he was a tour newbie, it's been a motivator for him. Most fans consider the Bassmaster Classic to be the most prestigious tournament. The AOY title, however, is the most revered honor among the pros. It's the title that best showcases a pro's ability to fish consistently throughout the entire season.

Thanks to an 11th-place finish at Lake Norman and a couple of Lucky Craft crankbaits, he has a small points lead in the AOY race. He also has a posse of 15 or so pros in position to knock him off his hill.

Stone in Position

With only one event left on the Bassmaster Tour (next week at Table Rock), Stone feels he's in the right spot to win the AOY title.

"This is obviously a good deal for me right now," he said. "I have a chance to win the greatest title in our sport. It's far from over, since my lead is so small, but this is the place to be before the final event."

Since there are about 15 or so anglers still in the hunt, he feels the AOY title may come down to the last day and the last fish caught.

"There are a lot of terrific anglers behind me who can easily win this," he said. "Some of them are my dear friends. I think this will go down to the last day, the last fish and maybe the last cast. I don't think the sport could've asked for a better scenario. It's great for the sport."

Psyched for Citgo

Citgo is the title sponsor for the AOY title. Gerald Swindle, a Citgo and Team Lucky Craft pro, won the AOY crown last year. Stone, a fellow member of Team Citgo - and Team Lucky Craft - says he's thrilled to be in this position for his sponsors.

"Since Citgo sponsors this and Gerald won it last year, I think it would be especially sweet to win it," he said. "I haven't had what I consider a spectacular year so far, so having another Citgo team member win would be huge. I've made mistakes that may have cost me some points, but overall, my instincts on the water haven't been too bad."

Skeet Helped Stone

Pro anglers are known to be a secretive bunch, so it may come as a surprise that fellow Team Lucky Craft member Skeet Reese turned Stone onto a crankbait pattern at the Norman Bassmaster that eventually pushed him ahead of Reese.

"I really had my best luck with a Lucky Craft Big Daddy Strike 1.5," he said. (Note: Stone calls the bait a Big Daddy Strike, but Bass Pro Shops sells the bait under the name RC 1.5.) "I'd throw that crankbait at anything in front of me. I fished it in pockets and coves. Skeet turned me onto this pattern after Day 1.

"I caught all of my big fish on it," he said. "The fish hit it so hard, they'd knock a foot of slack into the line. When I'd get them in the boat, the lure would be real deep in their mouths."

Stone made a huge charge on day 2 and made the cut from back in 78th. He entered day 3 in 4th, but tanked and only brought 1 fish to the scales to finish 11th. He said he caught a lot of fish -"It seemed like (his) best day of the tournament" - but most fell just below the 14-inch minimum.

Notable

> Stone's top color for his RC 1.5 was: "Pumpkinseed with black mixed in. It's a neat color."

> With his finish at Norman, he's currently in the E50s and the Classic.

> Fellow Team Lucky Craft member Skeet Reese is 5th in the AOY race.