Aaron ’ s nickname — “ The Natural ” — was especially fitting : he was instinctually connected to his craft .
‘ PEOPLE FIRST ’ KINDNESS
I have ( so many ) good memories of and stories about Aaron – he was just an amazing man and a wonderful friend . He touched a lot of people . He was fierce in competition – when it came to fishing , Aaron wanted to win – but outside of that , he was ‘ people first ’ and one of the kindest , most caring people in the world .
— John Murray , MLF pro
The splash came from a distance , easily mistakable for a dozen other sounds that you might expect to hear in a busy marina in Maryland . Aaron had just won a tournament on Chesapeake Bay and was deep in detailed conversation about the pattern and baits he had used to claim the trophy .
Almost immediately upon hearing the splash , though , Aaron had his trolling motor down and was hustling toward the source of the commotion : a young boy – maybe 10 years old – had been so excited to spot his hero Aaron Martens from across the marina that he had literally walked right off the 15- foot-high dock and fallen into the water .
The boy clearly couldn ’ t swim , but by sheer fortune had landed right next to a piling , which he managed to desperately latch onto as he tried to tread water .
“ Hold on little bro , hold on , I ’ m coming to help you ,” Aaron assured the boy .
And help he did , somehow threading his 21-foot Phoenix through a mess of cables , crossbeams and pilings to get the nose of his boat close enough to reach his hand out to the boy and pull him onto his front deck . The whole scene unfolded in seconds . Aaron had responded so quickly that nobody else in the marina even had time to react .
The boy was understandably upset but also so thrilled to meet Aaron that he forgot within seconds that he had just escaped mortal danger .
“ Oh no , where are my glasses ? I lost my glasses ! Umm , can I have an autograph ?” he blurted .
Aaron , of course , gave him an autograph . And a hat , a shirt and a couple packs of baits , and then trolled back under the dock to try to find the boy ’ s lost glasses .
“ That ’ s Aaron ,” Murray says simply when he ’ s told the story . “ He was there for you , no matter what . You know how when people drive alone at night , they want someone to talk to ? I have so many friends who tell me ‘ Aaron was that guy I called when I was driving through the night .’
“ You could call Aaron and he ’ d talk and listen to you for hours – he knew and understood the long nights of driving thousands of miles . I ’ m always amazed at how many people tell me that . Aaron was a great listener , and he really cared about people .”
I have so many good memories of Aaron from competing with and being around him for 30 years . Aaron was always nice and always happy . He never tried to get anything from you – he cared about his own thing , not what you were doing . Aaron had a pure , natural fishing instinct . His perception of what was going on in the water and how to get a fish to bite was absolutely amazing .
— Skeet Reese , MLF pro
38 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | DECEMBER-JANUARY 2022