Having read several tributes to this 49-year-old pro angler who passed Nov. 4, 2021, from brain cancer, I was pleased to find yet another one recently during research on another topic. Wired2Fish writer and bass fisherman Walker Smith shared three different occasions when Aaron made him feel special while they were working together.
When recruited to fish on his college's bass-fishing team, Walker simply thought it would be a fun way to pass the time on weekends. He didn't follow tournament fishing very much at the time. His only knowledge of fishing consisted of his old 1987 Ranger and fishing every day after (and sometimes during) class.
With that being said, he did well enough in some qualifying tournaments to earn the privilege of traveling to his first college bass-fishing tournament on Logan Martin Lake in Pell City, AL. He admitted he didn't know what he was doing, but he and his partner ended up finishing somewhere near the top.
The main thing Walker remembers about that tournament was his interaction with Aaron Martens, who made him want to pursue fishing as his career.
"I didn't care if I fished professionally or simply wrote about it," said Walker. "I wanted to make people feel the way he made me feel...included, important, and cared about."
Aaron was asked by Auburn University, the tournament organizer, to be weighmaster for the event.
"I didn't even know who he was at the time," admitted Walker. "I was just a fishing rat who was fishing too much to watch the professionals on TV. All my buddies, though, were jacked up that he was there.
"After my partner and I weighed our fish, Aaron came up to shake our hands and congratulate us on our finish. I will never forget that handshake, because his hands were absolutely enormous," noted Walker. "I felt like I had put my hand in a baseball glove.
"More importantly, however, I remember the intention behind that handshake. It wasn't a passive handshake, if that makes sense. There was meaning and connection behind his gesture. He genuinely cared about how our day went, and he cared about how we caught our fish. If more folks had the same intent upon meeting new people, the world would be an infinitely better place."
After the weigh-in, everyone got together for some snacks and drinks, which was a great time for catching up with fishing buddies from the different schools while everyone got their old boats cleaned up for the Sunday evening drive home. During this fellowship, Aaron could have headed home to his family, but he didn't.
"He cared about us," said Walker. "He knew we were all dirt poor. He knew we were critters, trying to cut our own paths and get away from society. He knew we were all stuffed in hotel rooms and sleeping on the floor. He knew we'd eaten gas-station food for the last four days. So, he made us feel important...and he did so with intent."
Aaron invited all of them to his tow vehicle at the time...one of those diesel-powered Ford Excursions. The back was just filled with tackle...his personal fishing tackle. Everything was organized perfectly and all labeled.
"As dozens of us huddled around the back of his Excursion, and the cool fall day slowly turned into a chilly fall night," said Walker, "Aaron talked to us. He taught us. He explained his decades of knowledge, and these dirt-poor critters soaked in every single word he said. He taught us about topwater baits, crankbaits, and finesse fishing. He started digging into his personal tackle stash, handing baits to us, and suggesting how we should use them in our upcoming tournaments."
It was late. It was cold. Aaron needed to get back home to his wife and babies. And Walker and his friends needed to get back home to their crappy college apartments, so they could get to class the next morning. None of the boys cared, though, 'cause, at that moment, they felt important and wanted to feel that way as long as possible.
While some of what Aaron had said that afternoon and evening was over their heads, they all had learned a lot about fishing. "Most importantly," said Walker, "he had taught us love for people and intent."
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